Keats makes good use of an array of poetic techniques in 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci' to depict power roles for characters which clash with the expectations of the reader. This leads us to speculate whether these characters are metaphorical for prominent issues within Keats' life at the time and the environment that surrounded him.
The protagonist this poem - referred to only as the 'knight-at-arms' - does not fulfill the criteria of a typical hero. In fact, he seems to contrast the chivalrous warriors of Spenser's poetry, such as 'The Faery Queen', even though these noble tales are known to have greatly influenced Keats. The knight is described as 'alone and paley loitering'. This defies our presumptions of how this character would act; he appears to be aimless, introspective and incapable of any great act of heroism. The narrator also uses an effective metaphor to help convey the knight's appearance, a 'fast withereth... fading rose', which we can interpret as the corruption of his beauty, innocence and his fading health, all at the hands of 'La Belle Dame'. The 'lily on (his) brow' can be seen as symbolic of death also. Keats may be presenting the protagonist in this way so that it reflects England at the time.
Tuberculosis was a threatening force throughout 19th century England and many died because of it, which relates to the knights surroundings, where everything is dead- 'no birds sing', 'the sedge has withered'. Furthermore, the depiction of authoritarian figures who are also 'pale' in the 10th stanza provides more evidence for this interpretation. The adjective 'pale' is repeated three times to further drive the subtext of tuberculor illness. This could also be a comment on the poor mental health of the figures of authority at the time. In 1811, King George III was declared incurably insane; at the time, Keats could not have made a direct comment on the matter without ending up in serious trouble ,but through an indirect metaphor, it could be a subversive comment.
England in the early 19th century, like the knight, was in a bad state. A large percentage of the population were dying through illness and poor standards of life and there was great political and civil unrest. On the 11th May 1912, the Conservative prime minister Spencer Perceval was shot and remains the only ever British prime minister to be assassinated. We can even interpret the 'Belle Dame' as France, or more specifically the French revolution. The French revolution seemed to many, at first, to be an amazing, beautiful act of liberty; the beginning of a new era. Yet, unfortunately for poets like Keats, this era was one of science, industry and rejection of imagination.
This leads on to my second point, as another interpretation could be that Keats is not referring to the physical death surrounding England at the time, but more-so the death of imagination and creativity. Keats felt that nothing in the early 1800's could inspire his imagination and fantasies. He believed the older poets and their works that influenced him received a greater impact from their surroundings to present these grand, fantastical stories of quests. Therefore, perhaps Keats is commenting with his protagonist that is there is nothing to inspire the poet, there can be no imagination to produce quests and stories for the knight and so, instead, he is merely 'loitering'.
Finally, 'La Belle Dame' is presented as a powerful figure in this poem. Firstly, her name is in French, which meant that many readers would not have understood and this would have shrouded her in mystery. She has power over the us, the reader, already because she captures our interest; we want to solve her mystery. Her eyes are described as 'wild'. This foreshadows her inability to be domesticated by the knight (who does seem to try, with a 'garland' and 'bracelets' and his 'pacing steed', which features an effective trimeter to display the galloping horse, or even sensual imagery of sex) and also connects her with nature. By connecting her with nature, Keats is further highlighting how the 'Belle Dame' is unpredictable and potentially unforgiving.
She also appears to have this otherworldly power. She is a 'faery's child', which tells us she may possess magical powers. Even if this is just a metaphor, the character must have an air of other-worldliness to be compared with magical creatures. In addition, she is said to speak in 'language strange'. This could be implying that she is speaking French, that she speaks some indecipherable mystical or language or even perhaps that she is lying to the knight. The latter is reinforced by the cut-off rhythm in the following line, '"I love thee true"', which suggests there is not a fullness to her love or, like the line, it is not complete. This is also made more potent by the 'starved lips' that warn the knight in his dreams, as this could suggest she does not kiss them or give them love.
Tuberculosis was a threatening force throughout 19th century England and many died because of it, which relates to the knights surroundings, where everything is dead- 'no birds sing', 'the sedge has withered'. Furthermore, the depiction of authoritarian figures who are also 'pale' in the 10th stanza provides more evidence for this interpretation. The adjective 'pale' is repeated three times to further drive the subtext of tuberculor illness. This could also be a comment on the poor mental health of the figures of authority at the time. In 1811, King George III was declared incurably insane; at the time, Keats could not have made a direct comment on the matter without ending up in serious trouble ,but through an indirect metaphor, it could be a subversive comment.
England in the early 19th century, like the knight, was in a bad state. A large percentage of the population were dying through illness and poor standards of life and there was great political and civil unrest. On the 11th May 1912, the Conservative prime minister Spencer Perceval was shot and remains the only ever British prime minister to be assassinated. We can even interpret the 'Belle Dame' as France, or more specifically the French revolution. The French revolution seemed to many, at first, to be an amazing, beautiful act of liberty; the beginning of a new era. Yet, unfortunately for poets like Keats, this era was one of science, industry and rejection of imagination.
This leads on to my second point, as another interpretation could be that Keats is not referring to the physical death surrounding England at the time, but more-so the death of imagination and creativity. Keats felt that nothing in the early 1800's could inspire his imagination and fantasies. He believed the older poets and their works that influenced him received a greater impact from their surroundings to present these grand, fantastical stories of quests. Therefore, perhaps Keats is commenting with his protagonist that is there is nothing to inspire the poet, there can be no imagination to produce quests and stories for the knight and so, instead, he is merely 'loitering'.
Finally, 'La Belle Dame' is presented as a powerful figure in this poem. Firstly, her name is in French, which meant that many readers would not have understood and this would have shrouded her in mystery. She has power over the us, the reader, already because she captures our interest; we want to solve her mystery. Her eyes are described as 'wild'. This foreshadows her inability to be domesticated by the knight (who does seem to try, with a 'garland' and 'bracelets' and his 'pacing steed', which features an effective trimeter to display the galloping horse, or even sensual imagery of sex) and also connects her with nature. By connecting her with nature, Keats is further highlighting how the 'Belle Dame' is unpredictable and potentially unforgiving.
She also appears to have this otherworldly power. She is a 'faery's child', which tells us she may possess magical powers. Even if this is just a metaphor, the character must have an air of other-worldliness to be compared with magical creatures. In addition, she is said to speak in 'language strange'. This could be implying that she is speaking French, that she speaks some indecipherable mystical or language or even perhaps that she is lying to the knight. The latter is reinforced by the cut-off rhythm in the following line, '"I love thee true"', which suggests there is not a fullness to her love or, like the line, it is not complete. This is also made more potent by the 'starved lips' that warn the knight in his dreams, as this could suggest she does not kiss them or give them love.
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