The Inter-Relationship Between External Descriptions and the Internal Psychology of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Essay from the year 2004 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2,0, University of Cologne (Englisches Seminar Koln), course: Medieval English Literature, 10 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: There have been many discussions, essays or psychological interpretations about the aristocratic romance of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, which was written at about 1400 by an unknown author. The romance embodies chivalric ideas of the English ruling class in the mid-fourteenth century. The central focus is set on Gawain, an honourable and courteous knight belonging to Arthur’s Round Table. In this essay I will show that Sir Gawain in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a character with many virtues and that his outer appearance stands in close relationship to his internal psychology. Every character is characerized through what he or she thinks about him or herself, how others think and feel about the character and through the actions of the character as well. Gawain is characterized through his armour which directly leads to his internal psychology. His actions are very characteristic for him and it is also very important what others think about him and how that differs from his own view of himself.