Lamia Flashcards
what is lamia written in?
- rhyming heroic couplets
- rhymed iambic pentameter
- when couplets closed can give poem sense of control
- verse form allows Keats to introduce a cynical, world-weary voice into the poem
- tone often at odds with magical and violent events of narrative
what is central to the tragedy?
of this poem is the notion that the love between lamia and lycius is based on an illusion and thus bound to fail
quote to describe setting
“upon a time, before faery broods”
- conventional beginning of fairy-tale –> mythical, expectations of unusual/ supernatural occurrences
characterisation of Hermes at beginning of poem?
“his golden throne, bent warm on amorous theft”
- always in love/ lust
- “hermes” - winged messenger of gods - sounds alright at start; however doesn’t sound particularly loving (connotations of rape)
part 1: hermes passion
“burnt from his winged heels”
“blushed into roses”
- lexical field of heat and passion - with an undertone of anger/ jealousy perhaps sexual desire
part 1: characterisation of nymph at beggining?
- “a nymph, to whom all hoofed Satyrs knelt” - satyrs: known for their sexual appetites/ potency
- nymph which Hermes is particularly infatuated with is desirable
part 1: hermes trying to find nymph
“from vale to vale, from wood to wood, he flew” - there is no indication she wants to be found yet he is desperate to find her
part 1: hermes feeling cause he hasn’t found the nymph; jealous
“Pensive, and full of painful jealousies” - self absorbed; plosives: speaker scornful of H
Initial introduction of Lamia’s voice
“mournful voice” - adjective
- we hear her voice first
- interesting doesn’t begin with appearance (typical)
hermes wants to find nymphs bed
“where this sweet nymph prepared her secret bed” - intimate- rather intrusive - implies its not meant to be found
lamia’s longing described
“And love, and pleasure, and the ruddy strife Of hearts and lips! Ah miserable me!” - polysyndetic listing: highlights her utter desperation/desire + tricolon
initial physical description of lamia: snake
“a palpitating snake, Bright and cirque-couchant in a dusky brake” - trembling - plosives assonance harsh repeat the rhythm of her beating heart
- sibilant - laying twisted in a circle
visual imagery of lamia
“she was a gordian shape of dazzling hue” “Vermilion-spotted, golden, green and blue”
“striped like a zebra” - very detailed description of lamia’s form; a lot of visual imagery
- enchanting overwhelming listing of similes to hyperbolically accentuate her “dazzling” - otherworldly physical features
- serpentine yet feminine
- projection of keats unrealistic and idealised women
description of lamia’s voice
“Her throat was serpent, the words she spake Came, as through bubbling honey, for love’s sake”
- establishes power of her seduction –> suggests that the reader should consider VOICES, WORDS SAID, SOUNDS with care and attention in this poem
- pity; evokes sympathy - lamia seeks love
Hermes victimising lamia? check
“Like a stooped falcon ere takes his prey” - simile; predatory: victimisation/ subjects his female characters to this power
sense that nymph is free and undisturbed
“free as the air” - fake sense of comfort; this liberty will be stripped away
“she tastes unseen; unseen her nimble feet”
–> repetition of unseen adds to the sacred notion to the nymph - Hermes is disturbing her peace
lamia protects nymph
“And by my power her beauty is veiled” - lamia protects nymph
Lamia’s need for love - in reference to her immortality
“Pale grew her immortality, for woe Of all these lovers, and she grieved so” - Also seen in LBD - knight: Isabella; pale –> dead
impact of unrequited or hopeless love –> even makes supernatural creates pale/ love vitality –> perhaps even robs them of their immortality
lamia agrees to reveal location of nymph if he helps her become have a “woman’s shape”: Lamia- reference to the agreement and her ears
“An oath, and though the serpent’s ears it ran, warm, tremulous, devout”
–> keats is reminding us of lamia’s deceptive/ decietful nature in accentuating her form –> religious allusions + the sly and deceitful role the snake plays to adam and eve
- quadruple epithet
Beginning of Lamia’s transformation
“moon in wane, Faded before him, cowered, nor could restrain” “Her fearful sobs, self-folding like a flower”
- pallid/pale; a v. vulnerable image –> fem pov –> verb highlights her absolute trepidation –> cowered, sobs, faints
lamia’s love forshadowing that its doomed to fail
“grew they pale, as mortal lovers do” –> warning/ forshadowing
- mortal love can’t last
- LA is about to take on mortal form in order to woo Ly –> suggests their love is doomed
Lamia’s metamorphosis
“the serpent now began To change … Her mouth foamed”
–> narrative shifts focus; violent; she is losing all that is beautiful about her; putting herself through a lot; grass withers due to foam; sheds her supernatural, demonic appearance and changes to a beautiful mortal women –> clear sense this isn’t positive
losing her looks
“undrest Of all her sapphires, greens and amethyst” “Nothing but pain and ugliness were left” –> losing what makes her precious; fem crit - looks valuable/ women only valued for looks
losing her protection
“Spoilt all her silver mail, and golden brede” –> La’s discarded snakeskin = compared to chainmail/ armour - lost her protection
how does Lamia’s transformation link to religon
- keats evokes Book 9 of Paradise lose - satan enters body of/becomes serpect –> implies that LA’s transformation will lead to downfall
lamia is going to entice Lycius
“virgin purest” … but knows about “love” “As though in Cupid’s college she had spent” –> La knows much of love - will know how to charm & ensure ly –> relationship is doomed; isn’t genuine or honest
- points to contradictory images of her - pure but educated love and sex
- patriarchal society - fem crit
lamia falls in love with lycius instantly
“fell into a swooning love for him”
Lycius loving lamia (at first he doesn’t notice her)
“For so delicious were the words she sung” - her voice alluring; proleptic irony- ly’s blind love for LA will result in him losing her and dying - forshadowing
…
“began to adore”
ly faints
“swooned, murmuring of love, and pale with pain” “the cruel lady” - plosives; ly sho shocked and terrified that he faints; la has lot of power; negative portrayal of Lamia
la kissed ly
“the life she had so tangled in her mesh: And as he from one trance was wakening Into another” –> she kissed his lips and renewed his spirit; suggests her love is a trance?
sexual imagery between ly and la
“His drooping head … Any more subtle fluid in her veins Than throbbing blood”
lamia is playing a part to appeal to lycius
“So threw the goddess off … playing woman’s part”
–> she realises he is scared so tones it down
- she is not genuine - appearance vs reality
“blinded Lycius” - blinded by love
Initial description of Apollonius
“With curled gray beard, sharp eyes, and smooth bald crown” “philosophic gown”
- sense of superiority; critical, intense learned
- keats not fan
End of part 1
“the flitter-winged verse must tell,
For truth’s sake, what woe afterwards befel”
- people would like to leave happy
- away from rational
- ends with mystery + intrigue
- poet’s duty
Part 2: Initial representation of love
“Love in a hut” - seclusion
“cinders, ashes, dust” - tricolon; tragic; love comes to nothing; metaphor
- narrator warns us of unhappiness to come
“Love in a palace is perhaps at last
More grievous torment than a hermit’s fast—”
- love becomes grief; pair doomed
part 2: quote to indicate their love won’t last long
“but too short was their bliss
To breed distrust and hate, that make the soft voice hiss.”
- la’s true nature not revealed until too late; they will die
part 2: love portrayed as jealous
“Love, jealous …
Hovered and buzzed his wings, with fearful roar”
- personification; love portrayed negatively; too in love; downfall; portrayed as jealous of their love
part 2: their sex described as sin
“That purple-lined palace of sweet sin”
- before marriage
part 2: dialogue between Lycius and Lamia; she feels deserted and upset; wants attention
“saw this with pain”
“began to moan and sigh”
“you have deserted me”
- la= jealous wants ly’s attention to be on her
- la fears rational worlds imposition and love fading perhaps
- rationality can destroy love
part 2: dialogue lycius rebukes suggestion lamia don’t love him
“How to entangle, trammel up and snare
Your soul in mine, and labyrinth you there”
- tricolon
- ironic - she has done this
- wants to marry her; sense of entrapment
part 2: lamia begs lycius to change his mind about the marriage
“trembling” “pale and meek, Arose and knelt before him, wept a rain Of sorrows at his words”
- loss of identity
- submissive female
- begs him - hyperbole
part 2: lycius desire to control lamia
“with stronger fancy to reclaim
Her wild and timid nature to his aim:”
“he took delight
Luxurious in her sorrows, soft and new.”
“His passion, cruel grown”
- oxymoron
- subduing, conquering male aroused by op to tame her
part 2: god imagery to express lycius’s control
“Fine was the mitigated fury, like
Apollo’s presence when in act to strike
The serpent”
- proleptic irony; ly’s action result in her downfall
part 2: lamia likes the new lycius
“she burnt, she loved the tyranny”
- impressed by/ loves newly “fierce” lycius
- consents to marry him
part 2: she betrays him
“he to the dull shade of deep sleep in a moment was betrayed”
- he asks why; she casts a spell over him - betrays him
part 2: he’s foolish; she wants to hide her mysery
“foolish heart”
- foreboding; authorial voice; k feels foolish to promote rationalism over love
“how to dress
The misery in fit magnificence.”
- disguise with grandeur; costume
- asks supernatural for help - more deception
part 2: foreboding with description of guests
“When dreadful guests would come to spoil her solitude.”
- foreboding; alliteration
- double meaning; she’s scared and also Ap
part 2: apollonius arrives how does he look at them
“eye severe”
“he laughed”
- old philosopher not won over by her spells
- harsh view/ gaze
part 2: ap describes his understanding that he shouldn’t have showed up uninvited
"”Tis no common rule”
“for uninvited guest
To force himself upon you, and infest
With an unbidden presence” “Lycius blushed”
- negative lexis - negative presence
- ap effect on ly
part 2: change in narrative after Ap arrival
- keats then postpones the narrative with setting description - create tension
- banquet begins, guests start to drink - sentence lengths longer. more fluid - drinking?
part 2: description of what will come for lamia - wreath
“Upon her aching forehead be there hung
The leaves of willow and of adder’s tongue”
- flaw downfall; k suggests that different wreaths will be placed on their heads
- her wreath features traditional symbols of grief
- grim downfall
- inevitability of tragic fate
- willow: funeral flower?
part 2: description of what will come for lycius - wreath
“And for the youth, quick, let us strip for him
The thyrsus, that his watching eyes may swim
Into forgetfulness”
- ive/ vine leaves that surround Bachuss’ wand
- ly should forget the troubles he’ll indure through drink
- ref to his folly in hosting banquet in spite of la’s plea he doesn’t
part 2: description of what will come for ap - wreath
Let spear-grass and the spiteful thistle wage
War on his temples.
“ cold philosophy?”
“Philosophy will clip an Angel’s wings”
- half rhyme; aliteration
- his plants/ leaves will have sharp, painful thorns
- K’s view of philospjy
- direct allusion to hazlitt’s lectures: said that science and knowledge were restricting humanity’s imagination and clipping the wings of poetry
part 2: example of rainbow
“Unweave a rainbow as … Lamia melt into a shade.”
- keats suggests newton destroyed rainbow and that Ap will destroy La in same way
- reaching climaz, narrator’s view of la has improved
part 2: ly touches her hand its cold
“Lycius then pressed her hand, with devout touch,
As pale it lay upon the rosy couch:
“‘Twas icy” “all the pains
Of an unnatural heat shot to his heart.”
- physiological/ physical pain of love
- contrast of her iceness with rosiness of couch
- juxta of la’s pale coldness vs vitality of human things
part 2: doesn’t see love in her eyes
“There was no recognition in those orbs.”
- no humanity their; contrast of ly and la
- la absorbs ly’s vitality
- she’s not talking to him
part 2: increasing horror
“grew hush” “deadly silent “Until it seemed a horrid presence there,
And not a man but felt the terror in his hair.”
- tension; setting; horrifying
part 2: all her love humanity everything gone
“no passion”
“vision—all was blight;
Lamia, no longer fair, there sat a deadly white.”
- spoilt; ominous; she won’t respond to him
part 2: ly tells Ap to stop looking at her
"”Shut, shut those juggling eyes, thou ruthless man!
Turn them aside, wretch!” “thorn of painful blindness”
- commands the gods to make him blind
- ruthless? unnecessary public humiliation of la
- protecting? - Ap calls him a “fool!” - no sympathy
- la’s deception at least brought happiness; philos only brings death and destruction
part 2: Ap see’s her as predetor
"”from every ill
Of life have I preserved thee to this day,
And shall I see thee made a serpent’s prey?””
“weak hand” “motioned him to be silent” “No!”
- puts himself as protector
- ap doesn’t stop
- can’t see beyond her origins
- sympathy created
part 2: la and ly die
“a Serpent!” - announces
“Than with a frightful scream she vanished:
“And Lycius’ arms were empty of delight, As were his limbs of life”
- vanishes; and he dies
- symp for la
- marriage/death
- tragic ending
