The Pentangle Essay -- Literary Analysis, Gawain, The Green Knight

In the unknown poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the persona of Sir Gawain is portrayed as the imperfect torpedo. His flaws take in interest and intrigue. Such qualities of imperfection can non be found in the token of the pentangle, which he displays on his shield. This contrast between character and symbol is open a number of times throughout the poem entrusting human qualities to emerge from Gawains knightly portrayal. The expectations the pentangle presents proves too much for Gawain as he fall victim to black magic, strays from God, is seduced by an adulterous woman, and ultimately breaks the chivalric encipher by lying to the Green Knight.The pentangle, also called the endless knot, (630) is a five-pointed superstar enclosed in a circle, worn as an amulet to debar evil from or bring fortune to the wearer (Talisman, OED). Writer Eliphas Levi says that when the pentangle is pointing up it represents uncanny dominance over the literal. Presented the other wa y, the physical world rules over the ghostlike -often associated with dark magic (Pentagram, Wikipedia). This parallel foreshadows the trickery played on Sir Gawain by the Green Knight. The Green Knight challenges Gawain to a Christmas game (283) in an begin to humble Gawain, tempting him with worldly pleasures and proving that even the greatest of knights are not perfect. Upon finding the Green Chapel, Gawain suggests that Here might / The devil himself be seen / at black midnight (2186-8). Comparing the Green Knight to the devil proves accurate because at the end of the play, the Green Knight confesses that the count of your kisses and your conduct too, / And the wooing of my wifeit was all my scheme (2360-1). Describing the midnight as black (... ...ain as an imperfect hero makes him an interesting character and allows the reader to see his human qualities emerge in a moralistic story. The tension between deuce sides of a character trait is represented through contrast w ith the perfection of the pentangle symbol. God and material possession, fidelity and seduction, and knight and human are all parallel to the two interconnecting triangles depicted in the pentangle. It is impossible to have one without the other. The interconnectedness of our senses, our bodies, our spirituality, our hump and emotions, and our personality create a pentangle, binded by a circle life. The pentangle mayhap places too high an expectation on perfection and does not allow room for human flaws. Such flaws lead to the downfall of Sir Gawain because he was otiose to live up to the expectations of the symbol displayed on his shield.