The Poetry of John Keats revision document
For the poems: Lamia, La Belle dame sans Merci, Isabella or the pot of basil,
and The Eve of St Agnes
Quizlet for learning quotes is available at: https://tinyurl.com/yc24eaez
Password: Keats27
Themes (AO1)
Gender
-In Isabella, the patriarchal society stops her from being able to be with who she wants.
-Men are often portrayed as predatory in the poems, The Brothers, Porphyro, the knight, etc.
-Women sometime break gender stereotypes, but this usually end badly for the character
-Other female characters are portrayed as naïve and innocent which leads to their downfall.
Imagination vs logic
-Most present in Lamia, Keats had beliefs around ‘negative capability’, that logic and overthinking
stopped humans from being able to appreciate the beauty in the world
Deception
-Many characters deceive other characters, such as Porphyro, Lamia, The Brothers, The knight / la
belle
-In La Belle, dependent on interpretations, characters deceive one another. The knight may deceive
himself because of his desperation for love
-Porphyro deceives Madeline in order to make her fall in love with him, and she does, so are her
feeling false?
-Lamia deceives Lycius, but pays the price unlike Porphyro. The deception is found out by logic
-The brothers deceive their sister in saying that Lorenzo left. This makes the end result worse for her
as it drives her mad
Hubris
-Many characters in Keats- poetry show excessive pride
-All characters in Isabella show hubris, Isabella for believing she wouldn’t get caught and the
brothers for believing they owned their sister, their hubris may come from their profession
-The knight shows hubris as he believes that la belle loves him equally
-Lycius’ hubris is his hamartia and leads to his death as he wants to show off Lamia
Innocence
-Innocence shown as a foolish trait, in Keats poetry often associated with women
-Isabella, Madeline, and Lorenzo all show innocence can lead to suffering at the hands of others
-Seen as a hamartia for some characters, and a result of privilege not teaching them lessons
Love
-Love is shown as powerful and dangerous
-Some characters use it to manipulate others
-The only true love in the poems, Isabella and Lorenzo ends in despair and madness
-False love is often portrayed as only ending in disaster, Keats was known to be cautious around love
himself
Power
-Keats often focused on undeserved power of characters such as The Brothers
-Characters who have less power often try to climb the social ladder, such as Lorenzo and Porphyro.
-Characters who outstep the hierarchy often meet bad consequences
, -Linked to hubris
-Characters such as Lamia, take advantage of the power
Death
-Death often showed not to be final in Keats’ poetry, such as in La Belle and Isabella
-In TEOSA, death shows the rise of the new generation, as the older characters such as the
beadsman die
Supernatural
-Used to deceive characters into doing what they wouldn’t, such as Lamia
-May have been used by La Belle to deceive the knight
-Linked to dreams, Isabella dreams of Lorenzo, Madeline believes she will dream of her future lover
-Characters who use the supernatural, often shown to be unaware of its dangers
Isolation
-Negatively affects characters such as Isabella and the knight
-Seen through setting choices
-Ties into innocence theme, and not learning lessons
Characters (AO1)
La Belle
-Mysterious women who gets into a relationship with the knight. Is unclear whether she manipulates
the knight, or it was his fault. Leaves him, may have used supernatural.
The Knight
-Noble who stumbles across la belle. After she leaves him, lies in isolation. Some interpret that it is
his fault, as he believed his feelings towards la belle were reciprocated when they weren’t because
of his pride. Seen as controlling.
Isabella
-Rich sister of industrialists, in love with Lorenzo, but not allowed to be together. However, is naïve
to not realise her worth to her brothers, and when Lorenzo is killed dies in madness.
Lorenzo
-One of the brother’s employees who falls in love with Isabella. Is killed by the brothers, but then
comes back in a dream to reveal what happened.
The Brothers
Industrialists who wish to sell their sister off to a rich noble. Kill Lorenzo when they find out about
their relationship and try to cover it up to their sister.
Lamia
-Monster/woman hybrid, who falls in love with Lycius and uses the supernatural to make him fall in
love with her. After Hermes makes her a woman, she plans to get married to Lycius, however is
caught out by Apollonius. Hamartia is vanity as wanted to be seen as a woman as she believes Lycius
won’t love her otherwise.
Lycius
Youth who Lamia falls in love with. Hubris means wants to show off Lamia, this causes his downfall
as his old teacher realises Lamia’s true identity.
Apollonius
Sage and wise teacher, who represents logic and reveals Lamia’s true identity. Causes Lamia’s
disappearance and Lycius’ death.
Madeline
