Summary John Keats 'La Belle Dame sans Merci' - Poem Analysis
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Course
Poetry
Institution
GCSE
Here’s a full breakdown of the ideas in ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’ by John Keats, tailored towards GCSE / IGCSE students but also useful for those studying at a higher level. Enjoy!
Includes:
THE POEM
VOCABULARY
STORY/SUMMARY
SPEAKER/VOICE
LANGUAGE
STRUCTURE/FORM
CONTEXT
THEMES
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 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 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.
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 dreamt
On the cold hill side.
I saw pale kings and princes too,
Pale warriors, death-pale were they all;
They cried—‘La Belle Dame sans Merci
Thee hath 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.
VOCABULARY
La belle dame sans merci - the beautiful lady without mercy- the title would only
be recognised by people who know french- most readers don’t realise she is
dangerous/evil (‘without mercy’ means she has no kindness and is pure ruthless evil)
Sedge - a type of grassy/leafy plant that grows by water
Haggard - dishevelled / rough looking / old or tired looking
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