Comparison of two 19th Century poems written in the medielal style
Comparison of two 19th Century Poems In the early 19th century, the industrial revolution provoked a return to medievalism by the poets and painters of the age. They wrote about the medieval world as idyllic and harmonious - a contrast to their own turbulent century. Although these two poems aren't entirely idyllic, they are set in the medieval age, and use many similar ideas. Focus was on stories of courtly love, chivalry and tragedy. The two poems I will be comparing are 'Mariana' by Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809 - 1892) and 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci', by John Keats (1795 - 1821). They tell of love and loss and explore the realm of unrequited love, but in very different ways. Tennyson's 'Mariana' was a character taken from Shakespeare's 'Measure for Measure'. She is a young woman, deserted by her lover and left in a 'lonely moated grange'. The Poem consists of seven 12-line stanzas; the last four lines of each stanza are always the same, with a slight variation in the last stanza. Thus, one t!hird of the poem consists of a repetition of the last four lines. A lament for Mariana's lost love. 'She only said, 'My life is dreary, He cometh not' she said; She said 'I am aweary
In order to create! the correct image Tennyson uses specific words that enhance the mood. The word 'crow' is also used to effect - crows, again, are classed as an evil bird - and to 'crow' something has a horse, sinister sound. It's shadow falls 'upon her bed, across her brow', this could be interpreted as a shadow falling over her - she is 'overcast' with gloom or despair - or as a sexual metaphor. The two poems both rely heavily on imagery, natural imagery in particular. This is blatantly obvio!us in his poem, 'Mariana'. We know that Mariana is very unhappy - she cries all the time 'with the dews at even; Her tears fell ere the dews were dried' and yet, she cannot seek comfort from god - 'she [can]not look on the sweet heaven'. This would be outrageous in those days, when suicide was a crime. The idea of the Lady being somewhat magical is reinforced by the mesmerism of the knight - as if he is entranced - 'and nothing else saw all day long. The imagery in the lines portraying the dream is quite gruesome due to the detail in which they are described. More sound imagery is used with 'the oxen's low' - again, a melancholy sound. The faces conjured up by these six lines are quite horrific, and yet, quite simple. Keats saves the Lady's name as a climax, 'They cried - 'La Belle Dame sans Merci, Hath thee in thrall!' The Beautiful Lady who shows no mercy has you in her power - under her spell. Everything '[confounds] her sense', and so, when the sun too, deserts her, and retreats toward his 'western bower' (a classic medievalist term for the sunset, or evening).
Common topics in this essay:
Belle Dame,
Lord Tennyson,
Middle Ages,
John Keats,
Beautiful Lady,
Medieval Style,
Tennyson's Mariana,
Oh God,
dame sans,
Merci Hath,
belle dame sans,
natural imagery,
belle dame,
poem consists,
,
moated grange',
sweet honey wild,
sans merci',
john keats,
1795 1821,
waste rounding grey',
emotions mariana,
level waste rounding,
honey wild manna,
feelings emotions,
|
Acceptance Essays
