1. La Belle Dame Est Poison

2. Poison – Bell Biv Devoe

3. Femininity & Gender Inequalities Within this course our spotlight has been put on women. What they are supposed to be, how are they supposed to act and most times it is a man that describes it. This is why I wanted to focus on the theme of Femininity and Gender Inequalities. The works that I chose were La Belle Dame Sans Merci by John Keats and the song Poison by Bell Biv DeVoe. The speaker of the poem “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” seems to describe the knight’s romantic involvement with La Belle Dame so negatively, that it ends up leaving a bad image on women, which also happens in the song Poison by Bell Biv DeVoe. In both works a man is intrigued by a woman who he happens to find beautiful and when things don’t go as expected a group of men call her something inappropriate. Also in both of the works do they do not give a woman’s insight or an explanation as to why or what causes her to do what ever it is that she exactly does. The women in both works do not say anything to gain the men’s attention; it is the men that pursue the women. Both works are being told entirely from the perspective of the man which is unfair and biased because there’s only one side of the story. If either of the works were about a man, the man wouldn’t be shamed he’d be called a player and praised by other men, yet in this case with women is called a hoe, merciless or poison. These two works show the gender inequalities that still go on to this day due to ones views on what femininity is supposed to be.

4. Literary Technique “I saw pale kings and princes too, pale warriors, death-pale were they all; ” Euphony – agreeable sounds that are easy to articulate “I sense something strange in my mind situation is serious” Rhyme- when in between of a word or a ending of a word sound alike “And honey wild, and manna-dew, And sure in language strange she said--- ‘I love thee true’.” “Relationships they seems from the start It’s all so deadly When love is not together from the heart”

5. Comparisons “Full Beautiful-a faery’s child, Her hair was long, her foot was light” “She’s so fly” The term “Fly” is being used in this situation as slang for : fine, beautiful, sexy, attractive.

6. Comparisons “And there I dreamed –Ah! Woe betide!—The latest dream I ever dreamt” “Beware she’s schemin’, she’ll make you think you’re dreamin’ ”

7. Comparisons “I saw pale kings and princes too, Pale warriors, death-pale were they all; They cried---- ‘ La Belle Dame sans Merci Thee hath in thrall!’” “See what you’re sayin, huh, she’s a winner to you But I know she’s a loser (How do you know?) Me and the crew used to do her! Poison! ”

8. Questions Do you see the relationship between the song and the poem? What song would you have chosen? Do you see the negative output it leaves on women?