Thomas Rymer and Queen of Elfland relates the abduction of a human by an elf as well, but this time it is an Elf Queen going after a human man. The story is based on the medieval romance Thomas of Erceldoune (Nelson 138), who, according to Child's introduction, was a historical figure believed to be a prophet (63,64). This gift was supposedly given to him by the queen of elves (64), but the connection can be ignore in an examination of the ballad, as no such gift is mentioned.
Both versions printed in Child's collection (A and C*) are very similar. They open with Thomas lying on a grassy hill, when suddenly a “lady gay” (l.2;l.3) appears in front of him. A minor difference is that Thomas is explicitly characterized as “true” (l.1) in version A. The lady is described as luxuriously dressed in both versions. In A she wears a skirt of green silk and a velvet mantle (l.5,6), whereas in C* her velvet mantle is green and beset with jewels (l.9,10). Given the connection to medieval romances, the lady's appearance deserves some further examination. In medieval writing, description of dress served as coded vocabulary, expressing more than the mere appearance of a character. Studies of this subject often focus on the much more prominent male …show more content…
The literary ballad takes up Thomas Rymer's basic components – a human man being seduced by a supernatural being – but enhances the tragedy of the narrative. The story is embedded in a frame dialogue, but each party only speaks once. This makes La Belle Dame a little less balladic, as it just appears to have a first person narrator. As suggested by Hoffmann, this makes the ballad more lyrical, hence emotional. The focus lies on the personal experience of the main character. The fact that this main character is a knight fits with the popularity of medieval themes during Romanticism, as well as the earlier folk folk
Both versions printed in Child's collection (A and C*) are very similar. They open with Thomas lying on a grassy hill, when suddenly a “lady gay” (l.2;l.3) appears in front of him. A minor difference is that Thomas is explicitly characterized as “true” (l.1) in version A. The lady is described as luxuriously dressed in both versions. In A she wears a skirt of green silk and a velvet mantle (l.5,6), whereas in C* her velvet mantle is green and beset with jewels (l.9,10). Given the connection to medieval romances, the lady's appearance deserves some further examination. In medieval writing, description of dress served as coded vocabulary, expressing more than the mere appearance of a character. Studies of this subject often focus on the much more prominent male …show more content…
The literary ballad takes up Thomas Rymer's basic components – a human man being seduced by a supernatural being – but enhances the tragedy of the narrative. The story is embedded in a frame dialogue, but each party only speaks once. This makes La Belle Dame a little less balladic, as it just appears to have a first person narrator. As suggested by Hoffmann, this makes the ballad more lyrical, hence emotional. The focus lies on the personal experience of the main character. The fact that this main character is a knight fits with the popularity of medieval themes during Romanticism, as well as the earlier folk folk