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Summary An analysis of the AQA selected tragedy John Keats' poems
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Analysing in depth the selected poems of John Keats
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English Literature 1 - Paper One - TragedyTerms:
- Anagnorisis: the moment in which the protagonist recognises their tragic error and the reality
of their situation.
- The Catastrophe: the action which completes the play’s narrative.
- Catharsis: the emotional release of the audience at the end of the tragedy.
- Existentialism: the belief that man is lost in a world of meaningless choices and dead-end
decisions.
- Foil: a character whose situation parallels that of the protagonist.
- Hamartia: the action which serves as a character’s tragic flaw.
- Hubris: excessive pride as a flaw.
- Pathe mathe: ‘through suffering comes understanding.’
- Pathos: the moment of the play which excites the audience’s pity.
- Peripeteia: the moment in which the plays direct heads into a conflicting direction.
- Providence: actions are preordained patterns which predetermine the good as the winners
and the bad as the losers. The universe is guiding the narrative into the best possible
outcome.
- Stoicism: an individual's actions are a traditional response to their determined fates and as a
result, prevent their emotions from possessing their minds.
La Belle Dame sans Merci
In the poem, the unidentified narrator in not omniscient which fundamentally enables said voice to be
interpreted as a device which provokes the unfolding of the narrative’s story as the Knight responds to
the narrators questioning of “oh what can ail thee, knight at arms alone and palely loitering.”
Since the poems publishing, critics have been conflicted regarding who this voice may represent, with
some believing Keats himself, and others the personification of death taunting the Knight by forcing
him to explain his downfall. The verb “loitering” is significant in characterising the Knight as an
aimless individual with no objectives and purpose, an idea which is contextually ironic and tragic
when considering the symbolic representation of a knight who personified both high status and
bravery. This is tragic as it enables the reader to understand that natural order has been disrupted with
men of high power and status, left alone and isolated with no identity or belonging to a world which
he was once noble too. As “the sedge is withered from the lake”, Keats introduces the reader to the
awareness that the poem is set in winter, a device of pathetic fallacy as the coldness and brutality of
the season reflects the vulnerability to which the Knight is exposed too. The pacing of this verse and
the previous is slow which creates a heavy line with a dragging rhyme - further reflecting the mood of
the poem and the situation of the Knight as time slows down enabling the prolonging of his suffering.
“And no birds sing”, this line establishes La Belle as not capturing the archetypical romantic ideas to
which is traditionally associated with the romantic movement, as nature lacks harmony and presence.
This line demonstrates the setting's lack of life which promotes how natural order has been disrupted
as nature has seemingly died, however, as the poem progresses it can be argued that nature is merely
hiding from the Knight who suggestively tried to taint the wildness of La Belle, who embodied the
characteristics of nature.
The narrator expresses his sympathy for the Knight stating “o what can ail thee knight at arms, so
haggard and so woe-begone?” A quotation to which is contextually tragic when considering how he
recognises the suffering of the Knight, whose situation symbolically foils that of his own as he to was
plagued by physical sickness as a result of his diagnosis of tuberculosis which was slowly killing him,
,as well as endured emotional suffering as a result of his socially unacceptable relationship with Fanny
Brawne, who like La Belle, also was known to abuse Keats’ trust by flirting with other men. The
narrator attempts to brighten the Knight’s suffering by encouraging him to find emotional release in
the joys of nature which surrounds him such as “the squirrel's granary is full.” A metaphor which
represents hope as the natural world begins to evolve from the coldness which was introduced to the
reader in the previous stanza. This can be seen as characterising the Knight’s blindness to the joys of
life as he allows himself to become alienated by suffering.
“I see a lily on thy brow” is a significant quotation as traditionally, lilies were seen as being a symbol
of death due to how their white appearance resembled the pale complexion of the ill or deceased. This
suggests the inevitability of the Knight’s death, and ironically of Keats own. Within the poem, it can
be suggested that withering is a motif demonstrating the fragility of humanity in comparison to the
superiority of nature for which is forever evolving and everlasting.
The Knight credits his ill troubles on “a lady in the meads, full beautiful, a faery's child.” This
quotation embraces the poem’s mediaeval time setting as during this period, many believed that
beautiful children were gifts by faerys to unite both the natural and human world. However, it can be
argued that this quotation foreshadows her villainy, as it can be suggested that she bears similarities to
a lorelei which was the German mystical equivalent to a siren, who would lure men into the meads.
“Her hair was long” a quotation which Keats uses to characterise La Belle as somebody who
personifies wildness and freedom as she wears her hair loose despite how this was associated as a sign
of sexuality by society who believed this hairstyle was too intimate. Furthermore, “her foot was
light” a quotation which further depicts her vulnerability as somebody fragile whose light frame
restricts her from performing defence. However, despite this having weak connotations, it is these feet
which are fundamentally responsible for her escape against the Knight, demonstrating how feminime
weakness can be interpreted as a strength. Keats finalises her characterisation stating “and her eyes
were wild”, a quotation which would have warned the victorian reader of her nature due to the
stereotypicality which wild eyes held in literature as being features of dangerous women - an idea
evident when considering Wordworth’s poem ‘her eyes are wild.’ Furthermore, this is ironic when
considering the saying that the eyes are the window of the soul, as although she appears beautiful and
angelic, internally she represents a sense of chaos to which foreshadows the tragedy of the poem by
raising suspense of the inevitability to what this wildness more represents.
However, upon reading the poem, it is essential to remember that the tale is being told from a singular
perspective which ultimately enables La Belle’s voice to be neglected. In quotations such as “I made
a garlet for her head, and bracelets too, and fragrant zone” it can be interpreted that it is actually
the Knight who represents the poem’s villain and not La Belle, as he desperately attempts to taint her
individualism and establish her as his property by granting her gifts which symbolically binds her to
him. Although from his perspective, this characterises his admiration for her, when considering how
she may consider this act, it could be interpreted as objectification - an idea supported by the
emphasism of her “fragrant zone” which creates a sexual desire. He states “she look’d at me as she
did love, and made sweet moan”, a quotation which suggests he interpreted this as a sign of
pleasure, however, in actuality, could have been a moan of discontent.
“I set her on my pacing steed” a quotation to which establishes the Knight as possessing a dominant
role in regards to La Belle who is further objectified as she is “set” rather than places herself on his
steed. The verb suggests that this exchange was not consensual as he placed her there demonstrating a
sense of possession - furthermore, this can be seen as further likely when considering how her voice
, has been silenced, preventing her from expressing any objection. This action can be interpreted as
marking the hamartia of the knight as he taints La Belle despite her personification of freedom, the
action of this ultimately being responsible for her abandonment of him to which is responsible for his
downfall. “For sidelong would she bend and sing a faery’s song” is a significant quotation as it
suggests that she is unable to look at the Knight straight - something which could be interpreted as
being responsible for either her potential deception as she is unwilling to look at the man she will
betray, or contrastingly, due to the fear which she holds for him which prevents her from looking at
the man who is frightening her, when considering this approach, it could be suggested that her singing
is not influenced by joy, but more so her fear as she cries for help. Her singing enables the Knight to
become fixated only by La Belle (“and nothing else saw all day long”) enabling her to be interpreted
as a siren-like mystical figure placing her spell over him.
Keats once again uses pathetic fallacy to reflect the mood of the Knight in the quotation “she found
me roots of relish sweet, and honey wild”, where the imagery of spring reflects the warmth in which
this sensual relationship is creating which creates a juxtaposition of the coldness of the poem’s
beginning and closure. The audience is exposed to the weak credibility of the Knight’s perspective
when he states “and sure in language strange” which suggests he is considering whether his
retelling is faithful to what actually occurred, almost suggesting his human vulnerability as he tries to
reassure himself regarding their relationship. The reader is further presented to the idea that in this
poem, it is not the Knight who personifies innocence, but contrastingly La Belle when considering the
quotation that her language was strange, an idea which is tragic as he claims to understand La Belle’s
intentions whilst nevertheless being unable to identify her language - enabling him to interpret her
actions and words as he pleases, such as her supposed quotation “I love thee true.” The use of
language is tragic as it enables another barrier to be established in the couple’s romance reminding the
reader that both individuals belong to two separate worlds which make their fates incompatible with
one another, and therefore foreshadows the inevitability of their separation. The quotation “I love
thee true” however could be interpreted as La Belle desperately attempting to convince the Knight
that she does love him as he loves her.
In the quotation “she took me to her elfin grot”, the power dynamic of the two protagonists is
exchanged as La Belle now represents the superior figure as she guides the Knight into her territory
which grants her full control. Arguably this represents the disruption of natural order as traditionally
men embodied a superiority against women in society as the husbands and fathers who ultimately
possessed their daughters and wives as property. However, when considering her personification of
wildness, suggestively she is dominant as a faery’s child as although she is a woman, she is a mythical
creature and not a human. The quotation “and there she weeped, and sigh’d full sore” captures
Keats’ belief of negative capability as her motives project mystery as to why she would bring the
Knight to her grot just so she could cry. Her crying may suggest her guilt at knowing she will betray
him by leaving, her grief at knowing that they cannot belong to one another as a result of the
contraction of their worlds or crying as a result of her own suffering.
“And there I shut her wild wild eyes with kisses four” demonstrates how although she remains
passive, he is nevertheless fixated by the illusion of the situation and the control which he holds over
her - tragic in providing him with a fake sense of security. The fact he shuts her eyes is tragic as it
further emphasises the idea that their relationship has been misinterpreted by the Knight, as her eyes
remain open despite their kissing suggesting discontent as she refuses to enjoy the moment naturally.
Furthermore, this action demonstrates his attempt to possess her by physically closing her eyes despite
her natural resistance. In a letter to Georgiana Keats’, Keats explained that the reasoning for the four
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