1. How does "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" follow the archetype of an Old English poem?
- Both works follow the pattern of Old English poems. They were written to serve a symbolic or religious purpose - often associated with human's dependence on God. A hero, no matter how valorous he might be, must always "pray with all his might that Mary may be his guide till a dwelling comes in sight" (736-739). These stories show us that even heroes need to follow and knee down to God; therefore, ordinary people like us should have no question about serving God. The rich religious undertones of these poems made them religious propagandas of the Church before the Middle Ages.
- On the other hand, we can still feel the sense of male superiority in the described society of these poems. Women were portrayed as beautiful and juicy creatures for men to chase and hunt down. Their identities are pertained to their husbands or sons: from "Grendel's mother" to "his fair lady" (933), women's names are not important at all, compared to their marital or maternal relationships with the male characters.
- Side note: Although, for the most part, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight follows the archetype of Old English poems, there is still one significant difference between these two. In Beowulf, the hero has a static characteristic, which means the character's personality remain the same from the beginning to the end; however, on the other hand, Sir Gawain's characteristic is dynamic - the character's personality develops at some point of the story. Beowulf is a hero, and remains as the hero, throughout the poem; while Gawain experienced a development of personality and enhance of conscientiousness during his adventure.
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