La Belle Dame sans Merci- John Keats

1. Presented by-
Prof. R. R. Borse,
Asst.Prof. & HOD, Eng.Dept.,
B.P.Arts,S.M.A.Sci.,K.K.C.Comm.College,
Chalisgaon,Dist.Jalgaon
Mail- ravindraborse1@gmail.com
La Belle Dame Sans Merci
–JohnKeats

4. In French language

7. Keats was the youngest of the Romantics. He was born in East London,
where his father managed stables. He was mostly self-taught and
trained to be an apothecary at the age of fourteen. When he started
writing poetry, most critics dismissed him as an upstart due to his lack
of formal education.
Keats’ mother died of tuberculosis when he was fourteen. Keats
nursed his brother through the same illness; he died in 1818. A short
while after, Keats himself showed signs of the disease and, knowing he
was going to die, went to live in Italy where, it was thought, the
warmer weather would prolong his life. He wrote ‘La Belle…’ with the
shadow of death hanging over him, in physical and emotional agony.
Keats fell in love with Fanny Brawne and they were engaged to be
married, however were kept apart because of his financial problems,
then his illness. She remained loyal to him until his death.
He died at the age of 25. He was only beginning to write his best

14. ‘LaBelleDamesansMerci.’‘Thewomanisbeautiful, but
merciless.’
Keats’stitle, whichhegotfroma15th-centurycourtlylove
poembyAlainChartier(LaBelleDamesansMercy),
providesacluetothepoem’splot:insummary,
thepoembeginswiththe speakeraskingaknight what’s
wrong–thisknight-at-armsisonhisown,lookingpaleas
heloiters onahillside.

15. It’s at this point that the voice in the poem
shifts from this first speaker – the one
questioning the knight about what’s up
with him – to the knight-at-arms himself.
The knight then tells us his story: he met a
beautiful lady in the meadows……

16. Original poem (old English) Translated in new English

17. Original poem (old English) Translated in new English

30. Stanza 1
• The poem begins with the poet’s question to the knight, “O what
can ail thee“.
• The phrase reflects that the knight is in ail or trouble and distress.
The poet asks him why he is sad and wandering alone near the lake
where no green grass is left and no bird is singing.
• The season described in the poem is that of winter. In literature,
winter symbolizes solitude, sorrow, and grief.
• This also refers to the fact that the knight-at-arms is grieved.

31. Stanza 2
• In the second stanza, the poet repeats the same
question. He asks the knight-at-arms why he is
tired and miserable in appearance.
• In this stanza, he refers to the winter season by
telling that the squirrel is done with collecting its
grains and even the harvest is also done.
• These two symbols also refer to a time of
loneliness, coldness, and grief.

32. Stanza 3
The poet tells the knight-at-arms that there is a lily
on his brow i.e. his face is without colour and is pale like a
lily. There are sweat and pain in his forehead that depicts
that the knight-at-arms is sick.
In the final line, the poet says that the colour of the knight-
at-arms face is fading quickly like that of a withered rose. Till
here the poet is talking and raising questions to the knight-at-
arms.
In the following stanza, the knight-at-arms tells his story and
the reason behind his such condition.

33. Stanza 4
Now after listening to the questions raised by the poet, the knight-at-
arms answers that he met a beautiful lady in the meadows. She had
long hair, white feet and passionate eyes. She seemed to be a fairy’s
child.
Stanza 5
After meeting that lady, the knight-at-arms falls in love with her. As a
token of love, he gifts her a garland (made up of intertwined flowers)
for her head, bracelets and fragrant zone i.e. a belt made up of flowers
for her waist. The lady also responds to his love by looking at him with
affection and making sweet moans. Probably they do lovemaking and
also had sex. In this perspective, the fragrant zone may refer to her
female parts which the poet loved and kissed.

34. Stanza 6
Afterward, he takes her along with him on his horse (pacing steed) and
the whole day they spend time with each other. The lady also sings
songs for the knight-at-arms that seem to him as the fairy songs i.e.
very melodious.
Stanza 7
The lady than gifts him tasty and sweet food to eat including
tasty roots, honey of wild bees and sweet gum of mana ash.
Though he couldn’t understand her language, it seems to him
that she said: “I love you truly” in her own language.

35. Stanza 8
The lady then takes him to her “Elfin grot” which means small and fairy
cave. There she weeps loudly but the knight-at-arms do not reveal the
reason for it. Perhaps it refers to the way of expressing her love.
The knight-at-arms then kisses her “wild eyes” and shuts them so that
she may sleep with him. Here again, her eyes are depicted as wild.
Stanza 9
The lady lulls or in simple words sends him to sleep. The knight-at-arms
in the dream sees one of the most terrifying dreams on the hillside. Ah!
woe betide! is an exclamation that expresses knight-at-arms’ grief and
fear.

36. Stanza 10
The knight-at-arms see kings, princes, warriors who have turned pale
and have a dead-like appearance. All of them warn the knight-at-arms
that “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” i.e. beware of that lady because she is
without mercy. She is the same lady who has led them the dread fate.
Stanza 11
Seeing their starved (and grieved) lips which were altogether warning
him, the knight-at-arms he wakes up at once and finds him alone on the
cold hill’s side.
Stanza 12
In the final stanza, the knight-at-arms says that this is the
reason why he is wandering all alone along the lake where
there is no grass and at a time when there is no bird to sing,
in a miserable condition, pale face.