“I set her on my pacing steed and nothing else saw all day long,” The knight has been engrossed by his woman and so here, the reader can see that love is all about power, obsession and heartache. This magical “faery,” tries, and succeeds, to take control of the knight and have power over him. She creates everyone of her lover’s to be obsessed with her, but to suffer from it in the end.
The attitudes of the speakers in the poems are therefore, very different as one describes love with a positive attitude, full of vibrance and vitality. The other has a very negative attitude, whereby love is portrayed as something which brings pleasure only for a little while, and then turns into something much more painful, sinister and something which wounds us deeply, “Alone and palely loitering.”
The subject matter of each of these poems is, therefore quite opposite; Shakespeare’s sonnet, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” is set in the summer time, in a beautiful garden when all of the radiance of summer is in the bloom. This beauty of the summer time does, in fact, reflect the mood of the poem, and the beauty of the woman on whom the poem is based. By contrast, the setting is very different in “La Belle Dame Sans Merci.” The setting here opens with the knight loitering on a decaying landscape. The setting is bleak and forlorn, and is an extremely unpleasant background, as it reflects the misery and torture of the knight, and illustrates the way he feels symbolically, that his life is dead and decaying. Keats uses pathetic fallacy here to show much pain. This has an enormous effect on me as the reader as it makes me feel sympathetic towards the knight and also infuriated by the faery. The poem is set in late autumn, “on a cold hillside,” and the time of year reflects how his life is slowly withering away, and his strength is being sapped. In this way, the poems use a similar technique to create the setting, as the poets have both used the clever device of making the setting and atmosphere reflect the mood of the poem, and both do this extremely successfully.
The vocabulary and figurative devices used are dissimilar in each poem because of the style of each poem. “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” is a sonnet, as opposed to “La Belle Dame sans Merci” which is a ballad. “Sonnet 18” begins with a comparison as Shakespeare metaphorically compares his lover to the summer, in an attempt to compliment and praise her. However, he then goes on to describe all of the reasons as to why the summer is not good enough, as “summer’s lease hath all too short a date.” In Keats’ poem however, the style is quite different as the language does not contain a vast number of figurative devices, nor is it complex to understand. It is much more simple and literal, which is why ballads were very popular. They are song-like and easy to remember with a rhyming pattern. Ballads usually contain a regular rhyming scheme, and in this poem it’s iambic. This relates to the sound of a heartbeat and has 8-beats to each line. However, to me this is seen as ironic as it reflects the subject matter of the poem and the use of the language of passion and love. The heartbeat effect relates to the poem being about love. Keats cleverly chose the ballad form to put more emphasis on it being about love. I like the way he has related the structure to the actual ballad itself. It makes the poem stand out as a whole. Also the sharp, short final line of each stanza makes the poem feel jerky and sudden. Keats does this to emphasise the pain and hurt he is going through.
The language Shakespeare uses is positive, and life-giving, for example, “more lovely and more temperate,” as opposed to Keats who uses phrases such as “palely loitering,” and the “so haggard and woe begone!” The repetition on the word “more” is highly emphasised as it reinforces the idea of the poem, which is the beauty that this woman posses. Also the alliteration on the consonant “l” gives it a long, dreary feel which slows the poem down. The overall mood of each poem is, therefore, extremely different as are the atmospheres. In “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” the mood of the poem is much happier and reflects the gaiety felt by the lover. However, in “La Belle Dame sans Merci,” the mood is depressing and one of pain and anguish. As the ballad is telling a story, it too describes the happiness the knight once felt, when he was under the pretence that this beautiful woman loved him. Therefore in this sense, the poems are quite similar as they both describe a sense of completeness and happiness when one feels loved. However, the difference is that the love in one poem is true love, and in the other, it is false.
In “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” there is one main character who Shakespeare describes, the beautiful heroine, whose perfections through the poet’s eyes appear to be infinite and everlasting. Shakespeare says, “But thy eternal summer shall not fade.” The “but” in this sentence suggests a turning point and change in the poem. Her beauty, unlike the summer is everlasting, unable to be destroyed by the wind. Her love is constant, and will never decline as the summer’s beauty does. This is a positive love, as is shown by Shakespeare’s adoration and continuous praise of her. Shakespeare decides that the summer is not a good enough compliment to use to woo his lady. During the sestet of “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” Shakespeare’s language includes many monosyllabic words and does this in order to sound adamant and utterly convinced of his love, for example, “fade, shade, long, lives, gives.” His use of language remains pleasant and flattering throughout the sonnet. Shakespeare says “But thy eternal summer shall not fade, nor lose possession of the fair thou owest.” He is insistent and emphatic that she will not lose one atom of her beauty, but remain radiant and fragrant, and Shakespeare says this to emphasise the depth of his passion.
Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” captures a genuine, true and romantic love, and Shakespeare speaks confidently of this relationship, which is clearly based on required love. By contrast, “La Belle Dame sans Merci” has two main characters as it is telling a story. The woman described is also beautiful, mysterious and seductive. Keats describes her as “full beautiful, a faery’s child.” She possesses a certain delicacy, as though she is a fairy, her beauty is almost supernatural. She, however, unlike Shakespeare’s lover, is sinister, and their relationship was based on manipulation, games and lies. Keats says, “And sure in language strange she said, I love thee true.” This magical woman was lying to him about her love. The sivilent, whisper sounds made by the s’s link to the lie at the end where she “Hath thee in thrall!” because they reveal a sign of danger towards her. The knight worshipped and idolised her, blinded by her superficial exterior. At the beginning, therefore, the poems are similar, as the knight and Shakespeare are both talking of an undying love and passion, which they feel for a certain woman. They both use the beauty of nature and flowers to reflect this happiness. However, the knight fell into a false love which turned into betrayal and deceit. The knight says, “She look’d at me as she did love me.” She was slowly lulling him into a false sense of security, as she did with others in the past, and then tortured them once they fell for her. The knight’s relationship with this beautiful and wild creature was a distorted love, based on obsession as Keats writes, “And nothing else saw all day,” showing the hypnotism this woman had possessed him with as he couldn’t take his eyes away from her. The relationship in “LA Belle Dame sans Merci,” is a dramatic representation of the pain and yet the pleasure of love. However, in Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18,” he writes in a highly complementary tone to describe his relationship, as opposed to Keats who talks bitterly, in aguish and depression, for example, “Ah woe-betide!” Keats also writes “I made a garland for her head,” metaphorically suggesting she was some sort of Queen with a crown who was looked up to and idolised by him. One poem therefore conveys a solid love, which is heart felt and true; the other shows an infatuation which ends in heartache.
The sonnet is much more cleverly worded, however, as Shakespeare illustrates by using another metaphor during the octave. He says “sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, and often is his gold complexion dimmed,” Shakespeare is now metaphorically comparing her to the sun, though this time saying this is what she is not. The sun is sometimes too hot, or sometimes too clouded; it is temperamental, as opposed to his lover who is never-changing. She is perfect and static. Shakespeare’s language here appeals to the senses by using the weather in order to do so. Similarly, like Keats, Shakespeare is using pathetic fallacy. Keats does make a simple comparison, just as Shakespeare compared his lady to the summer; Keats compares his lover to a “faery,” as she too seemed flawless. The ballad written by Keats does use some simple imagery also. It has typical ballad features, for example, the use of stanzas. Keats uses simple metaphors and descriptions to convey the paleness of the knight. “I see a lily on thy brow…and on thy cheeks a fading rose.” Here lilies are used, as they are associated with death, and therefore illustrate his deathly complexion. Keats gives a more literal meaning of how this obsessive love is killing the knight. He poetically presents “dying of a broken heart” into literal, though traditional metaphors. Keats’ language clearly reflects a negative portrayal of love.
Keats also uses his language carefully for emphasis, however, by using constant repetition of words, for example, “wild.” “As there I shut her wild wild eyes,” also “honey wild,” he is thus emphasising his depression and heartache, and the true motives of this merciless character, In Shakespeare’s sonnet “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”, Shakespeare also uses personification, as well as several metaphors. He says, “nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade, when in eternal lines to time thou growest.” Shakespeare personifies death as a person, saying it will not be able to claim her. This is an extreme, but romantic compliment, which he uses to make his point, that not even death shall be able to take away her manifold of charms, and nor shall it taint or hurt her. She will never become haggard through Shakespeare’s eyes, but his love for her will defy time and age. By contrast, Keats uses no personification, but many stock descriptive phrases with simple, but dramatic and effective words. For example, when the knight falls asleep, he has a cruel and harsh awakening. He is transported from the grotto, to the gloomy landscape – a common device of the ballad. Keats uses pathetic fallacy again here to reflect the mood of the knight as “gloomy.” The knight goes on to say, “I saw pale kings and Princes too, pale warriors and death pale they were all.” Again he uses the repetition of the word “pale” to indicate how “La Belle Dame sans Merci” has sucked the life out of all of her victims. They are trapped in a nightmare world which they cannot escape. The language is much more vivid, yet literal than in “Sonnet 18.” Keats also uses several exclamations throughout the knight’s speech, in order to convey his grief, and the dangers of love, which bring torment, if a beautiful lady is trusted.
Shakespeare’s sonnet ends with a couplet, saying that as long as there are men alive who are able to read his sonnet, which captures this true and romantic love, she can forever live through the sonnet. In this final couplet, the word “long” is onomatopoeic. There is a lot of emphasis on this word and it can be read just how it is thought. Shakespeare’s language remains positive, flattering, adoring and cleverly worded throughout the poem. Keats’ poem, however, ends where it began, showing a circular structure, in the depression and dusk of the twilight of the landscape, ending with the sombre language the poem opened with. The last two lines are identical to the first two, and Keats uses this purposely for emphasis and effect.
In conclusion, out of the sonnet and the ballad, I personally prefer Shakespeare’s sonnet, as it portrays love as something positive, and something which brings happiness and joy. “La Belle Dame sans Merci” is however, more story-like and perhaps more interesting to listen to as it is intriguing, and has an air of mystery about it, due to it’s Medieval background. It is also much easier to understand. However, I like the way in which Shakespeare uses many comparisons and flatteries in order to woo his lady. Another feature that I liked about Shakespeare’s sonnet was the length. A lot of significant information is given out in such a short poem. It is filled with meaning, which has been hugely added by the use of metaphors. One thing in particular I enjoyed about the sonnet was the use of metaphors, because it makes the sonnet seem much more real. The comparisons brought this special woman to life. Also, the positive ness of this poem is what attracted me more to it than to “La Belle Dame Sans Merci,” because Shakespeare leaves you with much cheerfulness to go away with.
Although, I enjoyed studying the short jerky stanzas of Keats’ “La Belle Dame Sans Merci.” It set a different mood to that of Shakespeare’s sonnet with a much more miserable ending. The features I liked about this poem were the repetition of consonants and phrases. This had a great impact on me because it was almost like an echo being heard. This added to the eeriness of the poem. We therefore see how love has two paths. One leads us to be hurt, whereby we suffer from heartache and rejection. The other is passionate, and true, and each poem presents one of these types of love. The poems represent how there is a fine line between love and infatuation, and the reader should be careful that the love the find is true.
