What Does Green Symbolize in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Contrast with Gold

Another color that appears in the text very often is gold. Sir Gawain, a young, but noble and brave knight, has golden elements in his armor. He also carries a shield “with the Pentagle in pure gold” (Sir Gawain 44). This color expresses nobility and, perhaps, self-confidence that the knight displayed in the beginning of the poem. A lady in the castle where Sir Gawain stays offers him a golden ring as a gift but Sir Gawain refuses and wants to take only a belt (which is golden and green). Thus, the author shows that the knight somehow betrays his “golden” qualities (nobility and fairness), deciding to cheat in order to stay alive. As a result, he acquires some “green”, “wild” qualities, such a desire to survive beyond any moral principles. Thus, the contrast between red and green colors reveals one of the main conflicts of the poem: the confrontation between chivalry and wild, chaotic powers of nature that lie in the depth of a knight’s personality and should be struggled with. It proves the thesis that the colors reveal the sense of characters’ actions and emphasize the importance of staying honest, conveyed by the author.

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