settings he uses during the poem. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight opens in King Authur’s court at Camelot. The opening of the poem in Camelot sets the basis for the themes revealed throughout the story. Camelot is a large and very respected kingdom. This shows the significance of the poem before it actually starts. By using such a strong setting in the introduction, The Gawain poet creates the meaningful atmosphere for the entire story. Camelot represents the future capability of the morals the story may teach and of the lessons it may touch upon. Camelot shows the strength of the piece without literally beginning the poem. This setting is not very important considering the time that the story spends there, but its true significance is very meaningful to the story when looked at from a more in depth perception (Galenet).In addition to King Authur’s court in Camelot, a very important setting is Bercilak’s castle. Sir Gawain stops here while he is on his journey to fulfill his obligation to the Green Knight. The lord of this castle is Bercilak de Hautdesert, the Green Knight. As Gardner translates, “One day he (Gawain) comes upon the most beautiful castle he has ever seen” (166). Gawain does not know this is the Green Knight and proceeds to accept the hospitality from Bercilak. The castle has a much more obvious purpose than Camelot. The castle challenges the virtues of Gawain. His chastity is challenged by temptation, and his loyalty is challenged by deceit. Within the castle, Gawain succeeds with part of the test. However, he deliberately makes one of his mistakes in the castle. He lies about the girdle that was given to him. Not to mention, he takes the girdle in the first place. The castle represents the flaws Gawain makes and the mindset Gawain has created by being the ideal knight (Gardner).Of course, there is the Green Chapel. This also has a very obvious meaning to the themes of ...
