La Belle Dame Flashcards
(13 cards)
How does repetition build the sense of unrequited love?
Incremental partial repetition creates an image of a knight in a medieval setting, suggesting a timeless tale of courtly love and unattainable affection.
What twist does the poem present on typical courtly love?
The woman is portrayed as dangerous and deadly, emasculating the knight and making him feel weak.
How is idealized and obsessive love presented?
‘I met a lady in the meads, full beautiful - faery’s child’ shifts from sadness to enchanting imagery, focusing on her deceptive beauty.
Keats believed ‘beauty is truth, truth beauty,’ but this woman is untruthful.
What does the line ‘and nothing else saw all day long’ suggest?
It links to themes of obsession, similar to Gatsby’s idea of a mind that can never romp again.
What biblical imagery is used in the poem?
‘She found me roots of relish sweet and honey wild and manna dew’ manipulates syntax, showing the woman’s agency.
What does ‘la belle dame sans merci thee hath in thrall’ imply?
The knight is enslaved by her beauty, indicating a loss of power and masculinity.
How is love and suffering presented in the poem?
‘Alone and palely loitering’ depicts aimlessness and isolation, while ‘haggard and woe begone’ conveys suffering.
What does the lily symbolize in the poem?
‘I see a lily on thy brow’ symbolizes both death and purity.
What significance does the structure of the poem hold?
The poem consists of 12 quatrains in ballad form, rooting it in tradition and connecting the form to its mythic content.
What is the key argument of the poem?
Keats challenges the line between reality and imagination, warning that love and beauty are short-lived and can mislead.
How does the knight’s presentation relate to deception?
The knight is ‘alone and palely loitering’, contrasting with the romantic image of a noble hero, highlighting appearance versus reality.
How is misunderstanding presented in the poem?
The knight believes the woman is interested, mistaking her actions for affection, similar to Gatsby’s obsession.
How does the setting reflect the knight’s realization?
Withered plants and silence in the setting create a sense of melancholy, mirroring Gatsby’s disillusionment with beauty.
