Keats+-+La+Belle+Dame+Sans+Merci

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Ah, what can ail thee, wretched wight, Alone and palely loitering; The sedge is wither'd from the lake, And no birds sing.
 * //La Belle Dame Sans Merci//, 1819**- PUBLISHED VERSION

Ah, what can ail thee, wretched wight, 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 cheek a fading rose Fast withereth 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 set her on my pacing steed, And nothing else saw all day long; For sideways would she lean, and sing A faery's song.

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

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 gaz'd and sighed deep, And there I shut her wild sad eyes-- So kiss'd to sleep.

And there we slumber'd on the moss, And there I dream'd, ah woe betide, The latest dream I ever dream'd On the cold hill side.

I saw pale kings, and princes too, Pale warriors, death-pale were they all; Who cry'd--"La belle Dame sans merci Hath thee in thrall!"

I saw their starv'd lips in the gloam With horrid warning gaped wide, And I awoke, and found me here On the cold hill side.

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



John William Waterhouse, //La Belle Dame Sans Merci//, 1893

ORIGINAL VERSION

Manuscript I Oh what can ail thee, knight-at-arms, Alone and palely loitering? The sedge has withered from the lake, And no birds sing. II Oh what can ail thee, knight-at-arms, So haggard and so woe-begone? The squirrel's granary is full, And the harvest's done. III I see a lily on thy brow, With anguish moist and fever-dew, And on thy cheeks a fading rose Fast withereth too. IV 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. V 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. VI 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. VII She found me roots of relish sweet, And honey wild, and manna-dew, And sure in language strange she said - 'I love thee true'. VIII 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. IX And there she lulled me asleep And there I dreamed - Ah! woe betide! - The latest dream I ever dreamt On the cold hill side. X 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!' XI I saw their starved lips in the gloam, With horrid warning gaped wide, And I awoke and found me here, On the cold hill's side. XII And this is why I sojourn here Alone and palely loitering, Though the sedge is withered from the lake, And no birds sing.

=[|Pdf of the poem]= =[|NOTES ON THE POEM]= =[|Ballad Metre]= =[|Very accessible essay and notes]=

=SPECSLIMS for La Belle Dame Sans Merci:=

The poem tells us the story of a knight and a mysterious beautiful woman. He set her on his horse and she takes him to her “elfin grot” where she cries. He falls asleep and dreams of men who cry out after her "La Belle Dame sans Merci hath thee in thrall!" When he awakes he finds himself on the same hill side and waits.
 * Subject**

-This poem is a Ballad which means that its main purpose is to entertain, it would be read aloud to an audience. -Ballads are short narrative poems. -Ballads also have conventional themes of love death and the supernatural. -More specifically this is a Literary Ballad which mimics the form of a folk ballad (which are normally anonymous) and is often linked with the Romantic poets- Remember Keats is among the romantics.
 * Purpose**

As the narrator/enunciator of the text seems impartial the emotion and mood of the poem comes from the Knight character.
 * Emotion or Mood**

The emotion of the poem changes throughout. It opens fairly impartially for the first 3 stanzas drawing a contrast between the knight “Alone and paley loitering” with “The squirrel’s granary is full” to highlight the status of the knight.

As the enunciator changes to the knight -in the 4th stanza- the tone changes to a lighter tone as he describes the beauty of the “faery’s child” In the following stanzas the knight has the power as he is using active verbs “I met a lady”. “I set her on” or “I made a garland”.

However in the 7th stanza this changes as does the tone. She has the power now which can again be seen with the active verbs applying to her alone. “She found me” “She took me”. The emotion changes to wistful as we see how the Knight is infatuated with the woman.

In the last 4 stanza the tone changes again. As the knight dreams of the men calling after the mysterious woman and awakes on “the cold hill side” the emotion is one of longing and sadness.

Structure or Form** As mentioned previously this is a Ballad. So “form” is done! In terms of structure there are elements of a cyclical narrative in the poem with the repetition of the lines “Alone and palely loitering, Though the sedge is wither'd from the lake, And no birds sing.” In both the opening stanza as well as the ending one.
 * __Craftsmanship__

In the first line we see how Keats used alliteration to describe the knight with “wretched wight.” which is then repeated in the first line of the second stanza.
 * Language and Diction**

Throughout the poem there are references to the supernatural as is conventional with ballads. For example “a faery's child” “A faery's song” and ”I saw pale kings, and princes too,/ Pale warriors” showing how Keats was using the conventions of a folk ballad to create his narrative of the woman without pity.

In the 3rd stanza the narrator uses the images of flowers to describe the knights disheveled appearance. “I see a lily on thy brow,” and “And on thy cheek a fading rose” both to show how he is ashen and pale. However lilies have strong connotations of death and roses of beauty and love. In this way we can see how the knight is close to death as his beauty and love are fading away.
 * Imagery**

There is no definite iambic rhythm however in every stanza the last line is obviously shorter which draws attention to the ending of each stanza and the beginning of each new one.
 * Movement, rhythm and rhyme**

In the 7th stanza when the female protagonist takes the power Keats uses sensory images to characterize her as a wild yet sweet seductress. “roots of relish sweet” “honey wild and manna dew”
 * Sensory Images**

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='Enjoy' the jazz-funk version...=

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