Symbolism In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight a 14th century middle English chivalric romance. In which the speaker spreads symbolism well throughout it. Symbolism is the practice of representing various things with symbols. For example, things like representing “peace” with a white dove, the white dove acts as the representation of peace, because of its pure white color and innocence. The author repeats various symbols in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight but each one can have a completely different representation to it by the way it is being used in that specific phrase. Some of the symbols used throughout are, the color green, the knight as well as the ax and his heart are only a few of the many symbols given. For example, the color green is a symbol used various times throughout the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. But each has a different representation of its own, one way the color green was used is expressed “The blood splashed up from the body and glistened on the green” (line 13). Here the author is utilizing the color green to represent or identify the knight, but referring to him as green is expressing that he is new and fresh the way a vegetable is when it’s green. The greener a vegetable is the fresher it is assumed to be. Another way the color green is used in the …show more content…
Symbols can define so many things and not necessarily have to be an object but can be places or people. Symbols have been used so many years throughout literature and have the ability to give the reader a better visual and understanding of the story itself. In this story the Green Knight is one of the main characters that is used throughout to symbolize many things; his honor, fear, and trustworthy are just a few. Symbols are everywhere and tell us so much about life and why they are what they are as well as how they mean what they
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