The Battle of the Soul in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

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This work examines the psychomachia, or battle of thesoul, as it occurs in the 14th century poem, SirGawain and the Green Knight. Based on an analysis ofthe Gawain-poet's earlier work, as well ascontemporary analogs in chivalric manuals, Arthurianromances and mystical literature such as The Cloud ofUnknowing, it argues that Sir Gawain's quest into theOtherworld is a tragedy of limited, humanperception pitted against a mysterious Infinite that"deigns to destroy" the mortal protagonist's delusionof knowing. The fault of Sir Gawain, therefore, occurs after his ordeal at the chopping block, arising from excessive pride in his own chivalricself-conception. As such, the Gawain poet's finalwork is a masterful culmination to his life-longexploration of the themes of purity, confession, andunclouded spiritual perception.