La Belle Dame Sans Merci

• Who wrote la belle dame sans merci?

  John Keats
• when was it written ?

  1819
• what does La Belle Dame Sans Merci mean?

  “the beautiful woman without mercy” —> (negative imagery)
• What are the main themes of the poem?

  LOVE AND PAIN

  —> unreciprocated + impossible love

  —> illness

  —> loss/death

  —> power + danger of love
• What is the structure of the poem?

  —> Parisian poetry

  —> end-line rhymes gives the poem a melodic rythym

  —> consists of 12 quatrains in the form of an English ballad

  —> ABCB rhyme scheme - 8 beats

  —> poem = balled
• What is the poem about?

  At the start, the speaker finds a knight walking in a trance. The knight tells the speaker how he met a beautiful woman who sang to him and he gave her gifts in return. They have an encounter (possibly sexual) in her elfin grot. She lulls the knight to sleep and he has nightmers. whem he awakes the woman has left him alone.
• What context is important for this poem?

  Keats was a romantic poet and this poem focuses on nature and the supernatural. He died at the age of 25 from TB. The poem may be about his secret finance fanny (next door neighbor). The femme fatale character show in the poem is similar to Meant other mythological creatures such as mermaids and sirens.
• How has direct speech been used throughout the poem?

  The direct speech makes it feel more dramatic and theatrical.

  E.g —> ‘o what can ail thee?’

  —> ‘I love thee true’

  —> ‘La belle dame sans merci hat thee in thrall’
• what meter has been used throughout the poem?

  IAMBIC TETRAMETER used in the 1st three lines of each stanza, while the last line is shorter.

  —> This could be done to give the poem a fairly regular rhythm to imply that the Knight’s life was sound until this woman met him and deceived him.
• How has a cyclical structure been used?

  1st and last stanza: the line ‘and no birds sing’ has been repeated to show how the knight’s life will never be the same after ding tricked by this woman as what he stood for (his power as a knight) has been shattered by a wild creature
• How has foreshadowing been used?

  Start of the poem, knight is described to be ill-looking as ‘haggard’ —> suggests he has had a rough experience which hints at the fact that something terrible (the woman) has occurred.

  As well as: ‘I see a lily on thy brow’ —> symbolizes death and may hunt to the readers others have fallen at the hand of this woman.
• How have pronouns been used to emphasize the mysterious nature of this woman?

  Throughout the poem, the woman is not given a name, but instead referred to as ‘she’ which makes her seem unidentifiable and relates to her ghostly aspect
• How have verbs changes throughout the poem?

  At the start of the poem, verb such as ‘made’ and ‘set’ make it seem like the knight has control over the woman. However as the poem progresses verbs such as ‘took’ and ‘lulled’ suggests that the woman is the one in control and makes the knight seem vulnerable.
• How as pathetic fallacy been used throughout the poem?

  It is implied that it is Autumn or early winter as ‘the harvest’s done’, ‘on the cold hill’s side’ and ‘the squirrel’s granary is full’ —> all suggest things are becoming colder and slowly withering away or hibernating. —> This relates to the end as the slow death and disappearance of life is similar to the idea that the woman disappears at the end.
• How have Metaphors been used throughout the poem?

  Metaphors have been used to link to the idea of death.

  E.g —> ‘I see a lily on thy brow’ suggests paleness and a lack of life.

  —> ‘on they cheek a fading rose’ suggests the slow withering of life.

  • Both of these metaphors use nature as symbolism and this was very common from romantic poets at the time.
• Why has archaic language been used?

  ‘Ail thee’ has been used to reference earlier times when knights and fairy tales. This has been done to hint at the fact the femme fatale is unnatural and like a siren
• What does the poem structure show?

  Written like a ballad for several reasons.

  —> At the time, it was uncommon for people to be able tp read, meaning poets has to write poems in a memorable form so that the readers could enjoy it.

  —> Ballads usually relate to fairy tales or legends which sets up the mythical tone throughout the poem.
• How is repetition used throughout the poem?

  • Phrases which elude to paleness or the adjective ’pale’ itself is repeated numerous times throughout the poem.

  E.g —> ‘alone and palely loitering’ and ‘pale warriors’

  The idea of being pale relates to the theme of death and withering life.

  • The word ‘faery’ is repeated to show that the woman is supernatural, but is also quite charming.
  • The word ‘wild’ is repeated to show that the woman cannot be tamed and is animalistic.
• How is the poem told from a narrative perspective?

  Poem is told in retrospect, which means it relies on somebody’s memories.
• What is the tone of the poem?

  A regretful tone —> as the knight has endured a painful experience and he wishes it never happened.

  An uncertain tone —> throughout the poem as we are never quite sure what the woman is and wha she will do to the knight.

  Mood of grief is conveyed —> through the use of the phrase ‘alone and palely loitering‘.
• What are the messages of the poem?

  1st —> that love hurts and you have to be ready to accept this. As the idea that woman who lead men on are cruel to do so as they know it will make them suffer.

  2nd —> someone without a lover can be likened to a lost man in the woods just before winter, being without purpose.

  3rd —> love is temporary, and eventually it will leave and you have to live with that.