LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI
Table of Contents
Summary of the Poem:
The speaker of the poem come across a “knight at arms” alone, and apparently dying, in a field somewhere. He asks him what is going on, and the knight’s answer takes up the rest of the poem. The knight says that he met a beautiful fairy lady in the fields. He started hanging out with her, making flower garlands for her, letting her ride on his horse, and generally flirting like knights do. Finally, she invited him back to her fairy cave. Sweet, thought the knight. But after they were through smooching, she “lulled” him to sleep, and he had a nightmare about all the knights and kings and princes that the woman had previously seduced – they were all dead. And then he woke up, alone, on the side of a hill somewhere.
Line to line analysis of the poem:
Stanza 1:
The poem opens with a question: an unnamed speaker asks a “knight at arms” what is wrong, or what is “ail[ing]” him.
Something is clearly wrong with the knight – he is loitering” by himself around the edge of a lake, and he’s “pale.”
The speaker says that the “sedge,” or marsh plants, have all died out from around the lake, and “no birds sing.” So we are guessing that it’s autumn or even early winter since all the birds have migrated, and the plants have “withered.”
The presence of the “knight at arms” reminds us of medieval fairy tales with knights and ladies in towers. We think that this is the response Keats intended.
Stanza 2:
The first part of the stanza echoes the first line of the poem word-for-word. Apparently the knight doesn’t answer immediately, so the unnamed speaker has to repeat the question.
This time, we get two more adjectives to describe the knight: he’s “haggard,” or worn-out and tired-looking, and “woe-begone.” The knight is obviously both sick and depressed.
The last two lines of the stanza do more to set the scene: the squirrels have finished filling up their “granary,” or storage of food for the winter, and the crops have already been harvested. We can now safely assume that it is late autumn.
Stanza 3:
The speaker continues to address this sick, depressed “knight at arms.” He asks about the “lily” on the knight’s “brow,” suggesting that the knight’s face is pale like a lily.
The knight’s forehead is sweaty with “anguish” and with “fever,” so he is obviously sick.
The last two lines of the stanza describe how the healthy colour is rapidly “fading” from the knight’s cheeks.
Stanza 4:
This stanza changes point of view.
All of a sudden, the knight answers the unnamed speaker’s questions. So now, the “I” is the knight, rather than the original speaker.
The knight says that he met a beautiful, fairy-like “lady” in the “meads,” or fields.
She had long hair, was graceful, and had “wild” eyes. (We are not sure what “wild’ eyes would look like, but apparently, the knight thought it was attractive.)
Stanza 5:
The knight made a flower wreath, or “garland,” for the lady, along with flower “bracelets.” The “fragrant zone” is a belt made of flowers.
We get the idea that the knight decks out the maiden with flowers.
“Fragrant zone” could also be a reference to her lady parts, which would make sense, given where the next two lines go.
The lady is “look[ing]” at the knight while “lov[ing]” and “moan[ing],” so we think that they two are having physical relations.
Stanza 6:
The knight puts the lady on his horse (his “pacing steed”) to take a ride.
The knight is so absorbed with his erotic encounter with this fairy lady that he does not notice anything else “all day long.” The lady leans “sidelong,” or sideways off of the horse and sings “fairy songs”.
Stanza 7:
The knight says that the fairy lady found him tasty roots, honey, and manna to eat (“of relish sweet”). “Manna” is the food that the Jewish scriptures say that the Israelites ate when they were wandering around the desert after Moses freed them from slavery in Egypt. It is supposed to be food from heaven, so this word makes the fairy lady seem supernatural, if not actually divine.
Alternatively, the association could be with the slavery from which the Israelites had just been freed. After all, the knight does become enslaved to the beautiful fairy lady. This allusion becomes even more potent when it’s associated with the “honey wild” that the fairy lady fed the knight. (The Israelites were trying to find the Promised Land, whichwould flow with “milk and honey.”)
The fairy lady tells the knight that she loves him, but she says it “in language strange.”
He does not say what language it is, or how he is able to understand her. Maybe he is just hearing what he wants to hear, or maybe her magical influence has enabled him to understand her “language strange.”
Stanza 8:
The fairy lady takes the knight to her “elfin grot.” “Elfin” just means having to do with elves, as and Tolkien fans probably figured. And a “grot” is a grotto, or cave.
Once they are back at her fairy cave, she cries and sighs loudly. The knight does not say why she is crying, and we never find out – it’s left to our imagination.
The knight kisses her weepy eyes four times. Again, her eyes are described as “wild.”
Stanza 9:
The fairy lady “lulls” the knight to sleep like a baby in her cave, and he starts to dream something. He interrupts himself with a dash and exclaims “Ah! Woe betide!” because even the memory of the dream is horrible as he repeats it to the unnamed speaker.
“Woe betide!” is an archaic exclamation used to express extreme grief or suffering. It was old-fashioned even when Keats was writing.
The knight’s use of this expression emphasizes the medieval romance setting.
The knight’s dream in the fairy cave is the “latest,” or last, dream he will ever have.
Stanza 10:
The knight describes the dream he had: he saw “kings,” “princes,” and “warriors,” and they were all “death pale.” Infact, he repeats the word “pale” three times in two lines.
The procession of “pale” men could be an allusion to the fourth horseman of the Apocalypse that gets described in the Book of Revelation in the Christian bible. The fourth houseman is Death, and he rides on a pale horse.
The pale warriors, princes, and kings all cry out in unison that “La belle dame sans merci” has the knight “in thrall,” or in bondage.
Line 39 has the title of the poem in it, so it is time to translate it. The title is French and it translates to “The beautiful woman without mercy.”
Stanza 11:
The knight continues to describe the pale warriors from his dream – in the “gloam,” or dusk, all he can make out are their “lips.”
Their mouths are “starv’d” and hungry-looking, and their mouths are all open as they cry out their warning to the knight.
The word “gloam” just means dusk or twilight, but it is no accident that Keats uses it – after all, “gloam” sounds a lot like “gloom.”
The knight wakes up from the dream alone and cold on the side of a hill.
Stanza 12:
The knight has finished his story. He tells the original, unnamed speaker, that this is why he is hanging out (“sojourn[ing]” and “loitering”) by himself, even though it is so dismal outside.
The knight repeats the unnamed speaker’s words from the first stanza, so that the poem ends with almost exactly the same stanza with which it began.
Answer the following Questions 1 Marks
1. Which season is the poem set in?2016 2019
Ans. The poem is set in the autumn season.
2. Who is being addressed at the beginning of the poem?
Ans. The knight is being addressed at the beginning of the poem.
3. Where did the knight meet the lady?2016 2019
Ans. The knight met the lady in the meadows.
4. In which year was the poem composed?
Ans. The poem was composed in the year 1819.
5. What words did the lady utter?
Ans. The lady uttered the words: ‘I love thee true”.
6. What was the lady known as?
Ans. The lady was known as the beautiful lady without mercy.
7. What did the lady feed the knight with?
Ans. The lady feed the knight with roots of relish sweet, wild honey and manna dew.
8. Where did the lady take the knight to?
Ans. The lady took the knight to the elfin grot.
9. Once in the cave, what did the lady do to the knight?
Ans. Once in the cave, the lady sung a lullaby to the knight and put him to sleep.
10. Where did the knight find himself when he woke up?
Ans. When he woke up, the knight found himself by the cold hill side where no birds sing and no visitation goes.
11. What actually ailing the knight?
Ans. The sudden separation from the lady whom he had fallen in love with was actually ailing the knight.
12. What kind of a poem is “La Belle Dame Sans Merci”?
Ans. The poem “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” is a ballad.
13. Who are the opening lines of ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ addressed to?2017
Ans: The opening lines addressed to the knight.
14. Whom did the knight meet? 2017
Ans: The knight met a beautiful lady.
14. What did the beautiful lady sing for the knight at arms? 2018
Ans: The beautiful lady sang a fairy’s song
Answer the following Questions 2 Marks
1. What did the lady do in her cave?
Ans. In her cave, the lady wept her sorrow and sang sweet songs; they made love and at last she lulled the knight asleep.
2. Who did the knight see in his dream?2016
Ans. The knight saw some kings, princes and warriors who were looking death-pale. They warned the knight with their starving lips that the knight was in the thrall of the beautiful lady without mercy.
3. What are the characteristics of Keats’ poetry?
Ans. The characteristics of Keats’ poetry are: worship of beauty, richness of the literary expressions and the extraordinary freshness of his poetry.
4. What do the words ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ means?
Ans. The words ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ means ‘the beautiful lady without mercy’.
5. What is the condition of the knight?
Ans. The Knight was all alone and palely loitering by the cold hill sides. He looked warn out, and woe-begone. Something was bothering him badly and that would be easily read by his face.
6. How did the lady look like?
Ans. The lady looked like fairy’s child. She was very beautiful with long hair, light foot and wild eyes.
7. What did the lady do as they rode the knight’s steed?
Ans. As the rode the knight’s steed, the lady bends sidelong and sung a fairy’s song to the knight.
8. What dream did the knight have?
Ans. The knight had a nightmare where he saw pale warrior, kings and princes warning the knight with their starving lips that the knight was in the thrall of the beautiful lady without mercy.
9. What warning did the people in his dream give out to the knight?
Ans. The people warned the knight with their starving lips that the knight was in the thrall of the beautiful lady without mercy.
10. What did the knight make for the lady?
Ans. The knight made a flower wreath, or “garland,” for the lady, along with flower “bracelets.” The “fragrant zone” is a belt made of flowers.
11. What did the lady give him in return?
Or
What did the lady give to the knight at Arms? 2017 2018 2019
Ans. The knight says that the fairy lady found him tasty roots, honey, and manna to eat (“of relish sweet”). “Manna” is the food that the Jewish scriptures say that the Israelites ate when they were wandering around the desert after Moses freed them from slavery in Egypt.
12. What is a ballad?
Ans. Ballad is one of the oldest forms of poetry. A ballad is a simple song of several stanzas sung to the same melody. It usually narrates a popular story and has a refrain line or lines repeated in the poem. It tells a story about a gallant knight and a lady in need.
Answer the following Questions 4 Marks
1. What are the signs that show us that the knight is suffering?
Ans. There are many signs provided by the poet that show us that the knight was suffering. We find him loitering about on the shore of the lake. He was all alone there. He looked very much tired and worn out. Even the natural scene that surrounds the knight was not favourable enough. That was a withered place withered the knight was loitering. He was looking all pale. The rose like colour was fading from his cheeks and he was very much tensed and worried about something, and that could be seen in his forehead. It could be read from his face that he had lost the peace of his mind and hence he was unrest.
2. Give a description of the lady.
Ans. The lady was very beautiful. She was so beautiful that one could easily guess her as fairy’s child. The knight was taken by her beauty. He fell in love with her as soon as he saw her. Her hair was long, her feet were light. She had wild eyes which were speaking the language of love. She could attract a man’s heart and impress him easily. Though in different dialect, she could sing love songs for the one who cared to listen.
The lady could capture the knight by her beauty, and took him to her elfin grot. There she wept and spoke her grief out to him. She made love to him and then lulled him asleep.
3. Describe the dream of the knight. 2017
Ans. The beautiful lady took the knight to her elfin grot and there she spoke her grief out to the knight. The knight consoled her and caressed her. She then lulled him asleep. There in the lady’s cave, the knight had a strange dream. He saw a number of kings, princes and warriors in his dream. All of them were looking death-pale. With their gnarled lips, their faces seemed horrible to look at. All of them were warning the knight that he had fallen in the trap of the beautiful lady who had no mercy.
4. Why was the knight loitering about?
Ans. The knight had met a beautiful lady. She was very beautiful. She was so beautiful that one could easily guess her as a fairy’s child. The knight was taken by her beauty. He fell in love with her as soon as he saw her. Her hair was long, her feet were light. She had wild eyes which were speaking the language of love. She could attract the knight’s heart and impress him easily. Though in different dialect, she was singing love songs for him.
5. Describe the expressions of the knight.
Ans. There are many signs provided by the poet that show us that the knight was suffering. We find him loitering about on the shore of the lake. He was all alone there. He looked very much tired and worn out. Even the natural scene that surrounds the knight was not favourable enough. That was a withered place where the knight was loitering. He was looking all pale. The rose like colour was fading from his cheeks and he was very much tensed and worried about something, and that could be seen in his forehead. It could be read from his face that he had lost the peace of his mind and hence he was unrest.
6. What was the dream about? What is the significance of the dream?
Ans. In the lady’s cave, the knight had a strange dream. He saw some horrible figures of some kings, princes and warriors warning him about the merciless lady of whom he was in hold. The kings, princes and warriors were looking death-pale. With their starved lips, their faces seemed horrible to look at. All of them were warning the knight that he had fallen in the trap of the beautiful lady who had no mercy.
7. What did the lady do in her cave?
Ans. The fairy lady takes the knight to her “elfin grot.” “Elfin” just means having to do with elves, as any Tolkien fans probably figured. And a “grot” is a grotto, or cave.
Once they are back at her fairy cave, she cries and sighs loudly. The knight does not say why she is crying, and we never find out – it is left to our imagination. The knight kisses her weepy eyes four times. Again, her eyes are described as “wild.”The fairy lady “lulls” the knight to sleep like a baby in her cave, and he starts to dream something. He interrupts himself with a dash and exclaims “Ah! Woe betide! Because even the memory of the dream is horrible as he repeats it to the unnamed speaker.
8. Describe the experience of the knight in ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’.2016 2019
Ans: The knight is enraptured by the beauty of a woman who he meets in the wilderness. She leads him to a cave and lulls him to sleep, saying she loves him. However the knight sees a dream in which earlier victims of the lady warn him that he has been bewitched by the lady who is devoid of any pity. He sees pale kings, princes and warriors who are tormented by the indifference of the lady. When he wakes up he finds that the lady has disappeared and he is forced to loiter aimlessly with the anguish of unrequited loved.
Explain with reference to the context (5 Marks)
a)I saw their starved lips in the gloam,2016 2018 2019
With horrid warning gaped wide,
And I awoke and found me here,
On the cold hill’s side,
Ans: These lines have been taken from the poem ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ composed by John Keats.
The knight is led to a cave and lulled to sleep by a beautiful lady. In his dream he sees pale kings, princes and warriors who are tormented by the indifference of the lady has disappeared and he is forced to loiter aimlessly with the anguish of unrequited love. He thus realizes that his dream was a prediction of things to come.
b) And this is why I sojourn here,2017
Alone and palely loitering,
Though the sedge has wither’d from the Lake
And no birds sing.
Ans: These lines have been taken from the poem ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ composed by John Keats.
The knight has been bewitched by a beautiful lady who had professed her love, and gave him sweet roots, wild honey and manna dew. But she was a lady without mercy who vanished without fulfilling the promise of love. The chill has withered the sedge from the lake and no birds are singing. But the knight is forced to loiter all alone, aimlessly with the burden of unrequited love.
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