Write the Critical Appreciation of the poem- La Belle Dame Sans Merci?

Answer 1

Actually, this is one of the poems i have been studying at school. In my opinion, the narrator is asking the questions about the knight and his terrible day, then the knight is answering them and is describing what he sees. Finally, the questions are answered. This is a dream, dreamt by the knight. he is getting seduced and then tortured. There is no right or wrong answer, but in my opinion this is what i think the poem is about.!

Answer 2

Critical Appreciation:

At first reading, the Ballad, "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" seems to be a simple enough poem, in the medieval mode, with obvious Romantic elements and a straight-forward narrative of a knight bewitched by a beautiful fairy maiden who leaves him disconsolate after a brief interlude of pleasure. He seems to be one more knight, or hero, of old tales, like the spirits that appear before him, victims to the magic of this cruel, magical woman without any mercy. On another level, it can be read as a story of unrequited love, with a cold beloved, the fairy-maiden, jilting her all-too-human lover, the chivalrous knight who still continues to pine away for her and owe her fealty.

Of course, such a reading or understanding of the poem would be quite okay, and in keeping with the ostensible tone and imagery of the work. We could easily compare the knight and the cruel fairy-maiden with the hero and heroine of "The Eve of St.Agnes"-there, love is requited as both young lovers are true and loyal and good human beings; in the latter case, the poor knight is a symbol of that typical medieval strain where a lover, although chivalrous and true, is left to wander about in eternal sorrow and separation through the cruelty of a woman or a magical creature as we encounter here. It is also interesting to compare this poem with another long narrative poem of Keats's, "Lamia", where a similar magical creature is also about to take advantage of an innocent, devoted young man, when he is saved at the last minute by the wisdom of his teacher/mentor.

Yet, "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" is not just a narrative poem, like "The Eve of St.Agnes", nor is its message or intent so simple. There seems to be much more being suggested, behind the allegorical/symbolic story of this poem.

Various critics and scholars have read and analyzed the allegorical-symbolic matter of this poem in different ways. We can list and discuss these simply, as follows:

1. On one level, possibly, "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" can be interpreted as a poem about Life and Death. The fairy-maiden/Belle Dame is thus a symbol of Death itself, which enthralls the knight, who is 'alive', a symbol of 'life/living'. He is mesmerized and enchanted by Death or drawn to it. Can this point of view be reconciled to Keats's life at this point in time? It could be-in 1818, Keats had gone on his famous 'walking-tour' through parts of England and Scotland, and returned with a sore throat which precipitated his hereditary disease. By February 1819, he was quite unwell himself and realised his fatality, when he began to spit up blood. "I am done for", he told a friend at this time. His friends tried to make things more comfortable for him, as there was no real cure for consumption or T.B back then, and rest, good food and clean air were the only treatment given to patients. While at Hempstead he had already met Fanny Brawne in late-Autumn 1818 and his emotions were already stirred up by this meeting although he tried to keep away from her. Later, Fanny also began to reciprocate some of his sentiments but by that time (Jan-Feb.1819) Keats was already beginning to realize that he was doomed and this must have set about some upheaval within him, love, the promise of life and joy on the one hand, and his dread disease on the other, which threatened to end it all. It would be natural for him to feel that Life itself was in 'thrall' as it were, to Death; the idea of it must have been strong in his mind, obsessively, even. It could have inspired a poem of this sort, or introduced subconscious elements in it, where his depression and sadness find symbolic expression in such a way.

2. The poem can also be seen as a comment on Love and Loyalty, broadly speaking. The Belle Dame represents false love, the enthrallment that one feels for such, but which is not 'true' and leaves one at the last minute. Whereas the knight stands for loyalty and trustfulness and chivalry to the final degree. Here, it would be useful to take up once again the comparison between Madeleine and Porphyro, in "The Eve of St.Agnes" (Jan.1819, Chichester and Standsted) and the knight and cruel fairy-maiden of "La Belle Dame Sans Merci". We have seen that ostensibly, the idea for the latter was born out of the reference to it n the former. Perhaps, then, Keats also wanted to portray a difference/comparison between the type(s) of love i.e., the true and devoted love that found happiness in the end, as in the case of Madeleine and Porphyro and the 'false', illusionary love in "La Belle Dame Sans Merci"? This is also a valid consideration and the poem could also reflect such a comparison.

3. If we consider symbolic dimensions of the poem, another possibility linked to the above two interpretations is that it could just be a poem about unfulfilled hope and promise-of love and desire, of ideals, hopes, dreams, expectations etc. This has been suggested by MacNeice, and bears a lot of weight when we consider all the aspects. Keats's life and his art, therefore, would seem to merge very skillfully and beautifully and poignantly here.

Another interesting thing to note here, in this poem, is the direct influence of Spenser, among Keats's favourite poets, along with the likes of Shakespeare and Milton. We are indebted to Prof.Gittings for this insight, in his landmark research in John Keats: The Living Year (London, 1954), where he shows us that Keats had been reading Spenser's Faerie Queen before writing this poem in April 1819; like 'false Florimel' in Spenser's poem, the Belle Dame is also unreal and disappears like a phantom. The false Florimel also met a knight 'upon a courser strong' who carried her off, so quite obviously, Keats must have been inspired by some elements in Spenser's work which helped him find a reference point to launch off on his own imaginative flight.

In the end, it is worth remembering that Keats was a poet, first and foremost and all his life he had struggled to achieve a certain lofty standard by which he could be counted among the greatest poets of English. The tragedy of his life and its impact on his poetry is there but it should not be exaggerated above his basic creative urge. Whatever the 'reasons' involved, Keats here managed to produce a beautiful ballad, of a highly lyrical tone, with considerable thought-provoking ideas and symbols behind the simple medieval story and setting.

Answer 3

It is a folk ballad meaning that it is linked with the country and embraces nature.