Mod A (La Belle Dame Sans Merci)

Question 1

• Idealised poetic muse
• Beauty
• Female power

“I made a ……. … … ….”

Answer 1

“I made a garland for her head”

• Like a crown
• SYMBOLIC of putting her in position of authority over him

Question 2

• Unenthusiasm for life
• Inevitable passing of life

“So haggard and .. …-…..? The Squirell’s ……. .. full, … … ……. .. done”

Answer 2

“So haggard and so woe-begone? The Squirell’s granary is full, and the harvest is done”

• NATURAL IMAGERY of maturation and ripening, reminiscent of autumn
• Season SYMBOLISING genre of tragedy

Question 3

• Desire as leading to death
• Great passion immediately followed by reminder of mortality
• Idealised world vs reality

“I saw their ……. …. in the gloam, with …… ……. gaped wide, and i …..- and found .. …. on the cold ….’. ….”

Answer 3

“I saw their starved lips in the gloam, with horrid warning gaped wide, and i awoke- and found me here on the cold hill’s side”

• CONTRASTS “starved” will fullness earlier (“Squirell’s granary is full”)
• CAESURA (break between words) is embodiment of the knights sudden awakening
• PLOSIVE SOUND “awoke” is microcosm of whole poem, “w” lulls readers asleep and shocks them awake with end sound