La belle Dame sans Merci - John Keats

Squirrels granary

Squirrels granary

________ is full: "Metaphor for the abundance of the natural world as an attempt to lighten the mood.

point of transformation

Gloam: "Archaic word for twilight; the ________ from day to night.

Withereth

________: "Repetition of withering which becomes a leitmotif emphasising the dead and decaying landscape and the fate of the fooled knight.

emotional state

Haggard: "Sensitivity to the knights physical and ________.

sweet moan

Made ________: "Suggestive of sexuality or spiritual love.

fresh consciousness

There is a change in tense (past to present) as if the speaker moved himself into a(n) ________.

Honey wild

________: "Symbolises natural sweetness.

Elfin

________: "Adds to the womans uncanny nature.

Ail thee

________: "Uses old fashioned language, typical of medieval romances which creates a sense of pity for the knight.

Manna dew

________: "God gave people manna when the fled Egypt and were wandering in the wilderness.

Wild wild

________: "Repetition of wild emphasises the danger of the woman.

"palely"

Indicative of poor physical health

"no birds sing"

Symbolises a lack of life and joy

"ail thee"

Uses old fashioned language, typical of medieval romances which creates a sense of pity for the knight

"haggard"

Sensitivity to the knights physical and emotional state

"squirrels granary is full"

Metaphor for the abundance of the natural world as an attempt to lighten the mood

"lily on thy brow"

The lily is white like the knights face and also a traditional funeral flower, suggesting death is near

"moist and fever-dew"

Relation to water again, has the woman induced the knights sickness

"fading rose"

A rose is a metaphor for love, "fading" implies that the knight felt a love so strong that one could see it seeping from his body

"withereth"

Repetition of withering which becomes a leitmotif emphasising the dead and decaying landscape and the fate of the fooled knight

"I met a lady in the meads"

The knight uses the same language as the other speaker which makes it hard to tell them apart

"hair was long"

In the time this is set, long hair was a sign of sensuality and sexuality

"eyes were wild"

Emphasises the idea of the womans other-worldly enchantment

"I made a garland for her head, / And bracelets too, and fragrant zone"

a string of euphemisms for sexual acts

"as she did love"

Ambiguity about whether she looked at him whilst being in love or she looked at him as if being in love

"made sweet moan"

Suggestive of sexuality or spiritual love

"sat her on my pacing steed"

Another potential euphemism for sex

"nothing else saw all day long"

The knight has emotionally moved into another world

"sidelong"

This suggests the woman does not face the knight, which is symbolic of someone being deceptive and dishonest

"faerys song"

This could be a sirens song which is destructive and fatal

"roots of relish sweet"

The plants are not typically found in Winter, suggesting the woman gave him feelings of warmth and Spring

"honey wild"

Symbolises natural sweetness

"manna-dew"

God gave people manna when the fled Egypt and were wandering in the wilderness

"sure"

Implies the knight is reassuring himself of his truthfulness

"language strange she said"

Indication that something is amiss; she speaks a mystery language that he somehow understands

"She took me to her Elfin grot"

In her territory, she takes control and the knight is now prey

"Elfin"

Adds to the womans uncanny nature

"there I shut her wild wild eyes"

He is under the impression that he is in control even though she is

"wild wild"

Repetition of wild emphasises the danger of the woman

"With kisses four"

The knight believes he can solve the problems with the relationship between him and the woman

"she lullèd me asleep"

The knight is now the object of the sentence and the lady becomes dominant

"dreamed" / "latest dream" / "dreamt"

Repetition highlights the strange and unreal quality of the time spent with the woman

"cold hill side"

This is not where he fell asleep, only where his dream is

"pale kings and princes" / "Pale warriors, death pale"

Paleness links back to the knights complexion

"starved lips"

Shows possible desperation

"gloam"

Archaic word for twilight; the point of transformation from day to night

"And I awoke and found me here, / On the cold hills side,"

Repetition from earlier stanza (9) which gives the poem a cyclical feeling

"sojourn"

Means to temporarily reside somewhere

"palely loitering"

The last stanza reiterates the first (cyclical structure), the woman overcomes the knight

"Through the sedge is withered from the lake, / And no birds sing"

More repetition showing a lack of life and joy