English 4316

Professor Hope Johnston

Essay 2

Nature and Magic in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Throughout the many stories that we read, nature and the relationship it has with magic

was involved in them. Of course, magic is going to be a consistent theme in these stories, but I

noticed that nature was also a common theme as well. The novel Sir Gawain and the Green

Knight portrays this relationship and shows that this is very important to the text. In this essay

about the relationship between nature and magic in the Sir Gawain and the Green Knight text, I

will explore the idea that nature and magic shares a relationship or connection on another level

that some people just don’t connect. Also, I will separate the two of these topics and describe the

differences.

Magic is a prevalent topic in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In the opening of this

novel, the Green Knight comes in and challenges King Arthur’s court to a game. Succumb under

pressure, Gawain agrees to the challenge of striking the Green Knight with his own ax, but the

deal is that Gawain has to find him in exactly a year to receive a blow in return. When this

creature walks away from the blow perfectly fine, people are more so fearful because they don’t

know if this is a real person or a magical being. I will use a quote from the novel, Sir Gawain

and the Green Knight, to further explain my findings. “The handsome head flew from the neck to

the ground,| And many courtiers kicked at it as it rolled past.| Blood spurted from the trunk,

gleamed on the green dress,| Yet the man neither staggered nor fell a whit for all that,| But sprang

forward vigorously on powerful legs,| And fiercely reached out where knights were standing,|
Grabbed at his fine head and snatched it up quickly,| And then strides to his horse, seizes the

bridle,| Puts foot into stirrup and swings into his seat,| His other hand clutching his head by the

hair” (Fitt 1). This adds to my point about the magical element that is incorporated in this text.

This Green Knight that comes in on a green horse is clearly not a real human being, which has

this question of magic portrayed through a similar “human form”. This example of magic is only

one of the few many examples that are portrayed in this novel.

Even though nature isn’t the “focal topic” of this novel, this can also be seen as very

important. We discussed in class about the significance of the Green Knight’s color and how this

can represent the devil (something evil) or nature. When the author wrote this novel, I believe

that the author intentionally wanted the Green Knight to be “green” so the readers can find these

connections. The author added something so simplistic that was still important. The knight

connects to nature because he is the human embodiment of nature. My reasoning is because the

nature that is in the novel is very chaotic, just like the Green Knight. The author highlights the

journey of Sir Gawain and how the nature plays a big part of that. To help prove my point, I will

provide a quote detailing this. “And ogres who chased him across the high fells.| Had he not been

valiant and resolute, trusting in God,| He would surely have died or been killed many times.| For

fighting troubled him less than the rigorous winter,| When the cold clear water fell from the

clouds| And froze before it could reach the faded earth.| Half dead with the cold Gawain slept in

his armor| More nights than enough among the bare rocks,| Where splashing from the hilltops the

freezing stream runs,| And hung over his head in hard icicles” (Fitt 20). I think this quote really

shows how nature plays an important role. Nature tries to stop him from achieving his goal and

this almost cause death upon Gawain. The novel depicts nature as this chaotic mess. He left the
civilized world and went to a more chaotic place, where he fought for his life from the weather

and animals. Nature was an essential part of this novel.

Lastly, I will discuss the connection that these topics share and how these are important

to the story. So, the Green Knight is the human embodiment of nature of the chaotic mess that

comes along with it, but magic relates to this as well. He is a magical being that have these

magical abilities but is taking this form because he connects to the natural world. Even though

this is a nonobvious connection, this finding is logical because of what is in common. In the

novel, Bertilak, the master that takes in Gawain, reveals himself as the Green Knight and they

make this deal about exchanging each other’s findings. My next point may be trivial, but I think

this adds to the nature and magic connection. Since Bertilak and the Green Knight are the “same

person”, I don’t think Bertilak killed those animals on his own because of chaotic nature is in the

story. But, I think he uses his magical abilities, so he can manipulate this game that he has with

Sir Gawain. Nature and magic can hand in hand to defeat something bad or defend something for

good or it can go against each other, which can lead into a big mess.