La Belle Dame Sans Merci (all tasks)

What do I expect from a poetic ballad?

I expect a story to be told in a poem written in ABAB rhyme and in quatrains, alternating lines of three and four beats.

Notes on the poem

• At first it seems like a sweet and tender love story UNTIL stanza X: plot change
• Themes: beauty of the Dame, attraction, youth and vitality (long hair)
• The impossibility of love (love never has a happy ending), reality is not like in a fairy tale (we may associate this with Keats and Fanny's relationship)
• Nature as a setting (characteristic of romanticism)
• Mood/atmosphere is reflected in the setting: late autumn signalling the onset of death
• Use of beautiful, celestial, perfect, imagined setting and storyline (characteristic of romanticism) transmitted through beautiful, poetic language
• The Dame as a femme fatale, angel of death, BUT
• It is suggested she is a victim of her powers as well (sadness) = greater sense of tradgedy

Rhythm and meter in "La Belle Sans Merci"

The poem does not follow the natural scheme (subverts the traditional ballad form), the last line of each stanza ends too quickly. This creates an emphasis on these lines by affecting the pace of the poems that foreshadows the knight's tragic destiny: "and no birds sing", "and the harvests done"

Waterhouse (Painter of "La Belle Dame Sans Merci")

About the artist

John William Waterhouse (1849-1917) was a painter who painted primarily in oils. There is very little known about his private life, He based his painting on classical, literary, and historical subjects. Some of the recurring themes in is work are the tragic and powerful femmes fatales (like in "La Belle Dame Sans Merci"). During his last years he painted a series of painting that were based upon, amongst other things, literature and mythology.

How does the painting reflect the poem?

This painting reflects perfectly the poem's mood since at first sight it seems sweet and romantic. 
However, as we look a little closer we start noticing details such as the Dame's firm grasp on keeping the soldier down, and the fake look of vulnerability in her eye.
Other elements that correspond to romanticism are the flowers, and the abundance of vegetation. These elements are described in the poem and are depicted in the painting as well. It is also important to highlight that Waterouse was very true to the poem's speaker's description of this young woman: her long, silky hair and porcelain skin, and delicate feet are part of the artwork.
Furthermore, it may be argued that Waterhouse's portrayal of the knight kneeling down corresponds to his actions in Keats' poems. His trying to seduce the Dame with bracelets and garland for her head is his way of symbolically surrendering to her by putting his guard down and trying to win her love.

The same poem, another painting 

"La Belle Dame Sans Merci" by Henry Meynell Rheam (1901)

Comparing and contrasting to Waterhouse's painting

Although both paintings are depctions of the same poem, it is important to notice how different they are. The setting of Waterhouse's painting more accurately depicts the kind of place where flora can be found to produce "garland" for the Dame's head. In this way, it is more similar to beautiful, exotic scenarios that are characteristic of Romanticism. Some may argue, however, that Rheam's painting more accurately depicts the "cold hill's side", which is also essential in the poem (specially after the plot twist in stanza X).

Moreover, the darker shadows of Waterhouse's painting is more similar to the dark undertones of the poem, and serves to be a sort of hint of the implicit darkness in this story. This darkness is more explicit in Rheam's painting, where the knight lies lifelessly in the ground.

It is also important to highlight how the Dame appears in the first plane in Waterouse's painting, unlike in that of Rheam (where the knight is the center of attention). I personally prefer the prior one since it showcases the Dame's magnetism and attracting, "wild eyes" more accurately.