Centre Name: Todmorden High School Centre Number: 37367 English Literature A Level: Principal Examiner response to exemplar material Candidate 1 - (i) Explore Keats use of imagery in La Belle Dame San Merci In this lyrical ballad, Keats uses imagery to present the dramatic encounter between two anonymous males, one of whom is a knight who has been seduced then abandoned by a mysterious woman. In the first 3 stanzas, the poet presents us with images of desolation and decay, by using words such as withered, haggard and woe-begone to describe both the knight s appearance and the natural setting in which the narrative takes place. The speaker of the first 3 stanzas questions the knight about his haggard state, which is so pronounced that he sees a lily on [his] brow, alluding to the paleness of his skin and suggesting that the knight is, like the nature around him, near death. The impact of this imagery creates a depressed tone and causes the reader, perhaps, to sympathise with the knight and to wonder at what could possibly have happened to cause his anguish and fever. When the knights picks up the narrative in stanza 4, however, the imagery becomes more pleasant, as the knight tells the tale of how he came to be palely loitering. Images of beauty are used to present the enigmatic enchantress who is described as full beautiful. The fact that she is a faery s child however, and that her eyes are wild, introduces a note of tension which adds to the drama and begins to hint at the reason for the knight s dejected state. Lots of images that appeal to the reader s sense of sight and smell are used to create contrast to the sombre, desolate images at the beginning of the poem. The garlands, bracelets and fragrant flowers, typical Romantic images, clearly symbolise the infatuation felt by the knights as he attempts to seduce the enigmatic woman with them. However, if we are to believe the knight, it is the faery child who ultimately seduces him. In spite of the knight s attempts to tame her by kissing her wild wild eyes, she feeds him luxurious food, such as honey and manna-dew, associated with the Gods. She intoxicates him with these foods and Keats describes the state of bliss he feels through images associated with the intimate senses: taste and smell, creating an erotic, sensory overload, which ultimately and somewhat ironically, renders the knight insensible. The dream sequences in the poem, where pale kings warn him of La Belle Dame are starkly juxtaposed with the previous images and lead the poem inexorably towards it bleak, hopeless conclusion. By ending the poem with a return to the opening images of desolation, Keats presents the hopelessness of the knight, who destined to fade away, like the bird song and the withering sedge that surrounds him. Perhaps Keats is implying that supreme happiness is impossible, and is warning, through his use of imagery to present the hapless
knight, of the danger of giving way to sexual desire and the dire consequences of such a loss of control. 482 words 20 minutes Best to avoid the descriptive introduction - instead, focus immediately upon analysis of imagery. The instruction is to explore imagery and so nearly every example needs to be taken much further observations upon language in paragraph 2 need to be developed so that there is analysis of haggard and withered (e.g. where would we normally find such language? What are the common associations? How much more can be said about lilies and their association with death?) In paragraph 3 there is a lapse into commentary how do words such as faery and wild create tension? Only analysis will show the effects of these terms. There are some good ideas developing in paragraph 5 but there are opportunities to analyse which are missed: an image such as manna-dew needs to be fully unpacked e.g. a reference to a divine gift/ provided by a supreme being to feed a people desperate for sustenance/nourishment; a sign of God s love for his people - ironic here because it is used as a means to capture and poison the knight. The idea was started but not developed. As the essay approaches its conclusion it becomes more about structure and technique than imagery. In these part (i) tasks, focus from the first sentence on the given task in this case explore imagery no need to contextualise or describe the poem. Select a manageable sequence of images and by digging deeply into implicit meaning and associations (avoiding any detailed discussion of contexts - such as the Israelites in the desert - which is not rewarded here) show your creative engagement and your ability to analyse the ways meaning is made. There is fluent, promising writing here the problem is relevant focus upon the task and a failure to distinguish between analysis and descriptive commentary. There are some good materials online on the Eduqas website which address precisely this issue in the analysis of poetry and prose. Mid to low Band 3 at present but with plenty of promise.
Candidate 2 - (i) Explore Keats use of imagery in La Belle Dame San Merci In his lyrical ballad, Keats uses imagery to demonstrate a mysterious encounter between two unknown males, one of whom has been seduced then betrayed and abandoned by a manipulative seductress. The poem is rich in imagery, which Keats uses in a variety of ways. For example, words such as, ail thee and palely clearly indicate a sense of illness or even loss, whether that be physical or emotional loss. An ailment is like an affliction, and Keats could be implying that the Dame herself is the ailment, and has left the knight in a sorry state indeed. Furthermore, language that describes nature as withered further emphasises the Dame s effect not just on the knight and not just on the surroundings, but also on us as readers. Keats uses imagery to cleverly create a sense of mystery around the Dame, who by this point we are yet to meet, whilst also creating sympathy for the knight in order to entice the reader into the Dame s character in much the same way as the knight was. Therefore, when we finally learn the truth about the Dame, that she is a ruthless enchantress who leaves her victims death pale, we feel the same way the knight does: betrayed and lonely. Keats uses the structure of his ballad to mirror its imagery. For instance, each stanza is four lines in length, a quatrain, demonstrating that the knight is trapped with his feelings of sorrow and despair, creating a sorry scene. Furthermore, the idea of constant despair is reflected in the first and final stanzas as the final stanza is almost identical to the first but with subtle differences. These differences such as the word if instead of has, emphasises the idea of the knight being forever damned by the Dame, with no escape. Moreover, the speaker in the first stanza is an unknown male who has come across the knight and is inquiring as to his state, whereas the speaker in the final stanza is the knight himself answering the question posed in the first stanza. Here, Keats is creating a sense of sorrow for the knight by having him describe his own predicament through the recurring imagery of loss and grief, which suggests that for him there will be no escape from his sojourn. 378 words - 20 minutes Avoid descriptive introduction. Go straight to the analysis of imagery. A real attempt to get to grips with imagery in the second paragraph but some ideas need clarification what is meant by the effect on us as readers? Quickly, the paragraph becomes broad assertion and there needs to be an analysis of the imagery which can create a sense of mystery around the Dame and not simply an assertion that this is the case. In the last two paragraphs the emphasis falls off imagery and structure/technique become the focus. Focus upon the set task a manageable selection of images needs to be analysed in detail avoid assertion / general description and in the short time available unpack a few of the key images (see comments on Exemplar 1). By all means show a pattern if you can see one but don t (in response to this task) allow considerations of technique/structure to dominate. With a change of emphasis this is a potentially strong candidate there is clear, accurate
expression and some evidence of good observation. But images such as elfin grot ; cold hill side ; starved lips etc. need to be fully explored and rather than being told that they do contribute this or that to the poem, we need to be shown HOW that happens. Low Band 3
Candidate 3 - (i) Explore Keats use of imagery in La Belle Dame San Merci In La Belle Dame San Merci Keats uses imagery as a contrast of past and present, so as to suggest the temporary nature of passion and emotion, and also to romanticise the cruelty of women during courtship. In the second stanza, it is possible that the squirrel symbolises the dame who has filled her granary and had her fill of the knight s love and emotion which she will use as her own nourishment. The finality of this is echoed by Keats use of the damning phrase the harvest s done. This then contributes to the images and sense of bleakness throughout the poem, due in part to the repetition of the adjective pale, as this when coupled with Keats cyclical structure, in using the silent imagery of no birds sing as the last line of the opening and closing stanzas, suggests that the knight s suffering will continue in a cycle of bleak inescapability. Keats draws upon the exoticism of the dame in both her speaking language strange (which is considered by most to refer to French in accordance with the title) and her faery like qualities in her elfin grot. She is indeed explicitly described as a Faery s child. In fact, the imagery in the 6 central stanzas is very much romanticised, as if a haze is induced by her honey and manna dew, as it likely was for the knight. This imagery in these stanzas of exoticism and fantasy, adds to the sense of a magical realism throughout; the dame is enigmatic and her faery s song is probably not understood, but she is adored by the knight anyway, who makes a garland for her head, underscoring his infatuation with her. One of the most striking images presented by Keats is of a wild beautiful woman who is not only unattainable, in that she cannot be tamed, suggested by Keats repeated description as wild, but also her cruel mocking of the knight who she look[ed] at as she did love. In fact, as Keats does not give an identity to the questioner, it is entirely plausible that the questioner is the dame herself, simply taunting the haggard and so woe-begone knight. Thus Keats imagery here is that of a mocking woman, suggesting the cruel nature of those who are loved but need not requite love. The tenth stanza presents images of pale kings and princes socially better than the knight as if to allegorise the magnitude and sheer number and range of her victims. The image evoked by these death pale victims of her seduction, could be of a court of royals, all loyal and hopelessly attracted to her the queen of women. 451 words 20 minutes Well done indeed. This is expertly written and shows good evidence of the academic discourse required by the highest Bands in AO1. There is clear creative engagement throughout and some economical analysis of the ways images operate. In order to be a secure Band 5 response, there would need to be a little more explicit and thorough analysis of some of the images chosen. For instance, the candidate makes a very good start by linking exoticism to faery and elfin grot but might have gone on to show more clearly the harm and danger implicit in these images. A secure top Band 4 response with some hints of Band 5 in the emerging sophistication. Further practice will almost certainly make perfect in this candidate s case.