Vampires in Poetry La Belle Dame Sans Merci By John Keats The Glamour By Lord Byron Oil and Blood By William Butler Yeats By Sarah Moje via

4/24/20152 Vocabulary Within the Keats’ Poem Loitering- lingering, hanging around. Granary- place where food is stored. Haggard- worn out, tired. Faery- fairy, fey, spirit. Garland- wreath of flowers. Grot- woodland home or dwelling. Sojourn- travel

4/24/20153 Who Is La Belle Dame Sans Merci? Literally, in French it means “the beautiful lady without mercy.” The title is French, but the poem was written by English poet John Keats. La Belle Dame sans Merci symbolizes more than one woman. She provides a warning about the dangers of being captured by a “fey” or perhaps…a vampire!

4/24/20154 A Destroyer of Men? La Belle destroys more men than just the knight. These other men are seen in the brief dream the knight has before awakening to his loneliness They include kings, princes, and warriors, all men of power and all plural, indicating their large number. That La Belle could ruin powerful men lets readers know she is supernatural.

4/24/20155 Her Powers Her power surpasses death. The pale kings, princes and warriors continue to be tortured by the memory of her after their death -- their "starv'd lips" crave her kiss.

4/24/20156 Evidence of Vampiric Activity Speaker is pale and haggard. He is wandering around lost. The color has faded from his face. He met a strange woman and spent the night with her. Had a terrible dream. People in dream had horrible open mouths. They warned him about the woman. He wakes up weak, and she is gone.

4/24/20157 Vocabulary within Byron’s Poem Rent ~ Torn out from. Livid ~ full of life; angry Loathe ~ to hate or detest. Expire ~ to cease to exist. Withered ~ died; to fade away.

4/24/20158 Byron’s Vampire Byron’s vampire says he has a job to do. The poem opens with an order. But first… It goes on to describe all the things this vampire must do. Byron’s poem is a “survival guide” for vampires.

4/24/20159 Tasks to Complete Rise from the tomb where he is buried. Haunt the place in which he grew up. Feed on the women in the family.

4/24/ How Does the Vampire Feel? “Yet loathe the banquet which perforce must feed thy livid, living corpse.” Is Byron’s vampire supposed to get any joy when feeding on others? Is he just doing it to survive?

4/24/ A Situation of Hate The vampire hates himself for feeding on his family. The family hates the vampire for taking their lives and for making them vampires. They curse each other, but each new vampire he makes faces the same fate as he has.

4/24/ The Title? Why call the poem “The Glamour”. Glamour is a word often associated with vampires. Why?

Vocabulary in Yeat’s Poem Lapis Lazuli- a deep blue stone like mineral. Exude- to give off. Shrouds- a cloth in which a corpse is wrapped for burial. 4/24/201513

Yeat’s Poem The shortest of the three, Yeat’s poem sets up a contrast between the “good” dead and the vampires. He layers his poem, with the dead who will not rise in beautiful tombs, covered in sweet smelling violet flowers and scented oils. 4/24/201514

Yeat’s Vampire His vampire lurks far beneath the ground, in older tombs, undecorated and smelling foul. They are not covered with jewels and flowers, but rather wrapped in winding shrouds. The fact that they lie under trampled clay can mean they are buried EVERYWHERE people walk. Their bloody lips mean they feed on all life forms. 4/24/201515

4/24/ Compare/Contrast In a 2-3 page paper, compare/contrast the vampires presented in these three poems. Use quotes from the poem to show similarities and differences. Discuss the author’s writing style as well and the imagery used in the poem. Conclude by explaining what each vampire could be a metaphor for.