What Does the Color Green Symbolize in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Introduction

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a medieval poem by an unknown author dated by the late 14^th century. Some of the colors frequently mentioned in this poem have a symbolic meaning. A great semantic load assigned to different colors in medieval literature is known to researchers: it “provided important information about objects” and exposed “moral and spiritual connotations” (Wooglar 1). The colors in the poem also have different shades of meanings that are important for revealing the characters and a deeper understanding of the plot. Thus, by using green and gold colors, the author put an additional emphasis on such layer of meaning expressed in the text as a conflict between chivalry values and human nature.

Why Is the Green Knight Green?

Green color plays the central role in the poem since one of the main characters, the Green Knight, is associated with it: he has a green horse, a green axe, and green skin. He is described as an entirely green: “all green was this man” (Sir Gawain 8). There are different ways to understand the symbolic meaning of the green color in this poem. For example, for a medieval person, green color could mean the power of nature, youth, lust and some wild, animal powers. It also reminds of the Green Man, a popular folk character with a vague source (Coley 13). This character is often associated with some pre-Christian beliefs and rebirth of the nature in spring, whereas the Green Knight seems to be closer to nature than to people. The Green Knight has superficial powers: when Sir Gawain cuts off his head, he stays alive, takes his head and goes away, which resembles of plants that can grow after having been cut.