These are two very interesting opposites to consider when
thinking about this enchanting poem. I suppose one way of thinking about what happens in
this poem is that it could be viewed as an allegory of what surrendering yourself to
your imagination too much can actually do to you. It is clear from the very entrance of
the "lady" that she is described in almost supernatural terms, emphasising her beauty
and seductive nature:
I met a lady in the
meads,
Full beautiful--a faery's
child,
Her hair was long, her foot was
light
And her eyes were
wild.
The relationship that
develops between them is one where clearly the knight-at-arms devotes himself completely
to her and is oblivious to anything else. He is completely entranced and has fallen
under her spell. However, the dream during his sleep warns him of his danger of giving
himself so totality over to the power of the
woman.
Interestingly, the "death-pale" suitors make us
think of the paleness of the knight-at-arms that is indicated in the first stanza. This
indicates that in spite of this admonition, the knight-at-arms still surrenders himself
to the powers of imagination and ignores reality. This is why he is still "alone and
palely loitering." He has proved himself an advocate of the imagination, and his
inability to accept reality and the dangers of living our lives only for imagination is
what leads to his own withering and decline.
No comments:
Post a Comment