The Importance of Green The color green represents many different things in general, but it is also specifically symbolic in the Pearl Poet's Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. First, the Green Knight is, literally, green. This makes him appear odd or even supernatural. At a deeper level, the green also represents the devil and death, but because green is an ambiguous color, it can also represents nature and life, as the holly is a …
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…many contrasting themes, some of which are contradictory. In turn, green is also much like the laws and codes of the time, like the Chivalric Code, the Knightly Code, Courtly Love, loyalty to the king, queen, and host, and simple common sense. The Pearl Poet may have chosen the color green to represent the struggles Gawain experienced as he attempts to fulfill all three conflicting codes; therefore, the poem is a satire of such codes.