Lord Bertilak's Boar and Sir Gawain's Code
ENG 303
21 October 2022
Lord Bertilak’s Boar and Sir Gawain’s Code
The boar hunt in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a great example of how literary devices are used in order to key the reader into overarching themes within a story. This specific hunt of Lord Bertilak’s uses binaries, description, diction, and foreshadowing to enforce key themes of the story.
As noted in previous lecture by Professor Laskaya, a boar is not a usual target when hunting. The text also shows this to the reader through descriptions of how difficult the hunt is and how parts of the boar are used, for the boar’s entrails are fed to the dogs, few innards are left to eat, and the head is set aside to be brought to Lord Bertilak (ll.1607-18). Because a boar is so aggressive, the entirety of the hunt is difficult for Lord Bertilak’s men. In the beginning, after the men locate the boar and attempt to trap it, the boar makes “a murderous rush in the midst of them all” (l. 1438). The word choice here is important to note. The men, who are the ones attempting to kill the boar, are not described as making this “murderous rush,” but the boar is. This is the start of a mankind versus other narrative, as the boar is described to be vicious and assaultive, but the men who are attacking the boar are depicted as victims. This is taken one step further by the pronouns given to the boar. The boar is first given he/him pronouns in the line before the quote previously listed: “Then they [the hunters and hounds] beat on the bushes and bade him [the boar] appear” (l. 1437). Although the boar is a wild animal, it is referred to as “he” and “him.” The usage of pronouns when referring to a wild “beast” (l. 1434) separates the men from the boar, but not into the usual man versus nature categories. Because the boar is given pronouns, its importance is emphasized, and the hunt takes on a stronger, more important role in the story. When Bertilak’s men aim at the boar and attempt to shoot him, the poem reads, “[the men] Aimed at him with their arrows and often hit” (l. 1455). This line humanizes the boar, drawing on ethos to invest the reader into the story. The pronouns given to the boar remove him from a simple label of wild or animal and transform this binary into man versus other.
The diction used in other areas of the boar hunt is very important to close read as well. The word “head” is used, in some form, eight times throughout this passage (ll. 1422, 1459, 1462, 1567, 1590, 1598, 1607, 1616) whether this be “head” or “headlong.” The repetition of the word “head” alongside the word “headlong” (ll. 1462, 1590) emphasizes a theme of being strong, courageous, and hard-headed—important characteristics when hunting a dangerous animal. Moreover, the repetition of “head” introduces a strong theme of using one’s head to be intentional and aware of situations, not following one’s heart or emotions. This conclusion could be drawn from repetition of “head” alone, but because the word “headlong” is also used, the theme becomes very clear. The word headlong, according to Merriam-Webster, means “without pause or delay.” In the text, “headlong” is used to describe the boar’s attack on the hounds and Bertilak’s men, but it is also used in the scene where Lord Bertilak and the boar go head-to-head (ll. 1462, 1590). This is a moment man and the other are coming together to face off. The text describes Bertilak’s men drawing away from the boar out of fear: “But yet the boldest drew back from his [the boar’s] battering head” (l. 1567). When Bertilak begins to approach the boar, however, he is described to be “lightly” leaping and “boldly” advancing as he “strides towards his foe” (ll.1583-1585). The juxtaposition between Bertilak’s men, who are afraid of the boar, and Lord Bertilak himself, who is courageous and unwavering in his ability and courage, shows the importance of going into situations, no matter their danger, headfirst. This theme is present throughout the story, but the diction in this passage drives the theme home due to its repetition.
Diction around Lord Bertilak’s men changes once Lord Bertilak kills the boar. Because Lord Bertilak succeeds in murdering the boar and completing the hunt, the men are then described as “bold” and “charged with chief rank” while celebrating with “brave blast” and “boast[ing] of their prize” (ll. 1601-04). The comradery between Lord Bertilak and his men allows the boar to be a prize to all of the men who were involved in the hunt, even if they did not take part in the actual murder of the animal. While Lord Bertilak is given the gift of the boar’s head (ll. 1616-18), Lord Bertilak does not take full responsibility for the success in the hunt. In sharing the glory of the boar’s death, Lord Bertilak provides insight into another theme in this passage—fraternity. Lord Bertilak’s men pursue the boar together, and even though Lord Bertilak is the only one who killed the boar, they all share in the pride of the boar’s death—there is not one single winner or champion. This shows the reader the importance of sharing one’s victories with those who helped them achieve a goal. Lord Bertilak’s men play a large role in the hunt, as they locate the boar: “Then the company in consort closed on their pray” (l. 1433). It is because they have located the boar that Lord Bertilak is able to chase the boar on his horse. The reader knows Bertilak’s men are responsible for locating the boar, as Lord Bertilak is not mentioned until line 1464, when Bertilak begins to lead the chase. Without his men, Lord Bertilak’s hunt may have taken longer or have gone in a completely different direction with another animal. In this case, however, Lord Bertilak is sharing his victory of killing the boar with his men because they helped him locate the boar. Lord Bertilak shares the victory because he values fraternity and brotherhood and recognizes how he needs his men in order to succeed on hunts—otherwise, he would do them alone and take credit for the hunt.
The boar hunt in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight reinforces themes and ideas that are present throughout the story. The repetition of “head” in this passage draws on the reader’s knowledge of Sir Gawain’s fate and foreshadows how Lord Bertilak is the Green Knight. The themes in this passage—the importance of fraternity and courage—mirror themes that scenes with Gawain also contain, such as Gawain being brotherly with Lord Bertilak and being courageous and honorable in his search for the Green Knight. The man versus other binary that is present in the boar hunt mirrors the beginning of the poem when the Green Knight, who is very otherly, enters Arthur’s Court. All in all, the boar hunt, although a relatively small passage, uses diction, binaries, and foreshadowing to emphasize the importance of Chivalric Code—bravery, loyalty, and fraternity—on Sir Gawain’s journey.
Works Cited
Borroff, Marie, translator. Gawain and the Green Knight. A New Verse Translation.
Norton, 1967.
“Headlong Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster,