World Literature

Running Head : How does Medieval Literature influence today 's society

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

How does the Medieval Literature influence today 's society

[name]

[Name of School]

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for [subject]

[Instructor 's Name]

July 24 , 2007

ABSTRACT

This focuses on the Medieval Literature using the story of King Arthur and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight . The analyzes the story of both tales and how the codes of behavior in the past can be related in today 's society . An example

of this code of behavior that had been very prominent in the medieval times is chivalry . As a knight , one of the values that a person must possess is the code of chivalry . It also discusses how the codes of behavior affect how society thinks about a person and the different effects of adapting such attitude in our present society . The tale Sir Gawain and the Green Knight showed the faults and the preconceptions of society to Sir Gawain . Nowadays , it is hard to find a knight among the people in society . Viewing the scenarios happening in the present day is quite impossible because recently , more people think about themselves rather than worry about anyone else . The sources used for these research is the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight , translated by Jessie L . Weston , the Encarta Encyclopedia , 1999 edition , World History by Francisco Zaide and other websites that had been helpful in providing some insights and observation regarding the tale of Sir Gawain and King Arthur

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

How does the Medieval Literature influence today 's society

The concept of the Arthurian Tales and the Modern Ages

The story is one of only several stories in the Arthurian legends which show chivalry at its peak . The main theme of most stories would be the devotion of a man to his sworn duty , and that the strong should protect the weak . The building of a Camelot , a place where everyone is content remains the objective . To achieve this goal , an consisting of several nobles was formed , hence was born the famed Knights of the round table , a group whose main goal was to right injustices and to serve the needy . The concept of Camelot itself is a Utopia which is yet to be attained . The Modern man has always been torn between two conflicting creeds known in society . We are referring to man 's constant war between serving his own self interest and serving his neighbor . The law of the survival of the fittest ' is a constant law taking effect today both from scientific and social perspective . It is a known reality that the weak cater to the strong , and that the strong dominates the weak . This present reality is a complete opposite of the theme represented by Camelot

Chivalry and the Society

The tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ' depicts the impact of chivalry

During the medieval period , it is...