Wesley Huang Period 3

Part 1: 1. Foot a) A unit of rhythm in a verse b) (4) And no birds sing 2. Iamb a) A foot consisting of an unaccented and an accented syllable b) (4) And no birds sing 3. Iambic Tetrameter a) A line with four feet in an unstressed and stressed syllable pattern b) (1) Oh what can ail thee, knight-at-arms, 4. Iambic Dimeter a) A line with two feet in an unstressed and stressed syllable pattern b) (4) And no birds sing. 5. Quatrain a) A verse of poetry that consists of four lines b) (5-9) There are four lines that are isolated by space between other stanzas. Four lines grouped together this way is a quatrain. 6. Visual Imagery a) Imagery that pertains to sight, allowing the reader to visualize events or places at work. b) (9-10) The speaker describes a lily on thy brow with anguish moist that allows one to visualize the objects being described. 7. Metahpor a) A comparison without using like or as b) (13-14) The speaker is describing the ladies beauty as like a faerys child but doesnt use like or as. 8. Kinesthetic Imagery a) Imagery that pertains to movement or an action b) (31-32) The speaker describes how he shut*s+ her while eyes with kisses four, he closes the eyes with his kiss on each eye. This pertains to action movement. 9. End Rhyme a) The use of rhyme at the end of lines in poetry b) (6&8) The last words of line six and line eight rhyme (albeit not a true rhyme) with each other, begone and done 10. Masculine Rhyme

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a) Rhyme that falls on the stressed and concluding syllables of the rhyme words. b) (6&8) So haggard and so woe-begone? And the harvests done. 11. Hyperbole a) Deliberate and obvious exaggeration used for effect b) (21-22) The speaker claims that all he saw for the whole day was the lady but one cannot just look at a person for 24 hours. He must have seen a leaf or a tree or something. This just shows how much he is attracted to the lady. 12. Anapest a) A foot including two unaccented syllables followed by an accented one b) (8) And the harvests done 13. Oblique Rhyme a) Approximate but not true rhyme b) (10&12) Dew kind of rhymes too, not exactly a rhyme but it sounds close enough to one. 14. Assonance a) Same or similar vowel sounds in stressed syllables that end with different consonant sounds. b) (18&20) And bracelets too, and fragrant zone And made sweet moan 15. Allusion a) An indirect reference to a famous something or somebody b) (26) There are two biblical references, the honey wild refers to the promised land flowing of milk and honey that the Israelites were searching for and the manna-dew refers to the sweet bread that God gave to the Israelites when they were starving in the desert. 16. Caesura a) A pause or break in a line of verse. b) (16) The dash parenthesis in the middle of the line suddenly breaks the rhythm of the reading, adding to the dramatic effect of the poem. 17. Alliteration a) A poetic effect achieved using several words that begin with same or similar consonants b) (25) roots of relish has the same similar consonant sound beginnings 18. Anaphora a) The use of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses, lines or sentences

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b) (30-31) Both lines start with And there that adds to the rhetorical effect. 19. Double Entendre a) A statement that is deliberately ambiguous, one of whose possible meanings is risqu b) (18) fragrant zone can refer to a belt made out of flo wers or refer to her lady parts 20. Consonance a) the repetition of the same consonant two or more times in short succession b) (46) Alone and palely loitering Notice the Ls sound that is repeated throughout the phrase, also adding to the singing effect of the poem 21. Internal Rhme a) Rhyme that occurs at some place before the last syllables in a line b) (1-2) Ail thee rhymes with palely but they occur in the middle of their respective lines. 22. Tetrameter a) A verse line with four feet b) (43) And I awoke and found me here 23. Dimeter a) A verse line with two feet b) (48) And no birds sing 24. Gustatory Imagery a) Imagery that pertains to the sense of taste b) The relish sweet description of the roots allows the reader to almost taste the flavor and texture of the roots. 25. Repetition a) Reiteration of a word, sound, phrase or idea b) (31) The speaker repeats wild wild consecutively that emphasizes the word on hand. 26. Auditory imagery a) Imagery that pertains to the sense of hearing b) (30) The lady wept and sighed, allowing the reader to hear her voice and reactions. 27. Tactile imagery a) Imagery that pertains to the sense of touch b) (43-44) When the speaker uses cold to describe the cold hills side that he awoke from, it allows the reader to connect and feel what the speaker is feeling. 28. Hemistich

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a) A half-line of verse that is separated by a caesura b) (6) The caesura by the dash divides the line evenly into four syllables, making Full Beautiful the half line of verse preceding the caesura a hemistich 29. End- stopped line a) Line in which both the grammatical structure and the sense reach completion at the end of the line. b) (46-47) The line ends with a period, signifying the end of the line, phrase and grammar. 30. Apostrophe a) A figure of speech in which someone or some abstract quality is directly addressed as through present b) (9) The speaker directly speaks to the knight, asking him whats wrong Part 2: 1. This poem is a ballad. It is a ballad due to its narrative style (telling a story of a pale knight and his traumatic experience), the use of quatrains and the ABCB rhyme scheme. The rhythm is like that of a song. 2. During the late 18th and early 19th century, the concept of chivalry became popular again. Chivalry was a code of conduct that was used by medieval knights that valued traits such as honor, courtesy and courtly love. The reason for the renewal in the more modern time period was due to the rise of Romanticism. This new time period resulted from the revolting effects of the Industrial Revolution and a new interest in the esthetic experience. They types of literatures that were written in this time period were usually chivalric romances. These romances centered around a hero such as a knight but emphasized on the courtly love of the story. These stories were also enhanced by the rise of the Gothic period that combined horror and Romanticism together. This poem has both Romantic and Gothic influences on it. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-local/DHI/dhi.cgi?id=dv4-26 http://www.gothic.stir.ac.uk/

3. The poem is about a knight who the speaker sees wandering with a ghostly look which makes the speaker ask the knight the reason for his desolate look. The poem then turns to

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the knights point of view. The knight explains that he met a beautiful lady (possibly nonhuman) in the countryside/forest in which he fell in love with or became obsessed with. They interacted with each other like lovers and the lady finally takes him to her elfin grot and there the knight claims he fell asleep to a dream. In the dream he sees a vision of the former noble lovers of the lady who warned him of the consequences of him and the ladys interactions. Then the knight wakes up by himself and now he just wanders, searching for that lady who brought him life. In a metaphorical interpretation, this can be seen as a critique on the pursuit of ideal love. It reveals the outcome of the idealistic romantic who believes in finding true love. It shows how that no matter how special or pure the love is, it will ultimately cease to exist due to time or death. This relates to my life experience because I have a very idealistic outlook when it comes to relationships. This has been to the downfall to the relationships Ive been in because I always try to make everything perfect whether its a date or a gift. I take relationship aspects too seriously and always end up being the one most hurt. I would always be open to the fact that whatever girl I liked could be the one and would nearly idolize the girl. I feel like (not to his extreme of course) the knight because he believed he found a girl who potentially can be true love but hes idealism forsakes him and he ends hurt and searching for the ever elusive perfect girl again.

4. I would organize the poem into three body paragraphs, analyzing the visual imagery in the first three stanzas that are coming from the speakers point of view, the metaphors and imagery in the next five stanzas from the knights point of view of the interaction with the lady and then the change in tone and imagery in the last four stanzas that signaled the revelation of the knights dream. I. II. Intro Stanzas 1-3 (1-12) Talk about the speakers description and conversation of the knight through his imagery and metaphorical images to convey the dreary tone that sets up the poem

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III.

Stanzas 4-8 (13-32) Show the knights point of view and his enchantment with the lady through his visual imagery, allusions and repetition. Show how the knight is in love with the lady

IV.

Stanzas 9-12 (33-48) Show the change in tone to that of dread and horror. Show how also the anaphora and consonances help convey the sense of desperation and disparity

5. One can say there are two speakers in the poem, it is a dialogue between an unidentified person and a knight. The unidentified person seems like a wanderer or a traveler through the area who happens to see an aimless knight moping around. He seems very observant of nature and the knight through his description of autumn (The squirrels granary is full [] harvests done and I see a lily on thy brow .. anguish moist and fever-dew.) These descriptions help convey the somber and distressing nature of the poem. The language used is that of medieval times such as thee and thy that contribute to the setting of the poem. He seems very curious and pestering about the ill-nature of the knight. The knight appears very longing and disheartened about the loss of the magic lady he had met. He knows he fell in love with an enchantress who tricked him but he cannot stop loving and yearning for her. He believed he found true love and strives to search for this impractical love.

6. The dimeter in the fourth line of each stanza overall has the greatest importance on the poems impression. Most of the lines before the fourth line in each stanza is in iambic tetrameter, the unstressed stressed syllables help convey a regular rhythm, a characteristic of ballads. Yet the author chooses to add a non-ballad trait of a dimeter in the fourth line and uses either an anapest and an iamb or just iambs. The effect of this can clearly be seen in the first stanza, for example, The sedge has withered from the lake/ And no birds sing(line 3 and 4). There is a basic rhythmic pattern in the third line and then suddenly the fourth line cuts off that rhythm, forcing a quick stop. It brings a sense of foreboding and mystery as if something is being hidden from the reader. The knight set her on my pacing steed for sidelong would she bend, and sing/ A faerys song (lines 21-24) Again, the author uses beautiful imagery and metaphors to set up this song-

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like quality and A faerys song abruptly halts it, slowing down the rhythm. The rhythm of the poem describes that of the heartbreak when it comes to attempting true love as one day it can go well and then suddenly disappear and leave the heartbroken person in agony.

7. Faery a. The word fairy reminds one of fairytales, tales of fantasy and folklore, a time of knights, ladies and dragons. The fairy-like quality of the lady alludes to Oberon, king of the fairies in Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream. Oberon is so handsome that no moral can look at him and move away. Anyone he speaks to in his forest-kingdom will be lost forever. The lady that enchanted the knight seems to serve a similar purpose. She obviously has a beauty that captivates the knight (and all those former kings and princes) and she causes her lovers to fall asleep (similar to Oberon making people falling asleep) while she disappears like if the whole thing was a dream (just like in the play). The knight in the poem could be a pun for the Night in the play. b. The word is important because it serves to represent the fantasy that is surrounded in finding true beauty and ideal love. This kind of love is attainable as the knight discovered as he ends up on a cold hills side. The use of the word fairy to describe the lady adds to the supernatural impression of the lady, connecting it more to the impossible. The various descriptions of faerys song, Language strange and elfin grot adds more to the mysterious of the woman to whether she actually is a magical being or not. This all helps to describe the unachievable goal of perfect love and even when found, it is easily lost to time and death. c. Main word: Faery 1) (1) Oh what can ail thee, knight-at-arms

The anonymous traveler first comes upon a knight who clearly is in physical and emotional pain. Knights usually evoke images of handsome, strong warriors that fought for honor under King Arthur. Here one sees a startling

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contrast, a knight that looks defeated and in agony. The idea of knights helps reinforce the concept that the ballad is like that of a fairytale because many fairytales had instances of fairies and knights such as the Brothers Grimms Sleeping Beauty. The anonymous traveler does not describe the uniform of the knight, but instantly recognizes that the pale person is a knight. This invisible imagery forces the reader to create the image of the knight with ones own imagination, adding to the mysterious effect of the poem. 2) (7) The squirrels granary is full

The anonymous traveler is describing the season of fall. During autumn, many animals are preparing for hibernation and the long winter by storing tons of food and squirrels are one of those animals. The phrase squirrels granary suggests images of squirrels stockpiling nuts in a hole in a tree where they live in. The personification of the squirrel (having human characteristics thorough the use of a granary, a man made building) adds to the fantasy of a fairytale. With fairies comes talking animals which the granary of the squirrel helps convey that effect. The phrase also helps set the tone of the poem to that of late autumn, a time of somberness, setting up the mood of the knight. 3) (11)And on thy cheeks a fading rose The traveler describes the cheeks of the knight to that of a fading rose. Roses remind one of red, of life and of love. To have the knights cheek described like that of a fading rose shows the paleness and lack of life in the knights face. Roses are also associated with beauty and certain fairies are considered the guardians of them. These fairies are the keepers of all things beautiful and take care of flowers. One can metaphorically compare the knight to a rose. The fairy lady took care of the rose but left it to die which results in the fading color. The knight is slowly dying like a fading rose, adding to the miserable attitude of the poem. 4) (14)Her [the fairys] eyes were wild

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In the fourth stanza, the speaker becomes the knight who the anonymous traveler was talking to. The knight describes the lady he met as beautiful with eyes that are wild. The word wild evokes images of untamed animals such as stray dogs or African lions. If the ladys eyes were considered wild (rowdy? Fierce? Crazy?) then it relates to that of a woodland fairy. A wild fairy that is uncivilized and has its own way of life. This contrasts to a knight who is chivalrous and civilized, there is a certain attraction gained from such a unique sight. The girl is different, even to the point that she is magical (again the fairy idea). The wildness of her eyes must serve as the main attraction to the knight as he later uses wild twice to describe her eyes later in the poem. 5) (17-18) I made a garland for her head and fragrant zone

The knight is basically courting the lady, making her numerous pieces of flower clothing. A fragrant zone is a belt made out of flowers. In another sense, the double entendre could also refer to the area below her belt as the female reproductive area was referred to due to its unique pleasing smell when it comes to sex. The idea of flowers connects with fairies as they were usually associated with forests and flowers. Fairies were considered guardians to flowers and the knight may know that, hence he showers her with flowers to please her. By putting flowers close to her vagina, he not only pleases the fairy lady herself, but gives him more access to the lusty part of his desire. 6) (24) She [would] sing a faerys song

The knight has taken the lady on her horse and on the horse, the lady sings either songs like that of fairies or an actual faerys song. The mysteriousness of the poem continues, the reader does not know if the lady is actually a fairy singing fairy music or if the ladys voice is so enchanting, it is like that of a faerys song. A fairys song stirs up images of enchanting music sang by fairies in order to sway people to their bidding, like that of the

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sirens in the Odyssey. If looked at a romantic point of view, a faerys song can be seen as a hyperbole, describing the beauty and captivating nature of her singing yet it can also be an actual faerys song that bewitches the knight into falling in love with her. 7) (25-26) She found me roots of relish sweet, honey wild, and manna-dew

The enticing lady finds natural foods in the wild that the knight considered delicious, to the point where he alludes to biblical foods. Manna was the sweet bread that God gave the Israelites when they were wandering in the desert, saving them from starvation. The manna would come during the dew of dawn and had to be gathered before the sun because it would have melted. The bread-like substance tasted sweet like honey. This allusion helps to show the divine characterization of the lady by the knight. The knight sees the lady as a fantastical being, something that is not of this world which relates to the idea of a fairy. Fairies are supernatural beings that only occur in fairytales therefore the thought that the knight had just met one must have astonished him. In another sense though, his embellishment the foods she gives to him can be from his love obsession to her. 8) (29) She took me to her elfin grot

After frolicking around together; the lady takes the knight to her home, her elfin grot. An elfin grot stimulates thoughts of a fantasy world filled with talking animals, wizards and elves. This adds to the whole notion that she really is a faerys child and that the whole unreal situation is real. While that may be the case, it can also mean that the knight has already fallen so deeply in love with the lady that he has begun imagining surreal conditions that adds to the mysteriousness of the area. If the poem is a representation of the futility in the pursuit of ideal love, the imaginary belief of the knight sets himself up for tragedy. The knight does not go into detail describing the elfin grot but just the phrase has enough visual imagery for one to imagine a wooden

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dwelling deep in the thicket of a bush. 9) (35-36) The latest dream I ever dreamt on the cold hill side

The fairy-lady soothes the knight to sleep where he claims to have the last dream he will ever have. The cold hill side is the place where he will soon awake from. The tactile imagery makes the reader feel the chill in the air and the detached nature of the area. In his dream, he sees the former lovers of the lady who warn him that he is under bondage to the lady. This contrasts with the beautiful and lively woman he had pranced with previously. The cold hill side creates a sense of evil in the air, something vile. In a metaphorical sense, the cold hill side represents reality or death to an ideal love. Realistically speaking, love will always end, no matter how special or pure the love is. The knights fixation on the girl causes him to forget everything else and in an instant, lose all emotional fixations with the girl as well. 10) (45-46) This is why I sojourn here/Alone and palely loitering

The knight has finished his story, explaining why he is wandering by himself in such a dismal nature. The action of palely loitering clearly depicts images of ghosts moaning in their restless state. The loss of the lady pushes the knight nearly to the verge of death. This connects to the idea that the pursuit of perfect love will only result in loss and pain. The knight is left to wander the ends of the earth, searching again for his true love, the fairy lady, yet he will end just like the pale kings and princes he saw in his dream. The reiteration of the same words that the anonymous traveler uses in the first stanza helps conclude the story and organize the song-like qualities of the ballad.