John Keats “La Belle Dame sans Merci”

FOCUS ON THE TITLE La Belle Dame Sans Merci = The Beautiful Lady Without Mercy What does that suggest the poem might be about?

Themes of the poem A magical experience. A mood of enchantment. A “quest” or journey. A love affair. Loneliness.

Form of the poem Ballad The folk ballad, which usually tells a basic story of love or pain, is known for its simple language and minimal details.

Translating the text…(1) O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms, Alone and palely loitering? The sedge has withered from the lake, And no birds sing. O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms, So haggard and so woe-begone? The squirrel's granary is full, And the harvest's done. I see a lily on thy brow, With anguish moist and fever dew, And on thy cheeks a fading rose Fast witherth too. "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. "I set her on my pacing steed, And nothing else saw all day long; For sidelong would she bend, and sing A faery's song. What is troubling you, knight-at-arms, All alone and waiting about? The grass has died off around the lake And the birds don't sing. What is troubling you, knight-at-arms, So tired and immersed in sorrow? The squirrel’s storehouse is full And the harvest’s over. You are as pale as a lily flower And sweating, as if you suffer from illness, And on your cheeks the blush of life Quickly fades away. “I met a lady in the meadow, As beautiful as a faery’s child, With long hair, a dancer's step And wild eyes. “I made a crown of flowers for her hair, Bracelets, and a belt of flowers She looked at me as if she loved [me] And gave a soft moan. “I set her on my restless horse And my mind was consumed by her presence For sideways she would bend and sing The song of a faery.

Translating the text…(2) “She found me sweet relish roots And wild honey, and the hardened, sugary sap of certain trees, And surely, in a foreign language she said ‘I love you truly.' “She took me to her faery grotto And there she wept and sighed strongly, And there I put her gently to sleep With four kisses. “And there she calmed me to sleep And then I dreamed- and suffering befalls! The last dream I ever dreamed On the cold side of the hill. “I saw pale kings, and princes as well, And pale warriors, all ghostlike and deathly, They cried- ‘The beautiful lady without pity Has enslaved you!’ “I saw their perishing lips in the gloom Gaped wide with horrid warning, And I woke up, and found myself here, On the cold side of the hill. “And this is why I linger here, All alone and waiting about, Though the grass has died off around the lake And the birds don't sing.” "She found me roots of relish sweet, And honey wild, and manna-dew; And sure in language strange she said, 'I love thee true.' "She took me to her elfin grot, And there she wept and sighed full sore, And there I shut her wild, wild eyes, With kisses four. "And there she lullèd me asleep, And there I dreamed- ah! woe betide!- The latest dream I ever dreamed On the cold hill's side. "I saw pale kings, and princes too, Pale warriors, death-pale were they all: They cried- "La Belle Dame sans Merci Hath thee in thrall!' "I saw their starved lips in the gloam, With horrid warning gapèd wide, And I awoke, and found me here, On the cold hill's side. "And this is why I sojourn here Alone and palely loitering, Though the sedge is withered from the lake, And no birds sing."

First 3 Stanzas… O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms, Alone and palely loitering? The sedge has withered from the lake, And no birds sing. O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms, So haggard and so woe-begone? The squirrel's granary is full, And the harvest's done. I see a lily on thy brow, With anguish moist and fever dew, And on thy cheeks a fading rose Fast witherth too. = What’s up? You are looking pale and ill. Why is the language so old and weird here? Perhaps Keats is trying to create a dreamy mood, or a long-off and faraway tone.

Second 3 Stanzas… "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. "I set her on my pacing steed, And nothing else saw all day long; For sidelong would she bend, and sing A faery's song. The poem here has a lovely innocent fairy tale meaning here about flowers and meadows... BUT…Look at the suggestive vocabulary and imagery.

Third 3 Stanzas… "She found me roots of relish sweet, And honey wild, and manna-dew; And sure in language strange she said, 'I love thee true.' "She took me to her elfin grot, And there she wept and sighed full sore, And there I shut her wild, wild eyes, With kisses four. "And there she lullèd me asleep, And there I dreamed- ah! woe betide!- The latest dream I ever dreamed On the cold hill's side. = She fed me sweet foods, I kissed her and went to sleep where I had a nightmarish dream. Look at the language here – the repeated ‘dream’ and use of ‘strange’, ‘wild’ and ‘elfin’ suggests a mood or place – what is it?

Last 3 Stanzas "I saw pale kings, and princes too, Pale warriors, death-pale were they all: They cried- "La Belle Dame sans Merci Hath thee in thrall!' "I saw their starved lips in the gloam, With horrid warning gapèd wide, And I awoke, and found me here, On the cold hill's side. "And this is why I sojourn here Alone and palely loitering, Though the sedge is withered from the lake, And no birds sing." = In his dream kings and princes warn him the lady will keep him forever. Notice the use of ‘pale’ – what else in the poem was pale? How does that compare to other imagery in the poem?

The tricky deeper meanings… One thing that Keats is interested in doing is having an apparently simple poem but packing it with deeper meanings. Is the poem about unrequited love? What about the idea that this is a poem put in a fantasy setting to hide a real event? Could it be about the feelings of being dumped?

Discussion Who is the unnamed speaker who comes across the knight at the beginning of the poem? The poet, John Keats? The reader? Someone else? Why do you think we don’t know the names of people in the poem? Why doesn’t the knight just get up and leave?

Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer… Why do you think that the fairy lady cries in her cave (line 30)? Could the knight's experience just have been a dream? Would that matter? Why is the knight able to understand the fairy lady's "language strange" (line 27)? Why does the last stanza echo the first? What is the effect of that?