Introduction to poetry A short story condensed “from concentrate” – just add the water of your imagination compressed, distilled, dense, nutritive value “Condensed by contraction of volume, with proportional increase of strength.” without superfluity, excess

1. POETRY
AN INTRODUCTION

2. POETRY
Introduction: What is poetry?

3. What Is Poetry?
O A short story condensed
O “from concentrate” – just add the water of
your imagination
O compressed, distilled, dense, nutritive value
O “Condensed by contraction of volume, with proportional
increase of strength.”
O without superfluity, excess
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4. What Is Poetry?
O Subjective
O Emotional
O Lyrical
O (expresses thoughts, feelings of a single speaker)
O Narrative
O Descriptive
O Argumentative
O Philosophical
O (waxes philosophic, embodies a philosophy)
O Metaphoric
O Dramatic
O Didactic
O (teaches, preaches, imparts knowledge)
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5. What Is Poetry?
O Good poetry:
O unique
O poetic elements (properly handled)
O consistent
O controlled
O form = function
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6. What Is Poetry?
O Bad poetry:
O mixed metaphors
O poor similes and metaphors
O (“my wife is a shirt” or “a poem is a bra”)
O poor diction-word choice
O wrong word
O inappropriate word
O poor word choice
O wrong sound of a word
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7. What Is Poetry?
O Bad poetry:
O form does not equal function
O (style does not fit the content or message)
O inappropriate diction
O unsuitable style
O inapt form for the occasion
O inconsistent tone
O lack of control
O over language, emotion, vision
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8. What Is Poetry?
O Bad poetry:
O all emotion, no skill
O ad misericordiam
O sentimentality
O “bathos”:
O bad pathos
O when overly sentimental works move readers to laughter
instead of tears
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9. What Is Poetry?
O Bad poetry:
O creates unintended reaction
O unwittingly comic
O unintentionally antagonizing
O does not say what intended it to say/mean
O unconscious of double meanings
O too contrived
O (trying too hard, overly ingenious)
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10. What Is Poetry?
O Bad poetry:
O trite, banal, hackneyed
O lacks originality
O clichés, pat expressions, trite maxims, platitudes
O stale phrasing and imagery
O too derivative
O too much impersonation, imitation
O ripping off the Greats
O too aphoristic, preachy, didactic
O smacks of moral or intellectual superiority
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11. What Is Poetry?
O Bad poetry:
O only of private value
O so personal only the poet gets it
O the extreme opposite of banality
O self-indulgent, self-aggrandizing
O forced rhyme scheme
O come up with a word to make a rhyme
O rather than using a word that arises from the
thought/feeling)
O too mechanical
O metronome rhythm
O robotic, “by t’ book” 1
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12. POETRY
Introduction: Reading Poetry

13. How to Read Poetry
Notice PUNCTUATION:
O question marks, exclamation marks, period
O is a line (or more) a question or a statement
O adjust your inflection accordingly
Read to a COMMA or SEMICOLON or PERIOD:
O don't stop necessarily at the end of each line
O enjambment
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14. How to Read Poetry
Watch for “ROAD SIGNS”:
O watch for changes in logic or time
O notice conjunctions such as “but” or “yet”
O recognize transitions such as “then” or “meanwhile” or
“afterwards”
Read with a DICTIONARY at hand:
O look up
O key words
O words you do not recognize
O to note Connotation vs. Denotation
O look up various definitions, to note how different
meanings = different interpretations for the work
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15. How to Read Poetry
Sparingly and Cautiously use PERSONAL
experiences or personal tastes, attitudes,
beliefs:
O while your own views may, occasionally, shed light
on the work
O more often than not, they can lead to
misinterpretations and prejudices
O a “grain of salt”
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16. How to Read Poetry
Realize that the SPEAKER and the POET are
not necessarily one and the same:
O because poetry is by nature quite subjective and
emotional,
O we readers have a tendency to confuse the views
expressed in the poem with the views held by the
writer
O Disclaimer: “Please understand that the opinions,
views, and comments that appear in the poem will
not necessarily reflect the views held by the
poet….”
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17. How to Read Poetry
Notice the POETIC ELEMENTS employed:
O diction, symbolism, imagery, metaphors,
O similes, conceit, meter, rhythm, rhyme,
O stanza, persona, alliteration, assonance …
Note the RHYME SCHEME and RHYTHM:
O at the end of each line, note the rhyme with a
letter (a, b, c, …)
O read the poem aloud, noticing and enunciating
each piece of punctuation, to discover its rhythm
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18. How to Read Poetry
READ, PARAPHRASE, and then SUMMARIZE:
O read the poem through the first time
O then begin to put it into your own words, to
simplify its meaning (paraphrase)
O then summarize the entirety in a brief statement
relating to its meaning, message, “theme”
(summarize)
EXPLICATE and ANALYZE:
O explain each line of the poem; interpret line by line
(explicate)
O analyze the piece focusing on a single
literary/poetic element (analyze)
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19. POETRY
Introduction: Writing about Poetry

20. Writing About Poetry
I. LITERAL LEVEL
O Paraphrase: (parts)
O put lines into your own words
O simplify the language and syntax
O Summarize: (whole)
O the gist/thrust of the entire work
O succinct, short
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21. Writing About Poetry
II. ANALYTICAL LEVEL
O Explication:
O “close reading”
O line-by-line analysis
O tone, persona, imagery, symbolism, meter, …
O how the poetic elements work together to form a unified
whole & reveal hidden meanings
O Edgar Allan Poe’s “unity of effect”
O * arrive at a conclusion about the work
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22. Writing About Poetry
II. ANALYTICAL LEVEL
O Analysis:
O focus on a single poetic element
O note its relationship to the whole, especially in terms of
meaning
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23. Writing About Poetry
III. HOW to QUOTE POETRY
O Slash marks: word space slash space word
O Line numbers: end quote” space (line #).
O no “line” or “#,” just the numeral
O End punctuation: include ? or !, otherwise omit
O Ellipses: word space . space . space . space word
O Quoting multiple lines: block quote style
O indent all, no “ ”
O period at the end space (line #s)
O Brackets: when you change a letter or a word
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24. POETRY
Introduction: Poems

25. LANGSTON
HUGHES
25

26. LANGSTON HUGHES
O 1902-67
O Born in Joplin, Missouri
O Mexico, NYC, Paris
O Fiction, Drama, Essays, Biographies,
O Newspaper column
O In the Chicago Defender
O Jesse B. Simple (fictional Everyman)
O Poetry
O “Poet Laureate of the Negro Race”
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27. LANGSTON HUGHES
O “Harlem” (1951)
O re-titled in 1959 as “Dream Deferred”
O Which do you prefer?
O 11 lines
O 1st and last –
O questions
O 1-line stanzas
O Middle stanzas = 4 questions (possibilities)
O 2 lines, 2 lines, 1 line, 2 lines
O similes
O last = not a question
O Last line = italicized
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28. LANGSTON HUGHES
O “Harlem” (1951)
O Thesis Question:
O “What happens to a dream deferred?”
O Answers:
O dries up (raisin in sun)
O festers (sore)
O stinks (rotten meat)
O crusts over (sweet syrup)
O sags (heavy load)
O explodes (bomb)
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29. LANGSTON HUGHES
O “Harlem” (1951)
O Diction
O Dream =
O hopes, aspirations, wishes, talents
O delusion
O Fester =
O to rot, puss, ulcerate
O (ugly, repulsive images)
O Heavy load & sag =
O Burden
O Slaves carrying bales of cotton, supplies
O Raisin, sore, black meat, syrup, bomb =
O Black in color
O Syrup =
O Not so disgusting
O Why?
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30. LANGSTON HUGHES
O “Harlem” (1951)
O Title
O Harlem Renaissance (1920s)
O “New Negro Movement”
O post-Civil War, move North
O Harlem, Manhattan, New York
O @ 3 miles, @ 175,000 blacks
O WEB DuBois, Langston Hughes
O Countee Cullen, Zora Neale Hurston,
O Jazz Age, Roaring ’20s
O Great Depression, Harlem Riots
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31. LANGSTON HUGHES
O “Harlem” (1951)
O Title
O Harlem, 1950s
O Racial inequality
O Riots: 1935, 1943, 1964 (Watts 1965, Detroit 1967)
O How did people react?
O Rot
O Anger, frustration festers
O “Uncle Toms”
O Anger, frustration explodes
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32. LANGSTON HUGHES
O “Harlem” (1951)
O Questions
O Why are the 1st and last lines separated?
O Why is the last line italicized?
O Why is the last line w/o simile?
O Why is the “heavy load” not a question?
O What is the answer to the thesis question?
O Why are “load” and “explode” the only rhymes?
O Why the break from disgusting images with
syrup?
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33. APHRA BEHN
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34. APHRA BEHN
O “Ay-fra Bean”
O (1640-89)
O 1st English woman to earn a living through
writing (1st professional woman writer)
O Married London merchant of Dutch
descent
O Served as a spy in the Dutch Wars, 1665-
67 (after his death)
O Novels
O Oroonoko (royal slave, one of 1st English works to
question slavery)
O Plays, Poetry
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35. APHRA BEHN
O “Song: Love Armed” (1676)
O Characters:
O Love = Cupid, the god of love
O Persona = man
O Addressee = woman
O Poetic conventions:
O Unrequited love of the man
O toward a disdainful woman
O Unrequited love is painful
O Yet pleasurable
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36. APHRA BEHN
O “Song: Love Armed” (1676)
O Structure:
O 2 4-line stanzas
O Rhyme scheme = ABAB
O Refrain
O “from me”
O “from thee”
O (variations on)
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37. APHRA BEHN
O “Song: Love Armed” (1676)
O Structure:
O What’s “Taken” (to arm Love)?
O From man (persona):
O desire from his eyes
O sighs & tears
O languishments & fears
O From woman:
O fire from her eyes
O pride & cruelty
O killing dart
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38. APHRA BEHN
O “Song: Love Armed” (1676)
O Themes:
O Love & war connection
O Battle of the sexes
O All’s fair in love & war
O Cupid w/bow & arrow
O Why do we enjoy suffering? Listening to others
suffer?
O The Blues
O Sad songs, break-up songs
O Why do we name hurricanes?
O To impose form onto suffering = To master or control
suffering, the unknown, uncontrollable
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39. APHRA BEHN
O “Song: Love Armed” (1676)
O Questions:
O What is its theme concerning “love” or relationships?
O Is this a man’s poem – to be enjoyed more by male
readers than female readers?
O Is it sexist in its portrayal of women?
O The persona = man, written by a woman – Does that
make a difference?
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40. POETRY
Narrative Poetry

41. BACKGROUND
O Transition from Prose to Poetry
O Historically, move from “stories” in poetry
to stories in prose
O verse narratives
O stories in poetic form
O “narrative” =
O beginning, middle, end
O basic Plot
O Action, Characterization, Setting, Dialogue
O Symbolism, Irony, Juxtaposition
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42. BACKGROUND
O Historically
O Oral Tradition
O illiterate masses
O poetic structure makes it easy to remember & pass along
O stories about heroes & history
O epic poetry (Homer)
O sagas (scops)
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43. BACKGROUND
O Historically
O Literacy –
O Wm. Caxton’s printing press (1440)
O Gutenberg’s bible (1450)
O More literacy
O = less oral tradition
O = change in literature
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44. POPULAR
BALLADS
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45. POPULAR BALLADS
O authors =
O anonymous, undated
O persona =
O detached, objective, impersonal, characterless
O 3rd person POV
O themes
O death, fate
O perils of sea
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This ain’t no
love song,
baby!
(not that type of
“ballad”)

46. POPULAR BALLADS
O use of repetition
O of sounds
O alliteration (Anglo-Saxon hold-over)
O consonance (consonant)
O assonance (vowel)
O of words, phrases
O musical rhythm
O meant to be sung
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47. POPULAR BALLADS
O omissions
O ellipses
O not so descriptive (omitting key details)
O NO SHIPWRECK
O told in flashes, quick glimpses
O photo slide show
O little description
O photo show
O omitted details, scenes (ellipses)
O some dialogue
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48. POPULAR BALLADS
O 4-line stanzas
O ABAB rhyme scheme (typically unrhymed)
O 1st, 3rd lines = 4 accents
O 2nd, 3rd lines = 3 accents
The king sits in Dumferling toune,
Drinking the blude-reid wine:
O quhar will I get guid sailor
To sail this schip of mine?
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49. POPULAR BALLADS
O Belong to the Oral Tradition
O not written down
O until 18th century
O multiple versions
O Enlightenment (frowned upon)
O undignified
O lacks decorum
O Romantics (resurgence)
O poetry of the people, masses
O Old ballads = written down
O New ballads = composed (“literary ballads”)
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50. “Sir Patrick
Spence”
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51. “SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
BACKGROUND
O Written
O @ 15th century
O Published
O in 1765
O Thomas Percy’s Reliques of Ancient English Poetry
O (famous collection of folk ballads)
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52. “SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
BACKGROUND
 possible (though never verified) historical
allusion
 1281 marriage:
 of Margaret, daughter of Alexander III of Scotland
 to King Eric of Norway in 1281
 on the return voyage, many of her noble escorts were drowned
 1290 succession:
 the death of Margaret's daughter, "the Maid of Norway,"
 while she was being brought back to Scotland in 1290
 to succeed her grandfather, who died in 1286.
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53. “SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
O Dumferling:
O Dumferline, a town in Fife, on the Firth of Forth
O an early residence of the Scottish kings
O “sits”:
O reigns, rules AND is stationary
O seated BUT will make others move
O “blood red”:
O mighty power, power over life & death, foreshadowing
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54. “SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
O “wine”:
O party (Eros in “Love Armed”)
O suggests the ease with which he wields such power
O suggests that the question (sailing mission) = not well-
thought, casual
O that the one who takes this mission will die
O “The Lottery”
O win BUT lose by winning
O typically an honor to be chosen by the king
O BUT this is an impossible, dangerous “suicide mission”
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55. “SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
O “good” sailor:
O skillful sailor
O brave
O decent human
O loyal, obedient to king
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56. “SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
O Elder Knight:
O elder = respected
O (“respect your elders”)
O favored, respected by king, yields political power
O (sits at king’s right knee)
O line 14:
O suggests Elder Knight = enemy of Sir Patrick Spence
(“ill deid”)
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57. “SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
O alliteration & stanza #3:
O repetition of sound
O “s”
O sounds like snake, waves crashing on beach
O  foreshadows SPS’ death
O Long Letter to SPS:
O written, signed, sealed by king
O = royal decree
O MUST be obeyed
O SPS must sail the royal ship
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58. “SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
O Sir Patrick Spence:
O 1st meeting = reading king’s letter, walking on the beach
O at leisure
O his 1st reaction, 1st line = laugh
O modest: laughs at praise
O humor: thinks the mission is a practical joke
O his 2nd reaction = cry
O realizes this mission will be his death
O but he cannot refuse the king’s command
O feels set up/betrayed by someone
O “O who is this who has done this deed / This ill deed
done to me”
O (repetition = for emphasis in Oral Tradition -
foreshadowing)
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59. “SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
O “done deed” to “deed done”:
O repetition
O certainty of death
O Mirror World:
O Court vs. Ordinary, appearance vs. reality
O true friends
O court politics, stab in the back, set up for death
O Blinded by tears:
O tears = water = waves, storm,…his death
O blind seers of old – see the future, his future is death
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60. “SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
O merry men:
O good men on leave
O at leisure, as SPS was on the beach
O at leisure – yet dutiful to SPS
O from merriment to death (Contrast)
O bad signs:
O bad moon rising – omens, harbinger
O new moon with the old moon in its arms
O dangerous weather = bad sailing, danger, death
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61. “SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
O repetition:
O “I fear, I fear”
O stresses the danger
O stresses the switch from “merry” to “fear”
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62. “SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
O nobles:
O Nobles don’t want to ruin their expensive shoes
O IRONY
O b/c SPS knows they will drown anyway
O CONTRAST
O Nobles’ nobility
O (b/c of family inheritance)
O SPS’ nobility
O (brave, loyal, follows orders on suicide mission)
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63. “SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
O Shipwreck = play:
O play = game (“like flies to wanton boys, they kill us for
sport”)
O humans = at the mercy of fate, the fates, the gods
O play = drama, to be watched by nobles
O IRONY:
O their hats swim while they drown
O their hats are symbols of their wealth BUT all the
money won’t save them from death
O perhaps drowned by the weight of their opulent attire
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64. “SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
O Hands:
O CAUSE-EFFECT –
O King signs letter w/hand, sending them to their
deaths
O Women hold fans in their hands, awaiting in vain the
men to return
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65. “SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
O Fans:
O used to control the weather (when it’s too hot)
O BUT
O cannot control the weather at sea
O CONTRAST:
O women = hot
O men = drenched
O women stand for their men’s return (tension)
O king sits to send them to their death (ease)
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66. “SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
O Gold Combs:
O symbols of opulence, richness
O misplaced focus b/c worldliness/materialism =
meaningless to Death
O their hair will turn gray as the combs stay gold –
O IRONY
O Danse Macabre
O Their own dear lords:
O not “theirs” any more – belong to Death, the Sea
O they wait to see them again (alive) BUT don’t
O reader sees them again (dead)
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6

67. “SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
O Mirror World:
O ironic twist of social class – IRONY
O the lords sit at SPS’ feet
O he knew they were going to die
O had no illusions
O they had vanity, materialism
O Will he go to heaven before them?
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68. “SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
O Aberdour:
O “half over to Aberdour”
O half-way from Norway to Aberdour
O two villages of Aberdour on the east coast of Scotland –
O one in Aberdeenshire
O the other in Fife, on the north shore of the Firth of
Forth.
O Either may be meant.
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69. “SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
THEMES
O anti-materialism
O anti-worldliness
O power:
O abuse of power (knight)
O reckless or indifferent wielding of power (king)
O anti-monarchy?
O Fate, Death:
O cannot escape, control (like seas)
O must obey (like king’s command)
O SPS accepts his fate & gets his crew to, too
O nobles are ignorant of their fate
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70. “SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
THEMES
O duty:
O to king
O to men/sailors
O to wives
O Why do men serve those they serve?
O in court – for political favor, power
O on ship – allegiance, respect, honor
O criticism of court life:
O pettiness
O spitefulness
O luxury
O materialism
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71. “SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
O “Sir Patrick Spens” video
O “The Ballad of Gilligan’s Island”
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72. JOHN KEATS
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73. JOHN KEATS
O (1795-1821)
O father = London stable keeper
O apprenticed to be apothecary & surgeon
O gave it up to be poet
O books of poetry in 1817, 1818, 1820
O dead at 25
O tuberculosis
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74. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
O 1819
O Latin
O “The Beautiful Woman without Mercy”
O “Literary Ballad”
O 12 4-line stanzas
O repetitions
O supernatural
O knights, kings, princes
O dialogue
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75. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
O title:
O “The lovely lady without pity”
O medieval ballad by Alain Chartier
O title = quoted in “The Eve of St. Agnes”
O but Keats borrows only the title, not the subject matter
O story: mortal destroyed by his love for a supernatural
femme fatale
O format = folk ballad  dialogue form
O 1st 3 stanzas = addressed to the Knight
O 4-12 = Knight’s reply
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76. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
O setting = late fall
O no birds, withered grass plant
O harvest is done
O squirrels’ holes are fully stocked
O Speaker comes upon a knight
O refrain: “O what can ail thee, knight-at-
arms”
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77. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
O Knight =
O pale, haggard,
O woe-begone, fever, sweats
O described as flowers: lily & rose
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78. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
O Knight’s story:
O met a beautiful lady in the meads
O meadow, fields
O “a fairy’s child” – (?)
O really – (language, home)
O OR
O her beauty
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79. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
O Knight’s story:
O made her
O garland for her head
O bracelets, girdle/belt
O rode with her on my horse
O she sang “a fairy’s song”
O she fed him roots, honey, manna
O she spoke in a strange language
O he didn’t understand
O BUT assumed she was saying she loved him
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80. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
O Knight’s story:
O she took him to “her elfin grot”
O she cried
O Why does she cry?
O What was she trying to say in her language?
O he calmed her with kisses
O truly calmed or masked, faking it?
O what she really needed?
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81. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
O Knight’s story:
O she lulled him asleep  dreamed
O nightmare
O warned by previous kings, princes, & warriors that
“La belle dame sans merci / Hath thee in thrall!”
O previous victims =
O pale as death, life sucked out of them
O high social status (literary genre)
O trying to warn him (title)
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82. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
O Knight’s story:
O he awoke in this same spot
O and that’s why he’s there, pale & alone
O “sojourn” BUT “loitering”
O movement BUT stationary
O moved emotionally, creatively, spiritually
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83. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
O La Belle Dame:
O WHO is she?
O fairy, elf, supernatural being
O woman, beautiful
O creativity, muse
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84. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
O La Belle Dame:
O THEMES based on who she is?
O 2 different worlds, culture
O love between 2 worlds = doomed, never work
O communication breakdowns
O women = different creatures, unknowable to men
O assumptions of men, women need to be taken care of,
“comforted”
O “men are from Mars, women are from Venus”
O unrequited love (“Love Armed”)
O Dame = Beauty – can only be glimpsed
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85. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
O La Belle Dame:
O THEMES based on who she is?
O She = Muse, Knight = Poet
O men cannot live in World of Imagination
O once in World of Imagination, men can no longer live in the
Ordinary World
O Poet = caught between 2 worlds
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86. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
THEMES
O Love:
O dangers of love
O danger signs at the start of relationships
O unrequited love (“Love Armed”)
O embarrassment, frustration
O losing oneself in love, loss of control
O despair – emotionally crippled
O shock of sudden end
O after this love is gone – now what?
O can’t go back once been there
O supernatural?
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87. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
THEMES
O Despair:
O in life, in love
O lost all hope
O Nature:
O seasons in Nature
O Nature in Death (winter, his imagery)
O She = child of Nature – “wild”
O food = of Nature
O home = of Nature
O Civilization vs. Natural World (Romanticism)
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88. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
O Knight:
O WHY is he there?
O lost, bewildered
O can’t leave – for some reason
O can’t go back to his old lifestyle
O there looking for her again
O wants to go back
O there warning others against her
O what others did in his dream he’s doing in reality
O The Poet-Prophet?
O Is that the role of the Poet?
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89. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
O SUPERNATURAL:
O “Eve of St. Agnes”
O “La Belle Dame”
O STC’s “Christabel”
O Other related works:
O “To Autumn”
O Keats celebrates the season
O season of completion, summation, peace…death
O (remember, Keats is dying, brother = dead)
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90. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
O Other related works:
O “Lamia”
O female snake transforms into woman
O man & woman live in blissful love until scholar intervenes &
dispels the spell
O suspension of conscious state (reasoning, thinking) = magic
O ruined by reason, logic
O = “unweaving of the rainbow”
O “Ode to a Nightingale”
O enthralled out of the ordinary life by beauty, nature
O suspension of conscious state - reasoning, thinking
O “On Melancholy”
O melancholy, despair
O only the Poet can appreciate sadness (of all things are
ephemeral)
O “Ode on a Grecian Urn”
O a scene of beauty is captured forever
O eternal moment = better than “reality”
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91. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
O KEATS & DREAMS:
O fine line between reality & dream
O ** dreams = related to poetic vision **
O “Eve of St. Agnes”
O “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
O “Ode to Psyche”
O “Ode to a Nightingale”
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92. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
O Like Popular Ballads
O narrative
O repetitions
O musical quality – rhythm
O noble men (victims)
O supernatural
O plain language
O dialogue
O no background
O slide show images
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93. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
O Unlike Popular Ballads
O Literary
O allusions, imagery, craftsmanship
O multiple meanings, themes, interpretations
O rhyme scheme (ABCB)
O lines 1-3 = 8 syllables/beats
O last line = only 4/5 syllables/beats
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94. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
O FEMINIST reading
O Femme fatale, succubus = Sexist?
O powerful, beautiful women = supernatural, succubae
to weak, threatened men
O Knight doesn’t know what she says BUT assumes it’s
that she loves him
O Knight doesn’t know why she’s crying BUT assumes he
needs to comfort her, that she needs him to comfort her,
with kisses
O She = powerful
O pretends to be weak & sucks him in to traditional
male-female role
O has ruined men of power before
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95. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
O BIOGRAPHICAL reading
O What if she is NOT
O fairy, supernatural, proto-Feminist?
O What if she = TUBERCULOSIS?
O effects of TB = effects of Dame
O victims = pale, dying, haggard
O Keats = physician
O Keats’ brother died of it
O Keats himself would soon thereafter
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96. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
O OTHER readings
O Cults & Ideologies
O Drug addiction
O Vampires
O Religious rapture
O English history of fairies
O Beauty – realm of Ideals vs. of Shadows
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97. “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
O JW Waterhouse’s painting
O <http://www.jwwaterhouse.com/paintings/images/waterhouse_la_belle_dame_sans_me
rci.jpg >
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98. THE END
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