Analysis Of The Poem La Belle Dame Sans Merci

â€Å"Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all.† Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1849. Three poems that I have studied that powerfully explore this idea are ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’ by John Keats (1819), ‘My Last Duchess’ by Robert Browning (1842) and ‘Remember’ by Christina Rossetti (1849). Keats writes about idealised, courtly love and loss through rejection. Browning addresses obsessive and sinister love which is lost through destruction, and Rossetti expresses real love which is lost through bereavement. These poems have contrasting forms, contributing in various ways to the themes of love and loss. ‘La Belle Dame’ is a ballad – a narrative poem of folk origin, meant to be sung – selected by the poet to enhance the idealism of love, elevating the dream-like quality of the language. This form was atypical of the time in which it was written. Keats adopted this form to separate it from his time and place to a time of pure and courtly love. ‘My Last Duchess’ is a dramatic monologue; the speaker reveals his own character more than the subject. As the poem develops, we learn in stages the true nature of the obsessive and jealous love which leads to the implied murder of the Duchess. The Duke’s speech exposes his pompous, obnoxious character and psychopathy. Browning may have been inspired by the dramatic monologue style of poetry written by the metaphysical poets of the 16th Century, similar to Andrew Marvell’s ‘To His Coy Mistress’. The poem also resonatesShow MoreRelatedA Poem from the Romantic Period, La Belle Dame sans Merci by John Keats711 Words   |  3 Pagescouldn’t use math or science to understand human nature. 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