La Belle Dame Sans Merci Flashcards
La Belle Dame Sans Merci (title)
French - translates as the beautiful women without mercy
O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
Enigmatic “O” - emphasises the speaker’s pity for the knight
“Ail thee” - uses old language, typical of medieval comances
“Knight-at-arms” - more medieval language, emphasises idea of medieval romance
Alone and palely loitering
“Palely” - indicative of his physical health, suggests he is in poor health, weak or sick
“Alone” - suggests vulnerability, which is furthered by the idea of him being weak/sick
The sedge has withered from the lake
And no birds sing.
“Withered from” - plant has moved away from the water (life-giving liquid), creating suspicion and warning the reader of the potential danger of the lake
“No birds sing” - lack of alive plants or animals - lack of surrounding life, emphasises the knight’s loneliness
(Referring to the knight) So haggard and so woe-begone?
Narrator is sensitive to the knight’s emotional and physical health
Reference to both physical and mental health - “haggard” = physical, “woe-begone” = mental
The squirrel’s granary is full,
And the harvest’s done.
“Squirrel’s granary is full” = metaphor - abundance of the natural world, narrator’s attempt to cheer up the knight
“The harvest’s done” - period of hard/difficult work is over, so the knight should (like many people at this time) be feeling relieved and happy, relaxed
I see a lily on thy brow
Symbolism of “lily” - it is the traditional funeral flower, suggests impending death - more literally the narrator is saying his face is white (like a lily)
And on thy cheeks a fading rose
Fast withereth too.
“Fading rose” = metaphor - literally, colour is fading from his cheeks - rose is a symbol of love, so fading implies the knight felt a love so strong it was possible to see it leave his body
“Fast withereth” - emphasises dead/decaying landscape and tragic fate of the knight
I met a lady in the meads,
Full beautiful - a faery’s child,
“Meads” = meadows - knight uses the same language as initial speaker, so it is hard to tell them apart - this is part a traditional english ballad
“Met a lady in the meads” - typical chivalric romantic trope
“Faery’s child” - woman associated with mythical otherworldly beauty - introduces idea of her being inhuman
Her hair was long, her foot was light,
And her eyes were wild.
“Hair was long” - at the time long loose hair was associated with sensuality/sexuality
“Eyes were wild” - emphasises a sense of lack of humanity (wild eyes has connotations of an animal) - “wild” contrasts the archetypal idea of beauty, giving the woman an element of danger
I made a garland for her head,
And bracelets too, and fragrant zone;
“Garland… bracelets” - signs of his adoration of her and suggests an attempt to claim her by giving her things to mark her as his own
She looked at me as she did love,
And made sweet moan
“As she did love” - ambiguous - could be looked while she was in love or as if she was in love
“Sweet moan” - suggestive (sexual), emphasises idea of their love being serious
I set her on my pacing steed,
And nothing else saw all day long
“Pacing steed” - possible euphemism (for sex)
“Nothing else saw” - knight had emotionally moved into another world and lost touch with reality
For sidelong she would bend, and sing
A faery’s song.
“Sidelong she would bend” - means she is sitting sidesaddle - suggests she doesn’t fully trust him and is being dishonest (facing away)
“Faery’s song” - could be destructive or fatal, like a siren’s song
She found me roots of relish sweet,
And honey wild, and manna-dew
“Roots of relish sweet” - not typically found in the winter, suggests she gave him the feeling of spring
“Manna- dew” - god gave the israelites manna when they fled egypt and were wandering in the desert - it is as if the woman gives the knight sustenance to live (and without her he would die)
And sure in language strange she said
“And sure” - suggests the knight is reassuring himself of his truthfulness
“Language strange” - indication something is amiss, speaking in a language he can’t understand
She took me to her elfin grot
Role reversal in terms of the power balance of relationship - suggested by the transition of pronouns from I to she, and the focus more on her actions than his (she is leading him)
And there she lulléd me asleep
And there I dreamed - Ah! woe betide! -
The latest dream I ever dreamt
On the cold hill side
“Lulléd me asleep” - shows the woman’s seductive nature and power over him
“Latest dream” - latest could mean most recent or his last (as he is dying)
“Cold hill” - double meaning of “cold” - emotionally and physically cold as a result of adandonment
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!
Repetition of “pale” - links them to the knight (their health/strength have been drained), the listing of high status different people reinforces the point that anyone is susceptible to the woman
“Thee hath in thrall” - their warnings alert the knight for the first time that he is in danger, has been decieved
I saw their starved lips in the gloam
“Gloam” = archaic word for twilight - point of transformation from day to night, metaphor for transition from life to death - reminder that they are dying
And this is why I sojourn here
Alone and palely loitering
“Sojourn” = temporarily reside - either the knight thinks he is about to die or believes the woman is coming back
Important context
Author (keats) may have written this aware of his impending death from tuberculosis, and could be using the dying knight as a representation of himself
Structure
Cyclical structure - last stanza answers the question of the first stanza - so it comes to a conclusion, gives reader a sense of closure
It is in the form of an english ballad - form usually used to express love for someone, and this is why the ABCB rhyme scheme is used, and 12 quatrains
