La Belle Dame Sas Merci

Writing and literature have existed for thousands of years, from the ancient civilizations of the Middle East and Mediterranean lasting until the modern era. The effect of writing and the creation of literature on the world is unimaginable, as they are cornerstones of a cultured society. Not only is the fact that we create written works important, but also what we put into those works. They are modes for the recording of information and the outlets for creative expression. The whole spectrum of human emotion has been described in countless written works, along with a myriad of life experiences. Some stories, like Work That Counts by Ernesto Ruelas Inzunza, describe the special day that two people can experience while birdwatching. Others, like the poem Right Hand by Philip Fried, recount a family member with a varied life and history. In several short stories and poems, sadness and hardship are the main …show more content…
Even though the piece is written during the 19th century, the poem itself is set during medieval times. The story surrounds a lonely, downtrodden knight who meets this lovely, beautiful, siren-like maiden. The two characters fall in love, spending most of the day together in a euphoric atmosphere. However, the maiden sends the knight into a deep sleep where he encounters a nightmare full of death-ridden kings, princes, and warriors. He wakes up and travels back to a lakeside, just as lonely and depressed as ever. The knight starts out the poem sad and miserable, only to have his spirits rise to the stratospheric feeling of love and plummet back down to the low feelings he once had. What brings him back down from his cloud nine state of mind was the horrible nightmare of death and misery that the woman laid in the knight’s mind. This omen warned him of “The Beautiful Lady Without Pity”, who had played with the man’s mind but also heart during the