Sir Gawain and the Green Knight unquestionably revolves around a central act of violence, the “blow for a blow” exchange between Gawain and the Green Knight.  But the poem also emphasizes the relationship between participants in acts of violence and those who behold it.  The poet consistently frames acts of violence in highly descriptive ways, accentuating color and other visual elements, giving detailed descriptions reminiscent of medieval manuscripts.  The “blow for a blow” exchange in the poem occurs twice, in the beginning and end of the poem, and serves to frame the poem.  It also suggests multiple layers of spectatorship; the courtly observers who watch the initial exchange of violence between Gawain and the Green Knight are eclipsed by the end of the poem.   The absence of those obvious onlookers is notable, for the final encounter between the two opponents serves a didactic purpose and is intended to teach Gawain a lesson.  Yet, there are no apparent witnesses to that lesson except the participants themselves.  Consequently, the reader of the poem serves as the ultimate witness to both the violence and the lesson.  For the reader, the representation of violence in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight serves a twofold purpose, integrating the reader into the violence as a kind of secondary participant and positions the reader as a witness to the moral lesson.