Sir Gawain

The theme of courtesy is used all throughout Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In Part 1, the poet tells us that King Author is the most courteous of all British Kings. In this case the author may be using the word courteous as a synonym for chivalrous. In this case the word courteous may be defined as brave, noble, and respected. When the Green Knight enters he is not being courteous, or polite, he barges …showed first 75 words of 711 total…

…showed last 75 words of 711 total…the Lord, but he was honest with the Lord when it came to the kisses of his wife. Gawain accepts his mistakes and makes them public. This is very different from the heroic ideal in the Iliad. The hero in the Iliad must act proud and not admit to mistakes or wrong-doings. When Gawain owns up to his mistakes he is showing courtesy that heroes in one of Homer’s works would never have revealed.