‘LBDSM’ general

• what does 'la belle dame sans merci' translate to?

  the beautiful lady without pity
• plot summary of LBDSM

  a knight has fallen in love with a beautiful young lady, entered a nightmarish world populated by those who previously loved her
• what is the context surrounding LBDSM

  -written in 1819, the year his brother died of TB

  -when his relationship with Fanny Brawne reached its climax
• what is the structure of LBDSM

  -ballad form

  -traditional ABCB rhyme scheme

  -12 quatrains
• key themes of LBDSM

  -loss and love

  -love through the ages

  -truth and deception

  -imagination and reality
• feminist interpretation of LBDSM

  -misrepresents women as it presents her as a deadly femme fatale

  -implies that the knight having no self-control is her fault
• motifs in LBDSM


  -flowers

  -seasons

  -paleness

  -dreams

  -sleep

  -dew/water