Keats form

Question 1

How can LBDSM’s ballad form be interpreted?

Answer 1

The ballad form, traditionally associated with oral storytelling and repetition, adds a haunting cyclical quality to La Belle Dame Sans Merci. The poem’s abrupt start and lack of resolution mimic the knight’s psychological entrapment, reflecting how order is never restored but endlessly deferred.

Question 2

How can the anaphora in LBDSM be interpreted

Answer 2

And I…” in the knight’s narration mimics a confessional tone, reinforcing his obsession while also suggesting the compulsive repetition of misogyny.

Question 3

What aspects of LBDSM form convey doom?

Answer 3

The cyclical structure of the poem—beginning and ending with the ‘haggard’ knight ‘alone and palely loitering’—emphasises the inescapability of his doom, rendering his supposed agency during the encounter an illusion.

Question 4

How can the feminist interpretation of LBDSM be supported with the form?

Answer 4

the constraints of the ballad stanza and its measured, repetitive meter
- inescapable cyclical structure