Monday, December 2, 2019
La Belle Dame Sans Merci free essay sample
The Romantic period in Literature is believed to have begun in 1798 when Samuel Coleridge and William Wordsworth published a book of poems called ââ¬Å"Lyrical Balladsâ⬠. Romantic writers ââ¬Å"emphasized imagination and emotionâ⬠(Romanticism 457). Romantic writers use medieval subjects and settings in their writings. ââ¬Å"The love theme explores dreams of heterosexual bliss, but it also moves into the appropriate relationships to be had with art and natureâ⬠(Matlak 1771). John Keats is included in the second generation of English romantics. Keats is known as the youngest of English romantic poets. John Keats ââ¬Å"greatest poems ââ¬âââ¬ËThe Eve of St. Agnesââ¬â¢, the six magnificent odes, ââ¬ËLamiaââ¬â¢; some of his finest sonnetsââ¬âwere written between January and September of 1819 when his remarkable poetic genius had just began to realize itselfâ⬠(Romanticism 470). ââ¬Å"Romantic poets are famous for describing the world as a subjective experience, one in which the important things happen to the human heartâ⬠(Kelly 26). The poem ââ¬Å"La Belle Dame sans Merciâ⬠proves John Keats was a romantic poet. We will write a custom essay sample on La Belle Dame Sans Merci or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page One of the most notable things about John Keatsââ¬â¢s ballad ââ¬ËLa Belle Dame sans Merciââ¬â¢ is the sly way it presents one of the key issues of romantic philosophyâ⬠(Kelly 24). The characters in the poem show romantic qualities. The ââ¬Å"knight-at-arms / alone and palely loiteringâ⬠and ââ¬Å"a lady in the meads / full beautiful ââ¬â a fairy childâ⬠show ideas of romanticism by using medieval creatures (Keats 12, 1314). ââ¬Å"it is a fairy standard conceit in romanticism to identify love as a part of internal self, as more a matter of one persons mind than as meeting twoâ⬠(Kelly 25). The characters during the knightsââ¬â¢ dream are also medieval creatures, ââ¬Å"I saw pale kings and princes too / pale warriors, death ââ¬â pale were they allâ⬠(Keats 37-38). The settings in the poem also show romantic characteristics. In the beginning of the poem it is morning, which represents that a new day has come. It shows a new beginning to a well off and happy life. So he thinks. The ladyââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"elfin grotâ⬠represents cold, damp, and scary things to come into the mans life. ââ¬Å"I shut her wild, wild eyesâ⬠-ââ¬Ëthe repetition suggests a euphemism for sexââ¬â¢ ââ¬â ââ¬Å"with kisses fourâ⬠(Galens 20). The knight has a dream after the lady lulls him to sleep. It is a foreshadowing trait to the poem. It shows the man would be very unhappy with her. During the dream, kings, princes, and pale warriors cry ââ¬Å"La Belle Dame sans Merci / Hath thee in thrallâ⬠, which means the lady who shows no mercy has you enslaved. When the knight wakes up on the cold hills side it represents winter which means the end of life. ââ¬Å"At the beginning and end of the poem, the knight remains on the cold hills side, still waiting on his love to returnâ⬠(Galens 17). The cold hills side also shows the manââ¬â¢s isolation and alienation from everyone. The setting in the poem foreshadows what will become of the knights and fairies relationship. ââ¬Å"The knights fate, and through his descriptions of his fairy ââ¬â loves beauty, readers see the caprice that brings doom. â⬠(Galens 20). The images of nature shown in the poem also show romantic qualities. The lady that the knight falls in love with is described as the child of a fairy. ââ¬Å"Fairy stories often stem from rural folklore traditionsâ⬠(Galens 21). After the knight awakens to find the lady gone, ââ¬Å"the world is described as one from which life has receded, using images associated with natures death each winter: the squirrels have stored their provisions for the long dead months, the grass in the lake has withered, and the birds have quit singingâ⬠(Galens 21). ââ¬Å"The only signs of living nature after the lady disappears are the fading ones on the knightsââ¬â¢ faceâ⬠(Galens 21). In conclusion, the characters, the settings, and the images of nature in the poem show romantic characteristics. The background information on the romantic period proves the poem to be a romantic poem. In the terms of chivalric belief systems, earthly love is mortally serious concept: it is at once an all consuming renunciation of and at the same time the earthly manifestation of heavenly love.
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