Examine the view that in ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci, A Ballad’ Keats presents love as a mysterious
deadly curse.
In the poem Keats presents love as mysterious and deadly, as the knights physical health is depleting
to the brink of death, however it is his uncontrolled, quick, obsessive love for the mysterious lady
that is truly the curse.
Keats’ choice in title ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’, meaning the beautiful lady without pity allows this
idea of the lady being bewitching and unforgiving, supporting the idea of a deadly curse. By the
poem being a ‘ballad’, it creates the effect of the poem being about love as it originally would’ve
been written to be a song, a song for a lady would’ve been romantic and a form of ‘courtly love’.
Within the first stanza of the poem we discover the pitiful condition for the knight as a form of
framing the narrative. This use of the framing narrative being the introduction of the knights ‘palely’
condition, allows Keats to return to the past for the knight to truly tell his story, whilst it also clearly
frames the feelings of the knight from two different perspectives, showing the confusion the knight
experiences allowing this idea of love becoming a ‘curse’. The deathly condition of the knight shows
how the ‘curse’ that this ‘lady without pity’ has put on the knight is ‘deadly’.
The pitiful condition of the knight is also clearly reflected in the setting through the anticipation of
winter where ‘no birds sing’, winter being associated with death and loneliness. This shows how love
is a deadly curse as the knight is doomed to destruction as he is trapped ‘in thrall’, reiterating the
ending of the story. The exaggeration of the connotations of death within the poem create warning
signs to the audience as Keats shows the effects of falling in love too quickly, rather than love
wanting to be expressed as a deadly curse, the poem is a warning to those that believe they are in
love, which is reflected through the confusion of the knight as his mental health depletes ‘she looked
at me as she did love’.
Despite the knight being enchanted by the lady and the poem suggesting a curse that has brought
the knight to his death, Keats does not present love as a mysterious deadly curse but more so a
warning towards the obsession of falling in love too quickly. The lady within the poem is used as a
representative of love, to show the effects love has as well as the deceiving view of what could be.
The dream that Keats presents to the audience shows how love may be a deadly curse but it is also
vast and unforgiving.
deadly curse.
In the poem Keats presents love as mysterious and deadly, as the knights physical health is depleting
to the brink of death, however it is his uncontrolled, quick, obsessive love for the mysterious lady
that is truly the curse.
Keats’ choice in title ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’, meaning the beautiful lady without pity allows this
idea of the lady being bewitching and unforgiving, supporting the idea of a deadly curse. By the
poem being a ‘ballad’, it creates the effect of the poem being about love as it originally would’ve
been written to be a song, a song for a lady would’ve been romantic and a form of ‘courtly love’.
Within the first stanza of the poem we discover the pitiful condition for the knight as a form of
framing the narrative. This use of the framing narrative being the introduction of the knights ‘palely’
condition, allows Keats to return to the past for the knight to truly tell his story, whilst it also clearly
frames the feelings of the knight from two different perspectives, showing the confusion the knight
experiences allowing this idea of love becoming a ‘curse’. The deathly condition of the knight shows
how the ‘curse’ that this ‘lady without pity’ has put on the knight is ‘deadly’.
The pitiful condition of the knight is also clearly reflected in the setting through the anticipation of
winter where ‘no birds sing’, winter being associated with death and loneliness. This shows how love
is a deadly curse as the knight is doomed to destruction as he is trapped ‘in thrall’, reiterating the
ending of the story. The exaggeration of the connotations of death within the poem create warning
signs to the audience as Keats shows the effects of falling in love too quickly, rather than love
wanting to be expressed as a deadly curse, the poem is a warning to those that believe they are in
love, which is reflected through the confusion of the knight as his mental health depletes ‘she looked
at me as she did love’.
Despite the knight being enchanted by the lady and the poem suggesting a curse that has brought
the knight to his death, Keats does not present love as a mysterious deadly curse but more so a
warning towards the obsession of falling in love too quickly. The lady within the poem is used as a
representative of love, to show the effects love has as well as the deceiving view of what could be.
The dream that Keats presents to the audience shows how love may be a deadly curse but it is also
vast and unforgiving.
