Compare and Contrast La Belle Dame sans Merci and A Woman to her Lover

English essay

In both poems, the women are very much in control. They are both powerful and dominating. The poem LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI is mainly about a man being seduced by a woman who then leaves him. The woman is very much like a temptress and is very seductive. The man she seduces is described as “a knight-at-arms”. This suggests it is set in the medieval. The poem A WOMAN TO HER LOVER consists of a woman describing several stereotypical images of women, and she is making it clear to her lover that she is none of them. The woman is taking the upper hand and is showing her independence. She is setting out rules and is aiming to get what she wants (which is equality). We do not hear from the man – and it seems as though he does not have a voice. The woman is very determined and does not leave any room for compromise. She is very strong and denies all stereotypes.

With LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI you do not know what to expect reading from the title. It sounds mysterious and intriguing. This is because it is written in a different language. Even if you can recognise the language as being French and are able to translate it (the beautiful woman without mercy) it would still be unclear as to what the poem is about. Therefore, you cannot assume very much in this poem. In A WOMAN TO HER LOVER however, the title leads you to become quite presumptuous as you may expect some sort of love poem. Perhaps a declaration of love, expressing all her feelings in a happy way. This is a typical romantic poem with much joy and usually cheerful images. You would not expect something so demanding and forceful from reading the title A WOMAN TO HER LOVER.

In LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI there are two different speakers. A person who has an outside view of him tells the first three stanzas. Without this, we would only know of the man’s feelings. We would be at a disadvantage, as we would not know of his behaviour. People generally think of their behaviour as different to what is thought by people who are watching. We also hear his feelings, which is a key part of the poem. He is happy at first as he meets the woman. She seduces him, which leads him to believe things that are not. His feelings change when the woman leaves him alone and he feels hurt. In A WOMAN TO HER LOVER there is only one speaker. You hear only her point of view. Therefore you cannot see whether the man wants her to be a stereotype or whether he also wants equality. You can only assume what the man feels. Perhaps this is wrong, but when reading a poem it is hard to keep an open mind to all possibilities. He seems to be against her feelings because of the tone of her writing. However, it may just be a warning in advance so as not to create any false images.

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The types of love in these poems are different. In LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI the love is false. She is only seducing him. Nevertheless, he misinterprets it and loves her. Therefore, the love is unrequited. The love between then was half, as he loved her but she did not love him. Even though he realised this, by the end of the poem, he was not ‘over’ her. Anyway, yet in A WOMAN TO HER LOVER it is about real love and a real relationship with the love already present. She is making sure that he does not love her with a false expectation but that he loves her for herself. The woman is trying to tell the man what she is like and he has to accept her. This will improve the relationship, which seems to be one of her aims. She realises it will not work if they are not truthful to each other. The love is true rather than false; reciprocated and mutual rather than unrequited and in LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI.

LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI is very different to A WOMAN TO HER LOVER in the way it is more like a story than anything else. There are many different ideas and images introduced. There is not just a couple of main images i.e. nature that are continually repeated. However, there are several ideas that feature quite prominently in this poem for example fairytale aspects. The poem begins with an outside observer speaking. She refers to the man as though he seems lost, perhaps injured. In the second stanza, she repeats the first line of the first stanza, which begins the idea of repetition. It seems as though it is autumn or winter. We can tell this because it describes the grass that is no longer by the lake “the sedge has wither’d from the lake”. Also “the squirrel’s granary is full/the harvest is done”. Nature and vegetation is quite often referred to in this poem. “No birds sing” this also suggests that the birds have migrated south. She also describes the man as growing old “lilly on thy brow”. A lily is usually associated with death as a rose is associated with youth “fading rose” this seems to show he is losing his youth. It then moves on to the voice of the man. He describes the lady he meets. They seem quite isolated “in the meads”. He thinks of her as a “faery’s child” which begins the aspect of fairytale. We can begin to tell that the woman is not a typical lady of that time. “Hair was long/eyes were wild” women were usually thought of as unearthly and wild if they wore their hair done. He begins to misinterpret her feelings for him “look’d at me as she did love”. The meaning of the look was ambiguous, you cannot be sure if it was meant with love. A biblical idea was also introduced “manna dew”. Manna is a heavenly food as it was supposedly sent to the Israelites from God when they were in the desert. “In language strange she said – I love thee true”. As it was in a language he could not understand, again it could have been misunderstood. “Elfin grot” this is also like part of a fairytale. At this point they are in her cave or grotto. It gives an impression of seduction – “full sore” this can be interpreted as passion. The repetition is again shown with “kisses four”. “She lulled me to sleep” this shows that the woman is in control. The final three stanzas tell us about previous lovers of the woman who had all been victims to her seduction. “Kings and Princes” this shows that it does not matter your status, you can still be fooled and can still love. They all seem to look like death – and starved of something. “Starved lips” this seems to contrast with the idea of him being full from eating in the grotto. He awakes and realises it was a dream or prophecy and that he was the same – a victim of the woman. The final stanza enforces the repetition and gives a circular image as he is going around in a circle. It seems as though he cannot escape. By the final line, he has begun again “and no birds sing”. This gives an effective finish to the poem.

The language used in A WOMAN TO HER LOVER is quite different to the language used in LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI. The woman begins with the first stereotype in the first stanza, which is of a woman that is just there o have children and to be conquered into a slave. She does not want to be changed into his fantasy “bend me to your will” or to be made into a slave who only bears children. She will not put with just being used. She uses an extreme example “drudgery” which is the lowest type of servant. He is very outspoken. She uses many apostrophies such as “ O Lover I refuse you!” This has quite a dramatic effect. She sounds rather stubborn. In the second stanza, she moves onto the second stereotype. The visions are of a perfect angel who cares solely about her husband instead of herself. She describes a “wingless angel who can do no wrong” This suggests being above a normal human being. It also introduces a biblical idea of angels and perfection. She also dismisses the idea of her being a pretty ‘thing’ that is just there as part of the décor. “I am no doll to dress and sit for feeble worship” but that she is a person who needs to be acknowledged as more than a doll. Again she says she will refuse him if he believes she is like that. It also shows that she does not mess about as she refers to him as a “fool”. The third stanza, the stereotype shown is of a woman who is used to just sexually satisfy her husband. She makes it clear she is not there just for him to enjoy “your clamorous desire” She is saying that she is going to live her life for her and he can be a part of it if he wants ‘to play by the rules’. Nevertheless, she is not going to revolve her life around him. She will not try and look good just for his pleasure but also for herself “only for your fond caresses/My body supple only for your sense delight” She also says that no other woman of the time would become that for him. In the fourth and final stanza, she describes what she wants the relationship to be like. The woman’s tone becomes gentler. You can see she wants equality “I shall be your comrade, friend and mate” You get a sense of military. She also balances it more (this also suggests the desire of equality) “to live and work, to love and die with you” She wants them to do things together and share their lives with each other. She then addresses him as a husband and will accept him if he does her. The use of conjunctions is increased, as she uses three ‘ands’ in three consecutive lines. This implies anticipation and excitement. The sense of circles and circular motion is felt in the last few lines of the poem “music of the spheres/circling fugue” The music of the spheres was thought to be a heavenly sound which makes the love seem to stretch beyond earth. The final line re-introduces the biblical idea “until we reach the very heart of God” This suggests they feel so strongly, they will be together until they die.

The poem LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI has a flowing rhyme scheme. It goes like this: - A, B, C, B, D, E , F ,E , G, H, I, H, and so on. It has the effect of a song. This poem is actually a ballad, which is a slow song, which tells a story. It has four line stanzas with song-like elements. The effect of this is that the structure is not too tight, but also still has a structure. As it tells a story, there is not much change in the idea throughout the poem. There are certain clues to tell us that it is set in medieval times. Some of the language and terms used set this scene. The poem A WOMAN TO HER LOVER does not have any particular rhyme scheme. As the woman is setting out rules, it sets a scene for rhythm. You can get into the poem quite well and can relate to the stereotypical ideas introduced. Each stanza has a drastic change of idea. The first three stanzas are stereotypes of women but the fourth stanza is her dream of the relationship, as she dismisses all stereotypes. She also subverts and undermines the traditional stereotype of a nineteenth century woman.

Both of the poems have very similar ideas introduced, such as circles and biblical images. I enjoyed reading both poems, as women were the stronger sex. However, I preferred the idea of women being their own person and not any particular stereotype. Women can be seductive but they are always themselves. I also preferred the layout and structure of A WOMAN TO HER LOVER as LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI was slightly too long. The language used was also easier to understand and interpret in A WOMAN TO HER LOVER. However, they were both very good poems.

Emma Peacock