The place of magic in Sir Gawain is obvious from the very beginning of the poem. The Green Knight's appearance associates him with the other world, and his powers are terrifying precisely because they are magic or supernatural.
The Green Knight is predatory, and predatory forces in the poem are manifold. The Green Giant is an aggressive interloper into Arthur's court and his challenge to the knights is specifically aimed at their manhood ("beardless children" 1:280). Nature is a predatory force during Gawain's journey to the castle. Bertilak wants to hunt, and his wife is also predatory. How would you categorize these forms of aggression and relate them to such themes as nature vs. culture, to male vs. female, to military action vs. polite, social passivity?
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