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Essay / The dark view of love in La Belle Dame Sans Merci by John Keats
Keats is able to represent love in many different lights throughout the poem by connecting ideas and meanings, such as symbolism . Its different uses of structure in the poem, considered unusual for a ballad, also have connotations of how love affects the main character. Unlike other poets, Keats creates an overall tone in the poem that raises questions such as "Is night's desire more coveted than love?" " This then leads to the idea of negative tones that run throughout the poem through the implications of darker intentions behind the relationship formed. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In the first stanza, Keats gives insight into the knight's feelings, he is described as "alone and lolling palely." The repetition of the word "pale" throughout the poem implies that it is a negative state and could describe it as being sickly. This idea of the depletion of one's health is again in the third stanza, with Keats using flowers as symbolism for one's health. Lilies are used to describe one's complexion: "I see a Lilly on your forehead." This flower often associated with funerals could mean that the night is on the verge of death. This is further supported in line 11, "on the cheeks a faded rose / Fades as quickly." With a rose often symbolizing love, this could imply that one's love fades with one's life. Viewing it as a physical description, Keats very clearly depicts the dying knight, the "rose" being imagery for red cheeks. This further intensifies the encounter between the knight and the woman, implying that she brings him back from the brink of death. However, by depicting the knight in such a desperate position, he manages to intensify the contrast between the knight and the lady. Stanzas one and four are linked together because of this contrast. While the knight is described as "alone" and "pale", she is described as "all fair" and "her hair was long, her foot light/and her eyes wild". These qualities were those of a stereotypical perfect woman. Additionally, because of the contrast, she appears as something new and perhaps an exciting prospect for the knight. This is further reinforced in stanza six, line 21, when he writes “and nothing was seen all day.” This implies that because he has her in his life, nothing else is necessary - perhaps the exact definition of love we recognize today. The idea that the knight's perspective is changed or clarified because of the lady is further reinforced when we look at the rhyming pattern. Usually a ballad follows an AB AB pattern, but this only applies in stanzas in which the knight is accompanied by the lady. This could infer that his life is easier with her because of the way the poem flows when spoken aloud. Additionally, the use of commas in the fourth stanza to describe the woman could imply a feeling of endless positive qualities, as commas usually represent a continuation. Unlike the language and structure, the overall tone of the poem could depict a darker side of love. Due to Keat's constant use of euphemisms, there is a sexual tone that takes precedence throughout the poem. The previously mentioned “ideal woman” contained depictions of “wild eyes” and “long hair.” These two terms were often used instead of describing a woman as sexual. For this reason, we see that the..