La Belle Dame Sans Merci 

2)

John Williams Waterhouse 1849-1917

He painted classical, historical, and literary subjects. His father was a painter too.

His paintings represented  despiting woman, femme fatale, like circe invidiosa, Cleopatra, la belle dame sans merci and different versions of lamia.

3) I believe that the painting reflects the fact that the woman is trapping him ( in fact its seems that it is with her own hair) , and he cant do anything else than play along, because of how they seem to be position together, he is due to follow her. Her position, has to do with the characteristics of femme fatale, trying to imnotize him and trap him.  Waterhouse alludes to nature, and the totality of the image, of them merging with nature, that it clearly representes the ballad. Also it seems that the picture of them sourrunded by the peaceful atmosphere of trees and flowers its contrasted with the intense look between them.

I met a lady in the meads,
Full beautiful—a faery’s child,
Her hair was long, her foot was light,
And her eyes were wild.

I made a garland for her head,
And bracelets too, and fragrant zone;
She looked at me as she did love,
And made sweet moan

 Also its imposrtant to state how the light of the picture creates and enchanted effect, almost as it is glowing.

4)

"La Belle Dame sans Merci" by Henry Meynell Rheam, 1901

5)

I believe that the painting I choose, represents in a better way, the setting were they are. With the lake in the sourrounings. I believe that both paintings have a particular light were the effect of something mysterious going on, is created. Anyway in this paining, he looks weaker, and feeling dreamy, which clearly represents the poem.

 And there she lullèd me asleep,
And there I dreamed—Ah! woe betide!—
The latest dream I ever dreamt
On the cold hill side.

Also I believe that this painting suggests how this “affair” is going to end, this mysterious and wicked fairy is going to abandoned him after making him fall for her, and he wil be left alone, next to the lake, alone and “palely loitering”

And this is why I sojourn here,
Alone and palely loitering,
Though the sedge is withered from the lake,
And no birds sing.