preview

Spiritual Being In The Poem Christabel

Decent Essays

When you think of a “spiritual being” you think of a few specific characteristics. I often think of things like powerful, scary, maybe even sneaky when I hear spiritual being. Normally when they are present in a situation, strange things seem to happen. They often seem to have a weird effect on things like animals or other objects like water or fire. In the poem “Christabel” I see lots of characteristics and incidents where Geraldine appears as a spiritual being. Not only does she have strange “powers” but I believe she casts a spell on Christabel the night she invited Geraldine to stay with her in her chamber. After Christabel meets Geraldine and invites her to come back with her they venture on back towards the castle. One of the first things I noticed that made me believe Geraldine was a spiritual being was when they approached the court. As they began to pass over the court Geraldine became weak and pained. The poem reads “The lady sank, belike through pain,” It almost seems as if she can’t cross over the water without becoming weak. So, Christabel lifts her up and carries her across and over the court. Next the poem reads “Over the threshold of the gate: Then the lady rose again, And moved, as she were not in pain.” After passing over the court Geraldine appeared perfectly fine again and no longer weak. After passing over the court they start off again and on their way they pass a dog. In the poem the dog is referred to as a “mastiff bitch”. “The mastiff old did not

Get Access