Keats and Power in La Belle Dame Sans Merci

Explore the ways in which Keats depicts power in La Belle Dame Sans Merci

In La Belle Dame Sans Merci, Keats uses the theme of power to express his contempt towards society as a whole; describing it as ‘palely loitering’ and ‘haggard’ which has a negative effect on the reader. He chastises the suppressive monarchy and scorns at the lack of freedom to be individual throughout the nation. He conveys his own worries and weaknesses also, such as death and sadness which portrays a sense of weakness threaded into this poem. Another way Keats uses power is to rebel against people critical of his Romantic work, further isolating him from social normalcy and occupying his thoughts with a utopia that is idealistic and intriguing to him – more significantly, the world of fantasy.

From the first line in La Belle Dame Sans Merci to the last, the narrator has power and dominance over the knight. The knight is symbolic of humanity as the protagonist is weak and has no voice and this is what Keats thought of the human race in this period. Due to ‘The Great Terror’ – people were oppressed and murdered by the monarchy and in La Belle, the narrator describes the ‘kings and princes’ as ‘pale.’ The adjective ‘pale’ makes authority seem emotionless and it seems the voice is indirectly scorning their actions. Keats could be using this narrator to criticise them anonymously as this was particularly frowned upon by the hierarchy. As this voice has no identity, the reader doesn’t know who is speaking which brings a sense of mystery and curiosity to the poem. The narrator could be Keats himself because as he feels ineffective in society, he uses poetry to mock the crown as he sees this form of writing a particularly compelling mechanism to do so. Disdain for revolution was something that couldn’t be openly discussed as people were being executed for being classed as an enemy; it could have gotten Keats into trouble. 

In the first stanza, Keats writes ‘knight-at-arms, alone and palely loitering?’ and as he uses the verb ‘loitering’ – it shows us an image of the knight not doing anything – just existing. This links to the idea of the knight representing humanity because there is a lack of freedom and creativity. 

Lamia notes

What is Negative Capability?

Negative Capability - a concept which prizes intuition and uncertainty above reason and knowledge

What happens in Lamia?

Lamia (serpent-turned-woman) while she is a serpent, could send her spirit wherever she wanted and on one of her spirit journeys, she had seen Lycius. As a woman, she reappears and stands along the road where she knows Lycius will be on his way to Corinth. When she sees him, she asks him if he will leave her on her own on this stretch of road. Lycius falls in love with her after one look, they both walk to Corinth and they live in a mansion. In the mansion, they live as husband and wife. Lycius then says they should get married and he invites their friends to the wedding. Lamia doesn’t want to invite all their friends but she finally agrees down to Lycius encouraging her. She agrees as long as the philosopher Apollonius is not invited. While he is away inviting guests, Lamia uses her powers to get invisible servants to decorate the room and put out food. Lycius' guests arrive (Lamia has no friends/relatives in Corinth) and they were amazed - they had not expected it to look this grand. However, Apollonius arrives uninvited. At the peak of the wedding, Apollonius starts to stare at Lamia which makes her uncomfortable. Why Lycius asks her why she is uncomfortable, she doesn’t answer. Lycius tells Apollonius to stop staring at Lamia and when he looks again, he says; "A serpent!” After this is said, Lamia disappears and when she is gone, Lycius dies.

What does Andrew Motion say about Keats in context?

http://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/proved-upon-our-pulses-keats-in-context

‘Keats is the great exception, according to received wisdom. He collapses onto a sickbed while his contemporaries leap to the barricades. He listens to the song of the nightingale while they catch the chant of the mob. He celebrates the alternative power of the imagination, while they describe the shadows of dark satanic mills.

This view of Keats seriously distorts the reality of his work, but it has been nurtured for almost the whole of his posthumous existence.’