“Amazement seized their minds,
no soul had ever seen
a knight of such a kind–
entirely emerald green.” (Lines 147-150)
Throughout the story, the color green is used as a motif. The knight is green, he wants to meet at the Green Chapel, the belt is green, and the knights wear a green sash to remember what happened to Gawain and his whole ordeal/adventure with the Green Knight and Berlitak. Why would the author choose the color green specifically instead of a different color? In what ways does this enhance the reader’s experience with the text? How could this relate to nature?
According to psychology, the color green is representative of rebirth and renewal. With spring comes green plants and flowers, renewed after the long winter months. In what way does Gawain experience a rebirth or renewal? Perhaps after his experience with the Green Knight, he is “reborn” into a wiser being who now can recognize and admit to his mistakes. He learned through the experience that he must be honest with himself and others, in order to get a positive result. This clever motif used by the author allows readers to connect the color green in nature to the plot and experiences of the characters.
I’m also wonder with why did author used green instead of other colors. After I read the opinion you wrote, I feel like you are right with it. Maybe the author wants to show the rebirth of chivalry of Sir Gawain. What I mean with rebirth is that Gawain did not fully understand the duty as a knight, he didn’t step out at the first place when the GK offered the challenge. Gawain didn’t has the resolution to protect the king base on the sacrifice of his life, he hesitated at the beginning. The rebirth happen after he satisfied his deal with GK, and he realized the meaning as a knight, which is to protect the king no matter what the costs are in this case.
I agree many of your points. The amount of detail throughout the poem is interesting in the fact that each action and main character is described in great detail, with every article of clothing and each of their features described to give the reader a sense of exactly what they look like.
That is a very nice observation. I was wondering why all the little details were green in color. The idea of rebirth fits well with the story and how it progresses. When reading the story, I believed that green symbolized jealousy. This fits with the idea of the green knight being entirely green. He is filled with jealousy of the king’s knights. Arthur’s knights were known throughout the land to be the best warriors and gentlemen. He came in to challenge that notion and prove that he is a greater warrior. This move was motivated by jealousy. Perhaps this can be a secondary meaning to the color green in this story.