La Belle Dame Sans Merci -- John Keats Flashcards
(15 cards)
“And her eyes were wild”
The femme fatale’s seductive, otherworldly gaze parallels Bertha Mason and the danger of lust detached from moral grounding.
What kind of love is presented?
All-consuming and fatal. Unlike Jane Eyre, which moves towards healing and redemption, Keats shows love as a trap.
What is the effect of the ballad form?
Cyclical, lyrical, haunting — mirrors the knight’s endless suffering and emotional entrapment, unlike Jane’s eventual liberation.
Tone of the poem?
Haunting, mournful. In contrast, Brontë tempers dark emotion with resilience and growth.
AO3: Romanticism and femininity
Romantic fascination with mysterious, untamed women. Brontë critiques this trope in Bertha, showing its psychological consequences
Female power in both texts?
In Keats, woman dominates destructively. In Brontë, female power is moral, thoughtful, and emotionally intelligent.
What role does the male narrator play?
Victim of seduction. Contrasts with Rochester, who tries to control Jane — but ultimately submits to a more equal love.
How does the poem deal with illusion?
The knight is trapped in a dream state — like Rochester’s illusions about love. Jane brings him back to reality and humility.
“Keats presents female love as unnatural and destructive.”
Agree. It contrasts Brontë’s humanised, morally grounded heroines like Jane and Helen Burns.
What’s the knight’s physical state?
“Alone and palely loitering.”
How does the lady enchant the knight?
“She looked at me as she did love, / And made sweet moan.”
What dream or vision haunts the knight?
“I saw pale kings and princes too, / Pale warriors, death-pale were they all.”
How is nature used to reflect suffering?
“The sedge has withered from the lake, / And no birds sing.”
What symbol of intimacy does the knight receive?
“She made a garland for my head, / And bracelets too.”
What chilling realization does the knight awaken to?
“And I awoke and found me here / On the cold hill’s side.”
