In the Excalibur, King Arthur falls for the trap of betrayal due to the romantic passions from Guenevere. This aspect of the movie makes to have a level of adult rating with romantic scenes and even those of love making. Additionally, this poem is a perfect illustration of metrical romance. The relation between the movie and the poem also arises by the fact that both of them are centered on the ancient existence of heroic legend, who in this case is King Arthur. The main lady casts in both the movie and poem reveals characters that can be referred to as a reminiscence of the queen or isle.
In this time and culture, a hero would be defined as a person who is strong and courageous whereas six centuries later, a romantic hero named Sir Gawain, is measured against a moral and Christian ideal of chivalry. While these heroes share some common characteristics, they differ in their motives which drive them to fight, encounters with women, and the role that god plays in their quest. Both Beowulf and Sir Gawain are honorable men. They fight for the honor of their king and their land. Before addressing the people at Herot, Beowulf asks the lord and master if he would graciously allow him to greet him in person and report his errand.
He took a risk that most men would not dare take. He may have started off doing it for the wrong reasons but in the end, all went well. Petruchio did not get lucky when it came to taming Katherine; he had a method. A method that proved successful when it came to taming Kate. Toward the end of Act IV, Scene I Petruchio makes a speech that mentions how his method of taming Katherine is similar to the method of taming a female falcon.
Within the trials featured in Lanval and Wife of Bath’s Tale, the queens use their power and position to influence the court’s decision both directly and indirectly. The common thread between the two trials is that a decision is rendered that offers a justice that is both authoritative and poetic. The Wife of Bath’s Tale, written by Chaucer, is about a lust-filled knight, who was sentenced to death as a direct consequence to his actions. In his case he had wronged a woman by raping her. This displays the knight’s hostility and disrespect for women.
In the stories of Beowulf, Gilgamesh, and King Arthur we see men who are looked upon as heroes. They all have similarities and differences. All these heroes share the idea of a quest, a long journey or a voyage of some kind - whether that is to be a personal voyage of discovery of self or a physical travelling voyage. In Beowulf and Gilgamesh two men set out on a quest in search of glory and fame. In Beowulf and Gilgamesh we see two men who go on a quest to fight these monsters for both but number one to get glory and fame and number two to protect the people of the kingdoms that they live in.
Finally, there is a clash of different topics or main ideas: human ambition vs God's plan, and good vs evil. Now, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight can be classified as Medieval Romance, verse or prose narrative that usually involves adventurous heroes, idealized love, exotic places, and supernatural events. They are initially from France during the 12th century, and soon spread to England. Many of the best known romances celebrate the legendary King Arthur and his knights who often risk their lives for the love of a noble lady or to uphold the code of behavior known as chivalry. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is considered one of the finest Arthurian romances.
Lady Bertilak only seems to want Gawain because of his reputation and stories she had heard about Arthur’s knights. Gawain remains modest and lets Lady Bertilak down gently, thus Gawain remains chivalrous towards women even though he is denying her request. In the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain shows bravery, modesty and chivalry, as a knight should even in times of great adversity. When the Green Knight scams him into a fateful game where Gawain is doomed for death, he still fulfills his end of the bargain. Also, when Lady Bertilak tries to reveal his flaws by seducing him, Gawain remains chivalrous because he knows that giving into her could mean serious
This trait is shown heavily throughout Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Gawain in the beginning of the story accepts the task of playing the Green Knight’s game because in all of the land, he is the strongest knight. It can also be inferred that Gawain accepted this challenge because one of the biggest factors in obeying the chivalric code was to show loyalty to the king. When the time comes for him to go on his search for the Green Knight his true character starts to show. He feels scared and sick to his stomach but that doesn’t stop him from going.
There are many versions of the story of King Arthur. Each portrays heroes, betrayal, magic, romance, and great acts of chivalry along with some magical help from Merlin. Mankind has always needed heroes. Throughout history Arthur is the symbol of a medieval hero who constantly endangers his own life for others. The chivalrous acts displayed by Arthur show the beauty of Arthurian romance and why, whether or not these legends are true, we want them to be.
Chaucer's term for fabliau is a "churl's tale" (cherles tale, Miller's Prologue, line 61, p. 88 in Penguin Classics translation); it is thus implicitly contrasted with the "aristocratic" or "courtly" genre of romance (e.g. the Knight's Tale which immediately precedes it). Do note however that fabliaux are found in the same manuscripts as romances, indicating that they were intended for and enjoyed by the same aristocratic audiences; thus,fabliaux were not in fact the "genre of the lower or middle classes." Keeping these ideas in mind, consider the Miller's contention that his tale will "repay" the Knight's Tale (pp. 86-7,Miller's Prologue line 19; other possible translations of the Middle English word quite are "requite," "avenge" or "be an answer to").