Gawain

1 Pages 230 Words

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is filled with magic and symbolism. Morgan le Faye and Merlin are
responsible for the magic of the Green Knight. There are three literal hunts (deer, boar, and fox), three
symbolic hunts (the attempts to seduce Gawain), and three hits of the Green Knight's ax. The deer is
timid, the boar is ferocious, and the fox is cunning and sly. The characteristics of the animals are symbolic
of Gawain and the challenges set before him.

There is great significance in the fact that the events in this poem occur in multiples of three. Three times
Gawain is tempted by the lovely lady, and on the third time, he succumbs to her temptations, by
accepting the green belt. The hunts take place on three different days. The third day, Gawain withholds a
portion of his earnings. The Green Knight swings at Gawain three times. He purposely misses the first
two times. On the third time he taps him, leaving a scar. The significance of all these threes is that
Christianity teaches the trilogy: the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost. Almost everything in life falls into
groups threes: man, women, child; three trimesters to the birth of a child; the Sun, Moon and the Earth.
The fact that the events unfold in counts of threes explains the depth with which the anonymous poet was
trying to connect this story and this passage to the bible and biblical events....