The Beautiful Lady without Mercy
The poem �La Belle Dame Sans Merci� by John Keats is a poem full of imagination, dreams, romanticism, and mystery. It tells the story of a knight wandering about the cold bare countryside, where he meets a mystical woman who is also known as a �fairy�s child�. It is hard to tell from the poem whether or not she is real, or simply a figment of his imagination. This poem is very easy to read, with a consistent structure and straightforward language. For all the simplicity on the surface of this literary ballad, it is one of the most difficult of Keats�s poems to explain, and is open to many interpretations. Keats strikes our curiosity while reading this poem by creating vivid scenarios to ...
Want to read the rest of this paper?
Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay
and over 50,000 other term papers
|
suggests that he has claimed possession of the woman. As soon as they reach her �elfin grot,� the fairy becomes unhappy as �she wept, and sigh�d full sore.� After telling the knight �I love thee true,� the beautiful lady lulls him to sleep and abandons him. Does she really love the knight? If she speaks in �language strange,� how can he be sure she said �I love thee true?� It seems as if he is hearing what he wants to hear, as do most people when first falling �in love.�
Furthermore, this poem can also be an interpretation of impossible love. �And there she wept, and sigh�d full sore,� also suggests that the lady does care for the knight but realizes she must leave him because she is a fairy and he is human. He describes her as a supernatural being, a �fairy�s child� with �wild eyes.� The poem also implies the fairy�s magical powers of �relish sweet,� �honey wild,� and �manna dew,� that gives the knight a sense of power and pride. He is no longer depressed because of the fairy�s ...
Get instant access to over 50,000 essays.
Write better papers. Get better grades.
Already a member? Login
|
CITE THIS PAGE:
The Beautiful Lady without Mercy. (2011, April 26). Retrieved June 19, 2025, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Beautiful-Lady-without-Mercy/98474
"The Beautiful Lady without Mercy." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 26 Apr. 2011. Web. 19 Jun. 2025. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Beautiful-Lady-without-Mercy/98474>
"The Beautiful Lady without Mercy." Essayworld.com. April 26, 2011. Accessed June 19, 2025. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Beautiful-Lady-without-Mercy/98474.
"The Beautiful Lady without Mercy." Essayworld.com. April 26, 2011. Accessed June 19, 2025. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Beautiful-Lady-without-Mercy/98474.
|
Save
Report