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"GAWAIN"-PENTANGLE: A STUDY OF STRUCTURE AND SYMBOLISM IN "SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT."

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Date Issued:
1979
Summary:
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the hero sets out on a journey in which he is forced to make moral choices that ultimately alter his self-knowledge. Gawain's journey is the direct result of a challenge offered by the Green Knight under the guise of a Christmas game. Metaphorically, his actions are reflected by the pentangle, which although composed of oppositions, always leads back to itself. Gawain'3 divided consciousness is further symbolized by the Virgin-shield, which alludes to caritas, and the magic girdle, which alludes to cupiditas. Their opposition forms the basic conflict of the poem: between spirit and flesh. These symbols initiate two sequences of action wherein Gawain is tested, fails and is absolved. He returns to Camelot a new man, wiser for his folly, a true exemplar of Christianity as symbolized by the pentangle virtues.
Title: THE "GAWAIN"-PENTANGLE: A STUDY OF STRUCTURE AND SYMBOLISM IN "SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT.".
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Name(s): COONS, JOANNE MARIE.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Greer, Allen W., Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1979
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 61 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the hero sets out on a journey in which he is forced to make moral choices that ultimately alter his self-knowledge. Gawain's journey is the direct result of a challenge offered by the Green Knight under the guise of a Christmas game. Metaphorically, his actions are reflected by the pentangle, which although composed of oppositions, always leads back to itself. Gawain'3 divided consciousness is further symbolized by the Virgin-shield, which alludes to caritas, and the magic girdle, which alludes to cupiditas. Their opposition forms the basic conflict of the poem: between spirit and flesh. These symbols initiate two sequences of action wherein Gawain is tested, fails and is absolved. He returns to Camelot a new man, wiser for his folly, a true exemplar of Christianity as symbolized by the pentangle virtues.
Identifier: 13959 (digitool), FADT13959 (IID), fau:10782 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1979.
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Subject(s): Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/13959
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.