The presence of the Supernatural in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Abstract

This article explores the supernatural in S ir Gawain and the Green Knight , a poem which lies in a 14th century manuscript. It talks about a hero who proves his courage as a knight, and nephew of King Arthur, facing the challenge of magics. This paper offers a theoretical background about Middle English, but also about the Midland dialect which seems to be the chosen one by the anonymous author. Firstly, it will focus on the Arthurian literature since S ir Gawain and the Green Knight is part of it. A brief summary on the typical characters, Arthurian epic poems, and plot will be provided in order to understand better the project. Secondly, it will examine the presence of the supernatural providing instances of it, but also some perspectives about magics in the poem. Then, I will analyse the poem taking into account the three most relevant issues in the poem: supernatural elements, reasoning and, Christianity references. Once a graphic is created, the results are discussed so that we can reach a conclusion.