Analysis of Keats' Captivating and Dismal Ballad "La Belle Dame Sans Merci"

The Knight’s striking military career is considered prestigious and esteemed. The Knight has fought in “fifteen mortal battles” (Chaucer 4) all over the world. He fought in Prussia, Lithuania, Granada, North Africa, Anatolia, and Russia. His devotion to his career brings attention to the significance of fighting for the Knight, “it is during his violent interactions with others, that his loyalty to the knightly code should be most apparent” (n.a. par. 2). The Knight’s devotion to his work in the military can be assumed by how Chaucer describes his appearance when he begins his pilgrimage. In contrast to his son, the Squire, who wears fine clothing “embroidered like a meadow bright and full of freshest flowers, red and white” (Chaucer 5), the Knight, Chaucer reveals, is not “gaily dressed” (Chaucer 5) which divulges that

The similarities between the poems lie in their abilities to utilize imagery as a means to enhance the concept of the fleeting nature that life ultimately has and to also help further elaborate the speaker’s opinion towards their own situation. In Keats’ poem, dark and imaginative images are used to help match with the speaker’s belief that both love and death arise from fate itself. Here, Keats describes the beauty and mystery of love with images of “shadows” and “huge cloudy symbols of a high romance” to illustrate his belief that love comes from fate, and that he is sad to miss out on such an opportunity when it comes time for his own death.

From the first few lines Keats alludes to the great romances of the previous ages as opposed to William Shakespeare's great tragedies. While it could be discerned that Keats is referring to his poem

Keats’ father Benjamin worked as a waiter at a coffee shop in Greenwich Village and was therefore all too familiar with the struggle to make a better life for you and your family. Although he had a great appreciation for Keats’ work, he discouraged him from making it a career for fear that his son would not be able to support himself. On one occasion he went so far ¬¬ to purchase tubes of oil paint and then gave them to Keats under the false pretense that a starving artist had traded them for a bowl of soup. Fortunately for future readers of his works, Jack was not deterred from his passion for art. When Keats graduated from high school he was awarded the senior class medal for excellence in art. In a cruel twist of fate, his father Benjamin died of a heart attack the day before he was set to receive the award. Although his father never saw Jack receive the award, he learned of his support when asked to identify his father’s body. As he checked his father’s wallet after his death he found several preserved article clippings of all of his achievements. His father was proud of Keats and his work and remained a supporter until his last breath.

The sadness in La Belle Dame Sans Merci is unexpected, whereas the sadness in When We Two Parted is anticipated right from the start. Both authors express emotions well and both leave an impression with the reader, but Keats expresses more varied types of feelings.

This leads directly to the most important characteristic of the knight: his morals, his ethics, his demeanour. It is said "That fro the time that he first began/To riden out, he loved chivalrye, /Trouthe and honour, freedom and curteisye." (lines 44-46); also that "... though he were worthy, he was wis,/And of his port as meeke as is a maide." (lines 68-69)

The knight is very courteous and respectful. He doesn’t show off, he doesn’t boast. He dresses like the other town folk.dirty old cotton tunic stained by his armour.he showed the towns peasants that just cause you are well respected you do not have to boast your respect and power through clothing.

John Keats’s poem begins with “when I have fears that I may cease to be”, bluntly asking what would happened if he died today. He asks himself

The Knight as described by Chaucer, is a man of great stature. Like other knights of this time, he was usually accompanied by royalty and “had embarked with many a noble host” (Canterbury 62). The Knight was a far cry from the corrupt characters in this tale because unlike them, he did not abuse his power. The attire of the Knight proved that he not only worked hard but also lived modestly. Although he was wealthy, his cloaks did not readily support that fact, for “He wore a fustian tunic stained and dark” (Canterbury 77). He was so admired for his chivalrous nature that many referred to him as “a true, perfect gentle-knight” (Canterbury

Readers of Keats’s story begin to realize that the fear of a young death is a demon that haunts us all. This was Keats’s goal as a romantic writer: to connect with the reader, to portray his ideas in the form of art, and to make the reader see from his point of view. With his use of colorful figurative language, such as repetition, imagery, and personification, Keats accomplishes his goal. The reason that Keats is so successful in painting a clear picture is because he “uses his imagination to write” (King). By writing his poem in the form of a “Shakespearean sonnet consisting of three quatrains” (King), Keats, like any great artist, clearly states the point he is trying to make. Apprehension of a young demise is a plague that haunts us all. In “When I Have Fears That I May Cease to be,” Keats takes our hands and reassures us that we are not

Consider how the Gothic elements present in The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter and the Selected Poems of John Keats affect the presentation of women within the texts. In the course of your response make reference to how Dracula by Mary Shelley has illuminated your understanding. Gothic literature has the tendency to portray women as one of two archetypes; the ‘predator’ or the ‘victim’. The first is often shown to be the temptress of the story, ethereal and deadly; she helps portray the pain/pleasure paradox that has come to be synonymous with Gothic literature.

The imaginative speaker in John Keats’s “Ode to a Nightingale” embarks on a journey with a nightingale and connects his own life to the bird’s. His responses to the nightingale changes as he questions human misery, ways to escape cruel reality, and even the finality of death. Furthermore, these dynamic responses are illustrated by the diction, imagery, and tone found in the poem while the narrator plunges into an expedition of self-discovery. Initially, the speaker desires for wine to transition him from being burdened by the world to experiencing the freedom and carelessness alongside the nightingale in the night sky.

The twenty-four old romantic poet John Keats, “Ode on a Grecian Urn” written in the spring of 1819 was one of his last of six odes. That he ever wrote for he died of tuberculosis a year later. Although, his time as a poet was short he was an essential part of The Romantic period (1789-1832). His groundbreaking poetry created a paradigm shift in the way poetry was composed and comprehended. Indeed, the Romantic period provided a shift from reason to belief in the senses and intuition. “Keats’s poem is able to address some of the most common assumptions and valorizations in the study of Romantic poetry, such as the opposition between “organic culture” and the alienation of modernity”. (O’Rourke, 53) The irony of Keats’s Urn is he likens

The two poems, “When I Am Dead, My Dearest” by Christina Rossetti and “When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be” by John Keats are both revolving around the topic of death. Although the poems could not be more different, for both poets have two incredibly different views of death. Christina Rossetti seems to want her death to be a happy time, to remember all the good memories instead of mourning over the lost time, while John Keats poem pertains to being rushed, not having enough time in life to use. He fears his death will come sooner than he would prefer. He does not have enough time to participate in all the activities that he would enjoy. The author of this essay will compare and contrast both “When I Am Dead, My Dearest” by Christina Rossetti and “When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be” by John Keats, because the two poems are similar in topic but could not be more different in perspective, this is shown through examining the theme, tone, and imagery that are presented within the two poems.

This story tells me that Chaucer holds the knight in high regard. As the creator of this character and his tale, he displays his fondness of the characteristics which he attributes to the knight. Chaucer uses many great adjectives to describe the knight in the general