Isabella; Or, The Pot of Basil Flashcards
(133 cards)
1
Q
“Fair Isabel”
A
Fair implies beauty and moral goodness - sympathetic characteristics
2
Q
“Poor simple Isabel!”
A
Builds a sense of tragic inevitability + foreshadows an unhappy ending - tragic trope
3
Q
“Without some stir of heart, some malady”
A
Reference to love being a sickness
4
Q
Enjambment in 1st stanza
A
Shows ease and unity of their love
5
Q
“With every” x2
A
Anaphora shows that their love is building
6
Q
Cesuras in 2nd stanza
A
Slows the pace, allows reader to luxuriate in their love
7
Q
“His continual voice was pleasanter / To her, than noise of trees or hidden rill”
A
Association of love with pastoral imagery - positive association - Romantic trope
8
Q
“And from her chamber-window he would catch / Her beauty farther than the falcon spies”
A
Reference to balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet - deliberate allusion to a text that has a tragic ending for the lovers - foreshadowing
9
Q
“And constant as her vespers”
A
Prayers - moral goodness - sympathetic
10
Q
“Made their cheeks paler”
A
A further reference to love being a sickness. Paleness is a reference frequently used by Keats - his life is surrounded by death and sickness, so it is a image that recurs
11
Q
” “To morrow I will bow to my delight, / To-morrow will I ask my lady’s boon” / “O may I never see another night, / Lorenzo, if thy lips breathe not loves tune” “- speech in stanza 4
A
They both speak 2 lines that rhyme to show their harmony. Also another line combining death and love
12
Q
“Fever’d his high conceit of such a bride”
A
Shows he is aware of her status and how she is higher status than him - introduction of an idea which eventually ends their love - start of cause and effect chain?
13
Q
“She saw it waxing very pale and dead” (stanza 7)
A
Shows a physical manifestation of his worry and references illness as well as creating a sense of tragic inevitability
14
Q
“so, lisped tenderly, / “Lorenzo!” - here she ceas’d her timid quest” (stanza 7)
A
She sees his worry and troubled state and encourages him as much as social conventions allow her too - as a woman she should remain passive and timid - link to Death of a Salesman and Linda’s attitude
15
Q
” “If thou didst ever any thing believe, / Believe how I love thee, believe how near / My soul is to its doom” “
A
Prophetic language, enjambment and repetition of “believe” shows an outpouring of his emotions
16
Q
"”but I cannot live / Another night, and not my passion shrive” “
A
The line structure emphasises the prophetic language, and “shrive” is used when Romeo speaks to Juliet at the ball in act 1 scene 5 - another allusion that creates more foreshadowing
17
Q
"”Lady! thou leadest me to summer clime”
A
She gives him warmth and happiness - positive connotations
18
Q
” “And I must taste the blossoms that unfold” “, “and great happiness / Grew, like a lusty flower in June’s caress”
A
Metaphor of desire and a simile which also shows sexual desire. Growth also implies natural cycles which imply that their love will come to an end
19
Q
“Twin roses by the zephyr blown apart”
A
Romantic image
20
Q
“The inward fragrance of each other’s heart”
A
Intimate image
21
Q
“Sang, of delicious love and honey’d dart” “joy’d his fill”
A
Sexual satisfaction, phallic imagery
22
Q
Stanza 10
A
Has a happier feeling - lots of enjambment, romantic and pastoral imagery, images of sexual satisfaction, and paralleled positive actions of “he” and “she” give a sense of their love
23
Q
“Close in a bower of hyacinth and musk”
A
Contrast of feminine and masculine scents. “Close” is also repeated throughout the stanza (stanza 11) to show unity of their love and how often they meet
24
Q
“Ah! better had it been for ever so, / Than idle ears should pleasure in their woe”
A
Narrator interjects to create tension in the narrative and a foreboding tone - creates more tragic inevitability
25
"Too many tears for lovers had been shed /... "
Anaphora with "too many" emphasises how tragic lovers are often doomed
26
"Except in such a page where Theseus' spouse"
Allusion to a myth in which the lovers experience a tragic ending - abandonment, doomed nature of their relationships. Allusions to mythology give the tragic feeling more gravitas
27
"The little sweet doth kill much bitterness"
The beginning of the line contrasts with the end - ending has lots of negative connotations
28
"Though Dido is silent in under-grove"
Allusion - shows hyperbolic extremities of love
29
"Even bees ... / Know there is richest juice in poison flowers"
Reference to temptation and creates dramatic foreshadowing
30
"With her two brothers this fair lady dwelt"
Reminder of her moral goodness - creates sympathy and contrasts with the descriptions of the brothers
31
"Enriched from ancestral merchandise"
Shows the wealth they have is not theirs - protomarxist criticism of the system of inherited wealth
32
"And for them many a weary hand did swelt"
Polysyndeton enhances a sense of their employees sacrifices
33
"In torched mines and noisy factories"
Language is much more industrial which contrasts the natural imagery of previous stanzas - negative association of the brothers
34
"In blood from stinging whip"
Images of slavery - emphasises cruelty of the brothers
35
Repetition of "For them" in stanza 15
Shows the power they have over others, foreshadows later events
36
"For them his ears gush'd blood, for them in death / The seal of the cold ice with piteous bark", "Half-ignorant, they turn'd an easy wheel, / That set sharp racks at work, to pinch and peel" (stanza 15)
Lots of references to death and negativity. Keats' narrator is critical of how the brothers treat their work
37
"Why were they proud?" (repeated) + repetition of comparative adjectives (stanza 16)
Repetition of the same question show that the narrator believes they shouldn't be proud of their wealth, likely because the narrator is critical of inherited wealth. This question also indicates that the narrator believes they are hubristic, which is ironic as they are not punished for it like a typical tragic hero would be
38
"Florentines"
Renowned for prosperity at the time of writing - shows wealth of brothers
39
"In hungry pride and gainful cowardice"
Negative traits in reference to brothers, unsympathetic. Could be extended to be an indictment of those who are successful from capitalism
40
"two close Hebrews"
Antisemitic reference to Jews being "close" with money - common in poems at the time
41
"How was it these same ledger men could spy...?"
Implies that the brothers are too involved with money. "Spy" has negative connotations - implies they are looking for wrong doings
42
"Fair Isabella in her downy nest?"
Repetition of her moral goodness, "downy nest" also implies innocence, and is pastoral imagery, increasing symapthy for her
43
"How could these money-bags see east and west?"
Metaphor strengthens their criticism
44
Questions in stanza 18
Tripling of questions shows the narrator's disbelief and incredulousness
45
"Must see behind, as doth the haunted hare"
Ominous note to end the stanza - implies Isabella and Lorenzo are the prey
46
"O eloquent and famed Boccaccio! / Of thee we now should ask forgiving boon"
Appeal to Boccaccio to be forgiving of the lovers, foreshadows a tragic ending
47
"And of thy roses amorous of the moon / And of thy lilies that do paler grow"
Roses - reference to love, lilies - reference to death. "paler" also strengthens reference to death. Pastoral imagery
48
Significance of stanzas 19 and 20
Pull from the story in order to create a sense of tragic inevitability
49
"Grant thou a pardon here"
Keats alleviates himself from the responsibility of the tragic fate of the lovers - creates tension
50
"But it is done - succeed the verse or fail -"
Added as an afterthought to show the importance of the story being told
51
"What love Lorenzo for their sister had"
Lorenzo is mentioned first - shows how men are dominant in relationships, but may also represent how Lorenzo is more important to the narrative at this point
52
"each unconfines / His bitter thoughts to other"
Enjambment suggests that the brothers' plans are already in motion and are unstoppable
53
"That he, the servant of their trade designs"
Lorenzo is identified by his social status
54
"the servant of their trade designs / Should in their sister's love be blithe and glad"
Links to Romeo and Juliet - lovers who are not meant to be together - audience sympathises with them as they love each other despite other problems
55
"T'was their plan to coax her by degrees / To some high noble and his olive trees"
The use of the anonymous pronoun "some" shows how they care little for her welfare but only about the class difference, and the status of her lover is what is important
56
"And many a jealous conference had they"
Starting the stanza with a conjunction indicates that this is not the only 'conference' they have had about this, showing the involvement of their planning, emphasising how significant the class difference is to them
57
"To make the youngster for his crime atone"
"youngster" reminds us of Lorenzo's youth and naivety, and "crime" shows how the brothers think it is an offence to love someone of a higher status and transgress class boundaries in this way. "crime" is ironic too, as they are about to commit a crime, but do not view it as one
58
"Cut Mercy with a sharp knife to the home" (check this quote)
Capitalised to show the significance
59
"For they resolved in some forest dim / To kill Lorenzo, and there bury him"
Finality of the line, enjambment shows it is unstoppable. The simple rhyme adds to the sinister simplicity of their plan
60
"So on a pleasant morning as he leant / Into the sun-rise, o'er the balustrade / Of the garden terrace"
Pastoral imagery creates a sense of false security, contrasts with what we know will happen - dramatic irony
61
" "You seem there in the quiet of content" "
Brothers speaking to Lorenzo while he is happy and at ease creates sympathy for him
62
Notes on stanza 23
Has a lighter tone to it until the context of the stanza is considered - dramatic irony
63
"Lorenzo, courteously as he was wont, / Bow'd a fair geeting to these serpents' whine"
He treats the brothers with respect, making him sympathetic. "Serpents" has connotations of evil and cunning and is a biblical reference.
64
"With belt, and spur, and bracing huntsman's dress"
Ironic, brothers take Lorenzo hunting when he will then become hunted
65
" "Love, Isabel!" said he, "I was in pain" "
Line ends after pain - deliberate placing of the line break to foreshadow
66
" "Good bye! I'll soon be back" "
Poignant - dramatic irony - will not be back at all
67
"And as he went she chanted merrily"
Both are oblivious of what will happen - more poignant
68
"So the two brothers and their murder'd man"
Past tense and alliteration creates a sinister tone and emphasises that he is already metaphorically dead
69
"Sick and wan / The brothers' faces", "Lorenzo's flush with love"
Contrast in their facial expressions is poignant.
70
"Into a quiet forest for the slaughter"
Violent and emotive language - increases sympathy for Lorenzo and implies pain
71
Punctuation in stanza 27
Cesura in middle of stanza ends the long sentence/enjambment before it and is representative of the murder
72
"Ah! when a soul doth its freedom win, / It aches in loneliness"
Emotive language and apostrophe creates sympathy for Lorenzo and, by extension, Isabella
73
"Each richer by his being a murderer"
Emphasises how the brothers care more about money than morals - sociopathic. Keats links money with evil and uses brothers to express the evil of over-investment in the class system
74
"They told their sister how, with sudden speed, / Lorenzo had ta'en ship for foreign lands"
Know telling Isabella the truth would upset her, so they lie to her. Shows some moral awareness of what they've done
75
"Poor girl!"
Exclamation from omniscient narrator, shows narrator's sympathy for her
76
"And then, instead of love, O misery!"
Parallels the change in tone of the poem
77
Notes on stanza 30
Most of the stanza is one long sentence to show the extent and what will be the length of her grieving period. Lots of sad lexis
78
"But Selfishness, Love's cousin"
Shows the relationship between love and selfishness, and shows how love is always accompanied by negative emotions. May be a reference to binaries in tragedy
79
"Upon the time with feverish unrest"
Another reference to sickness in love
80
"The breath of Winter comes from far away"
Personification of winter and another example of seasonal change and natural cycles - link to La Belle Dame
81
"So sweet Isabel / By gradual decay from beauty fell,"
Lexis of mortality and diminishment. Shows that she is losing beauty because of her grief - foreshadows what comes later in the poem. This is the last line of stanza 32 but runs straight on to stanza 33 (,) to show the extent of her grief
82
"Because Lorenzo came not."
The stanza has run on from the previous one, but the cesura jarrs the rhythm and upsets the flow of the poem in order to represent how she feels
83
"To see their sister in her snowy shroud"
Sibilance, shows her soul is dead
84
"drowsy", "deadly dark", "drunk"
Dental alliteration to create a sombre tone
85
"It came like a fierce potion, drunk by chance / Which saves a sick man from the feather'd pall"
"It" shows Lorenzo has no identity now he has become a ghost, and "pall" is something used in a funeral, so it adds to the deathly atmosphere
86
"Strange sound it was, when the pale shadow spake"
Sibilance - eerie nature of ghostly visitation. Isabella doesn't quite recognise his voice, which emphasises the difference between his two states
87
"With love, and kept all phantom fear aloof"
Not afraid of him because she still loves him
88
"aloof", "woof"
Eye rhymes, shows not everything is as it seems
89
"Of pride and avarice"
2 of the 7 deadly sins - emphasises the nature of the brothers crimes
90
"Around me beeches and high chestnuts shed / Their leaves"
Natural cycles represent death. The trees are dying around Lorenzo, but the natural imagery contrasts with Lorenzo's ghost and his death - pastoral ideal
91
"upon the skirts of human-nature dwelling / Alone: I chant alone the holy mass"
Repetition of alone creates sympathy for him, and the assonance of his religious actions reminds us of his moral goodness further, extending sympathy created
92
"And thou art distant in Humanity"
Shows how far humanity and Isabella are from him - creates more sympathy
93
"thy paleness makes me glad"
More references to mortality, even though Isabella isn't actually dead yet. He is glad she is sad because he sees it as a measure of their love
94
Notes on stanza 41
All lines except the first are end stopped, slowing the pace to suggest a long and torturous night of her grief
95
"But there is a crime - a brother's bloody knife!"
Plosive sounds to show her anger at the brothers' actions
96
"Sweet Spirit, thou hast school'd my infancy"
Sibilance shows her tone softens when she speaks about Lorenzo
97
"And sing to it one latest lullaby"
She wants to sing to his head the way you would sing to a child - mothering him how she can - maternal instincts
98
"Resolv'd she took with her an aged nurse"
Taking an old woman with her makes people believe she is doing nothing that warrants attention - this shows the lack of importance of women
99
"See, as they creep long the river side"
"See" shows that Keats wants the reader to visualise what's happening, and "creep" shows the clandestine nature of what they're doing
100
" "What feverous hectic flame / Burns in thee child?" "
Fricative alliteration creates tension, and this shows the bizarre nature of what she is doing - the old woman is unable to understand what is happening
101
"Who hath not loiter'd in a green church-yard"
Assumes the experience of death is universal - perhaps show the significance of death in Keats' own life
102
"Ah! this is holiday to what was felt / When Isabella by Lorenzo knelt"
Isabella is experiencing much worse because Lorenzo was taken unnaturally and prematurely by the brothers - makes the brothers even more unsympathetic
103
"Like to a native lily of the dell"
Associated with death
104
"To dig more fervently than misers can"
Desperate, this is the first image of her moving into insanity
105
"soiled glove", "silk"
Two contrasting images - contrasts her wealth with her desperation
106
"She kiss'd it with a lip more chill than stone, / And put it in her bosom, where it dries / And freezes utterly unto the bone"
Shows she is becoming numb and emotionally cold, and mentioning her bosom is a reference to breast milk, showing her maternity and femininity have been thwarted by the cold, and its dual meaning also serves to show a numbing of her emotions and her heart
107
"At sight of such dismal labouring", "labour'd"
Notion of her giving birth to insanity, but also shows she is effectively giving birth to what she then devotes the rest of her life to - the basil pot > she is very nurturing to it, so it may represent a child
108
"With duller steel than the Persean sword"
Shows her determination, and shows that the scene would be gory.
109
"Whose gentleness did well accord / With death as well, as life"
Isabella thinks he is as beautiful dead as he is alive, shows how important he is to her but is also indicative of her insanity
110
"If Love impersonate"
Love is capitalised in order to personify it, which shows its power
111
"Pale Isabella kiss'd it and low moan'd"
Shows her obsessive insanity, and these are sounds she would make in labour
112
"and still she comb'd, and kept / Sighing all day - and still she kiss'd and wept"
Repetition of "and still" implies madness and ongoing behaviour
113
"Silken scarf", "precious flowers", "divine liquids"... language in stanza 52
Lexis of luxury contrasts with the head she is putting in the scarf, perhaps indicates he is almost being reborn
114
"which her tears kept ever wet"
Shows her crying is continuous
115
"And she forgot the stars, the moon, and sun, / And she forgot..."
Anaphora, and stanza starts in media res, shows these actions are long running. This shows the significance of her grief especially when the significance of nature in Romantic poetry is considered, and her demise comes when she falls away from nature
116
"but in peace / Hung over her sweet Basil evermore"
The only thing that calms her is being with the basil pot - only way she can be with Lorenzo
117
"So that the jewel, safely casketed"
"Jewel" shows the significance of Lorenzo's head to her, and the imagery of it being a precious gem juxtaposes what it actually is. "Casketed" shows that this is a better burial for Lorenzo than what the brothers gave him - shows their love
118
"O Melancholy, linger here awhile! / O Music, Music, breathe despondingly! / O Echo, Echo from sombre isle" (stanza 55, link to stanza 61)
Series of apostrophes, and each abstract noun/concept is capitalised to show its importance. The same concepts are repeated again later to show her demise, but the lines that follow it are changed slightly
119
"For simple Isabel is soon to be / Among the dead:"
Cesura after the line jarrs the rhythm and creates a dramatic pause. Narrator creates tragic inevitability, and this creates more sympathy for Isabella, and the enjambment also emphasises the inevitability of her demise. "Simple Isabel" is also repeated from the beginning
120
"She withers, like a palm / Cut by an Indian for its juicy palm"
Image of something natural and innocent destroyed for someone's personal gain, which references what the brothers have done to her
121
"O leave the palm to wither by itself"
Reference to previous stanza - natural mortality, Keats expresses how brothers shouldn't have intervened with Isabella and Lorenzo
122
"Her brethren, noted the continual shower / From her dead eyes"
Enjambment emphasises how her crying is continual, and "dead eyes" show how her soul is dead
123
"wonder'd that such dower / Of youth and beauty should be thrown aside / By one mark'd out to be a Noble's bride"
Shows she is losing her youth and her beauty over her grief, but people do not understand why she is upset as she would marry a noble - people understand money, not emotions - link to death of a salesman
124
"A very nothing would have power to wean"
Reference to maternity
125
"A bird on wing to breast its eggs again; And, patient as a hen-bird"
Bird imagery foreground how she is maternal and delicate
126
"Yet they contriv'd to steal the Basil-pot"
Brothers work against Lorenzo even without their knowledge - reference to higher classes working against lower classes unintentionally? Link to death of a salesman
127
"The thing was vile with green and livid spot"
Very different to Isabella's interpretations, and shows the brothers' lack of resonance with nature
128
"And so left Florence in a moment's space / Never to turn again - Away they went, / With blood upon their heads to banishment"
Shows finality of their flight - moral guilt has finally got to them
129
"O Melancholy, turn thine eyes away"
Contrasts with when narrator tells the reader to stay, shows the change in the story
130
"For Isabel, sweet Isabel, will die; Will die a death too lone and incomplete"
Emphasises injustice of her fate, and repetition of definite future "will" shows inevitability
131
"Now they have ta'en away her Basil sweet"
Her death can be entirely blamed on the brothers, and shows her dependence on the basil pot
132
" "For cruel 'tis," said she, / "To steal my Basil-pot away from me"
Monosyllabic speech - infantilised by her insanity. These words are repeated at the end of the poem to increase the sympathy even further, as a sense of injustice prevails
133
"And so she pined, and so she died forlorn / Imploring for her Basil to the last."
"pined" and "died" are a half internal rhyme, and assonance of "forlorn" and "imploring", and the simplistic description increases sympathy
