One of the poem’s possible interpretations is that there is a knight who falls in love with a fairy but, against his hope that the woman loves him too, he is betrayed by her, causing his death. Placed in Barbara’s context, this may be thought as if Barbara really hopes that there is not going to be a war, but in the end her hopes are senseless and the war actually takes place; this is what might make her feel terribly scared and unable to control her fear.
Another interpretation of the story might be that the knight, lost in thoughts about the mysterious lady, forgets to live the real world and sees nothing in his life but the fairy, who finally disappears from his life, or perhaps, he disappears from the world, consumed by his desire to live a fantasy life. This can be connected to Barbara’s settings since probably she cannot see anything ahead of her — only the war, and what consequences it might bring. This is showed previously on the play; when Barbara says “if there is a next week”, which is evidence that she cannot see the world in the distant future, without a war; her whole life seems to hang by the possibility of a nuclear war. The poem appears to make Barbara understand what death really is, as she can see a concrete example, though imaginary.
One last interpretation of the story might be that the knight falls in love with somebody he cannot understand at all: “in language strange she said…” and which he is unfamiliar with: “took me to her elfin grot”. Barbara’s situation seems to be the opposite of this: she is afraid of something that he fully understands and is familiar with the consequences it might bring. It seems like the poem makes her realise how serious is the world’s situation, and how she might not get out alive.
I find this moment very effective because it is an excellent way to place Barbara’s inevitable outbreak in a way that the reader can understand what she is feeling at the moment, because it compares a fantastic tale and a solid reality which have one topic in common. If Barbara had started crying when, for instance, she was alone with Bernadette, it would not have the same effect, as the reader may not value her sudden fear. The fact that Barbara manages to express her fear to the whole class is also very shocking and effective at the same time, because she is able to “break the ice” and talk without worrying about what others may say, as it seems that they all feel the same, even the teacher looks as if he is scared.
The peak of this shocking moment is when Barbara partially recovers and puts into words her fear: “I’m frightened. I’m frightened there is going to be a war”. The reader can imagine what the atmosphere of the class is: complete silence, paralysed students. It is very effective the fact that all the students are expecting to hear the teacher’s opinion, as all the previous teachers do not take sides in the situation, but give them a neutral point of view.
The author’s choice of including this particular poem is suitable for the story’s plot and for the setting of the Cuban missile crisis. It places the real conflict in an imaginary situation and, although the tale can be interpreted in several ways, it is very much related to death, something which concerns Barbara, her classmates and the teacher, who does not seem to know what to do.