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gatsby + anthology poetry: the presentation of destructive/painful love -…
gatsby + anthology poetry: the presentation of destructive/painful love
la belle dame sans merci. a ballad.
the knight is lead to his destruction as she is a 'femme fatal'
'a faery's song'
...
'language strange'
- enchanting, siren
links to motif of daisy's voice and being presented as a siren
sympathy is evoked for knight at beginning, presenting him as vulnerable
'O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms'
- enigmatic
'o'
emphasises the speaker's pity for the knight. pace starts off slow, appropriate for the depressed mood of the knight.
'The sedge has withered from the lake, and no birds sing'
- lack of life, knight is left bereft, personification- the plant moves away from the water; a life-giving source, creating suspicion and warning the reader of the unattractiveness of the lake.
'Lily'
- symbolism, the traditional funeral flower
links to gatsby's vulnerability in the beginning with the
'green light'
t
he knight's destruction partly due to his overwhelming obsession with the fairy
'and on thy cheeks a fading rose'
- rose, symbol of love, fading implies the knight felt a love so strong it is possible to see it physically leave his body
'she found me roots of relish sweet, and honey wild, and manna-dew'
- god gave israelites manna when they fled egypt and were wandering wilderness- it is as if the woman gives the knight life and sustenance to live and without her he would die
links to gatsby's self-caused demise
the love/pursuit is painful for the girl as he thinks she wants to be saved/tamed
'garland...bracelets'
- both circles, ring: he is making it clear that he owns her and wants to be intimate with her, handcuff: he is owning her and trapping her-ironic as she is trapping him
'made sweet moan'
- he thinks she is moaning out of pleasure but really she is irritated with all of these men who want to own her
she takes the power
'she took me to her elfin grot'
- takes control, she's now the predator and he's the prey
'she lulled me asleep'
- signals danger, vulnerability like a child
main argument
:
conflict revolves around seductive power of the beautiful lady
(‘full beautiful- a faery’s child’)
, who lures knight into a false sense of love
(‘she lulled me asleep, and there I dreamed’)
, leading to his emotional and spiritual destruction
(‘Alone and palely loitering’).
knight's infatuation with the lady, which initially appears enchanting, transforms into an obsessive fixation, leaving him desolate and haunted by her absence.
conflict highlights the dangerous nature of unchecked romantic desire and the potential for it to lead to despair and loss.
explores the destructive nature of intense idealised love, revealing that true fulfillment and happiness are not found in such fleeting, illusory experiences. knight's pursuit leads to a state of suffering and spiritual death (‘starved lips in the gloam, with horrid warning gaped wide’), suggesting that lasting happiness is not achieved through obsession or the romanticisation of love
context
a difficult time of love and loss
is brother died in 1818. Keats was his brother’s nurse and would die of the same disease (tuberculosis) 2 years later- became infected whilst nursing his brother.
key ideas
the knight’s complexion suggests intense love and loss drains a man of his emotional energy. When the object of love disappears, the lover left behind undergoes a spiritual death and is unable to see beauty in the world anymore. Love, though wonderful in the moment, is dangerous and when obsessive leads to distraught. Line between enchantment and obsession is thin.
the illusion of the beautiful woman means that the knight is unable to see through her disguise and recognise her merciless nature. He falls for the disguise and pays the price for doing so; her love is death.
who so list i knowe where is an hynde
context
love poetry in this era (1500-1660) typically about courtly + unrequited love. the lover becomes his lady's servant and her love must be difficult to obtain and he must prove his valor and faithfulness. courtship of a woman is a battlefield for men.
wyatt inspired by petrarchan sonnets which often included complaints about love and its potential to cause men suffering.
personal suffering evident through poem as based on an affair wyatt had with anne boleyn which the poet was imprisoned for
main argument
the pursuit of love is rendered destructive when it atrophies into obsessive fixation, transforming desire into a source of suffering.
opening
'who so list to hounte I knowe where is an hynde'
'h'
conveys exhaustion
'but as for me, helas, I may no more'
wyatt pities himself, creates emphasis with caesura
assonance on
'm'
syllables makes them appear longer + tone weary
'the vayne travail hath weried me so sore'
assonance emphasises his pain
presentation of doe
I seke to hold the wynde'
comparison of deer to wind is oxymoronic as wind cannot be held; this reflects the futility of the hunt; the deer will never be captured causing pain for any pursuers
link to daisy being 'unobtainable' for gatsby as she's in a different social class.
ending
'who list her hount, I put him owete of doubt'
repetition of consonant
'ow'
sounds appear to reflect speaker's pain whilst also drawing out sounds of the words, putting emphasis on
'hount'
and
'owte'
and
'oubt'
which forces reader to heed his warning
graven with diamondes in letters plain
belongs to someone of high status (alludes to henry viii)
contradictory; something seemingly beautiful is being suppressed + indented
'graven'
harsh verb; harsh reality for women and wc men
'noli me tangere for Cesars I ame'
the woman/doe does not escape without pain/suffering; she has been caught once before
she is not autonomous or free as bears mark of his ownership
'wylde for to hold though I seme tame'
dig at henry; no one can be able to hold her, implying his pursuit will be destructive even though he has high status
deludes himself?
links to gatsby deluding himself that daisy never loved tom
form & structure
rhyme scheme + form
:
poem is consistent (ABBA ABBA CDDCEE)
repetitive and controlled and ordered- connotations of water torture, consistent, never-ending, harsh
reflects speaker's obsession and numerous attempts to capture the woman/doe
after volta marks change in rhyme scheme and discussion changes.
meter
:
follows iambic pentameter but stresses fall on first, third and fifth syllables (unexpected)
this gives sense of tripping motion, mirroring way speaker has fallen for owman
comma in middle of first line disrupts pentameter, creating pause; this metrical confusion represents confusion in speaker's heart + mind
key ideas
the extended metaphor of hunting describes love and courting as a violent sport.
this almost equates violence with lust and sexuality or suggests that the pursuit of love necessarily involves violence
the poem leaves the reader wondering what would happen if the deer were caught
literally speaking a deer would be killed after being captured- would her metaphorical capture end in sexual violence?
speaker shows sign of frustration, which could certainly be interpreted erotically, as a result of a lack of sexual intercourse
however, it seems that this frustration is most deeply rooted in the speaker’s inability to capture the woman
the great gatsby
gatsby doesn't feel pain until the end as he's deluded himself
'Can't repeat the past?' he cried incredulously. 'Why of course you can!'
similar to knight
gatsby does feel pain as shown by his
'reaching'
; his yearning + pursuit
'it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams'
- dust is american dream, preyed on him.
similar to speaker
tom + daisy are the only two who don't feel pain- are not held back by social barriers
the ending
gatsby didn't end up with daisy as it would be less memorable- sad endings stick in mind.
the novel would lose power as a reflection on the american dream- if gatsby ended up with daisy, the book would be a simple american dream success story. in order to be critical of AD, gatsby has to lose everything he's gained
novel lose power as an indictment of class in america, since if daisy + gatsby ended up together it would suggest walls coming down between old + new money, something that never happens in the book. instead, novel depicts class as an insurmountable barrier in 1920s america
happy ending would reward gatsby's and daisy's bad behaviour
destructive love
gatsby is perfect example of how a characters' expectation of love is directly linked to their destruction of it
destructive love is shown through gatsby's character, his motivation, language and development through the story
'he looked around him wildly, as if the past were lurking here in the shadow of his house, just out of reach of his hand'
myrtle's destruction comes about not due to love but ambition
'violently extinguished'
main argument
violent deaths of gatsby, myrtle and george suggest that romantic love inevitably ends in destruction
thesis
:
love is presented as a destructive and illusory force across The Great Gatsby, La Belle Dame sans Merci, and Whoso List to Hunt, where obsessive pursuit and idealisation transform desire into suffering, exposing the futility of chasing unattainable women.