REVISE – La Belle Dame sans Merci #620949 - Prove ed esercizi Zanichelli

STEP 5 Think further and prepare for your test: negative capability

Read the text and decide if the statements are true or false. Then use the prompts in brackets to write some extra reflections in your exercise book. You can use the final text as revision material for your test.

In La Belle Dame sans Merci, Keats presents a knight who has failed to embody what the poet himself called 'negative capability,' which is the ability to remain confident in uncertainty and mystery (Refer to section 6.14 in your textbook, and, in particular, the box 'Imagination,' to elaborate on the concept of negative capability.) After being overcome by the lady's enchantment, the knight can only 'loiter' on the hillside, feeling feverish and drained of energy. Far from embracing the possibilities of the unknown, he abandons himself to physical and mental decay. (Refer to STEP 3 and discuss the knight's passivity, especially compared to the lady's.)
The poem's setting reinforces this sense of unease and failure. The natural world is depicted as empty and lifeless, rather than as something that engages the imagination and provides material through which man can gain knowledge. (Refer to STEP 2 to describe the setting in detail.)

A: The passage suggests that negative capability allows a person to remove uncertainty and fully understand mysterious experiences.

B: The knight's physical weakness reflects his lack of confidence and control.

C: The setting is presented as independent from the knight's mental and physical state.

D: §The natural world in the poem is desolate, and does not stimulate imagination or knowledge.

Revise

Vero o falso

STEP 2 A strange and silent place

Read the description of the setting and complete it with the words given.

La Belle Dame sans Merci opens with a scene that feels strangely ________, creating an unsettling mood from the very start. Instead of the lively colours one would expect in a ________, the knight is found in a barren landscape where the plants are ________ and the birds are ________. This environment becomes increasingly ________ as the knight tells his tale, mirroring his encounter with the ________ lady and the ________ visions.

Revise

Posizionamento

STEP 4 What makes a ballad?

La Belle Dame Sans Merci follows the pattern of a ballad. Select the features of the ballad it presents.

A: Stanzas between two and four lines.

B: Mixture of dialogue and narration.

C: Themes of social and environmental issues.

D: Psychological depth of the characters.

E: Both real and supernatural characters.

F: Use of repetition.

Revise

Scelta multipla

STEP 1 Scan the text and focus on the sequence of events

Reorder the events (1-8) as they happen in the poem. Write the correct numbers in the gaps.

The lady takes the knight to her cave, where she shows signs of deep emotion.    ________
The knight is alone and looks weak and exhausted.        ________
The knight meets a mysterious woman in a field and is immediately drawn to her.   ________
The knight has a strange dream in which pale men warn him about the lady.    ________
The lady sings to the knight until he falls asleep.         ________
The lady gives the knight unusual food that seems sweet and magical.     ________
The knight wakes up alone on the hillside, abandoned.       ________
The knight makes a flower crown and bracelet for the lady.      ________

Revise

Completamento aperto

STEP 3 Character spotlight

Focus on the knight and the lady and choose the qualities that best describe them.

1 The knight in the poem is mainly portrayed as ________.
2 The lady can be interpreted as ________.
3 The lady giving the knight food reflects ________.
4 The knight placing the lady on his horse stands for ________.
5 The knight's final isolation on the hillside makes him resemble ________.

Revise

Completamento chiuso