'La Belle Dame sans Merci' (Edexcel IGCSE English Literature)
Revision Note
'La Belle Dame sans Merci'
Below you will find a guide to John Keat’s poem titled ‘'La Belle Dame sans Merci’ from the Edexcel International GCSE English Anthology (part 3: unit 1, section B). This guide includes:
Overview: a line-by-line breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations
Form, structure and language: an exploration of the techniques and poetic choices that John Keats has used
Themes: an exploration of the themes and ideas in the poem
Comparing poems: suggestions on which poems to compare it to
Overview
Find out more about the poem to confidently answer an essay question in your exam by reading:
A summary of the poem
A “translation” of the poem, section-by-section
A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Keat’s intention and message
A summary of the poem 'La Belle Dame sans Merci'
'La Belle Dame sans Merci', written by the poet John Keats, has been described as a romantic ballad. It describes a dying knight who becomes enthralled with a beautiful and comforting fairy woman. It can also be considered an elegy due to its focus on death.
'La Belle Dame sans Merci analysis
Lines 1–4
“O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge has withered from the lake,
And no birds sing.”
Translation
A voice addresses a knight (he is in battle armour) and asks what ails him (what is wrong)
The voice observes he is pale and seems to be waiting for something (“loitering”)
The voice notices he is alone (not even birds sing) and the bushes are dying (“withered”)
Keats's intention
The poem introduces a conversation between a speaker and a knight
The speaker inquires as to the knight’s welfare as he appears to be ill
Keats sets the scene in a rural location typical of Romantic poetry
However, here, the “sedge” is dying, introducing darker themes
Lines 4–8
“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.”
Translation
The speaker asks the knight again what is wrong with him, implying the knight is silent
The speaker describes the knight as sad (“woe-begone”) and wearied (“haggard”)
The speaker appears to encourage the knight to leave as winter is coming:
The harvest is over and the squirrels have collected their nuts
Keats's intention
Keats repeats the speaker’s question to draw attention to the knight’s weakened condition
This is reflected in imagery describing the closing in of winter, perhaps signalling death
Lines 9–12
“I see a lily on thy brow,
With anguish moist and fever-dew,
And on thy cheeks a fading rose
Fast withereth too.”
Translation
The speaker describes a “lily” on the knight’s brow:
This may signify the man is lying in a field of white flowers
The lily, though, could allude to the knight’s pale forehead and his illness
The knight is very sick and feverish:
His face shows “anguish” (severe pain) and is sweaty (“fever-dew”)
The colour in his cheeks is fading (implied by a “fading rose”)
Keats's intention
Keats uses natural imagery typical of a romantic ballad to present the knight as feverish from pain, perhaps close to death
Keats uses a semantic field connoting death: “fading”, “withereth”
Line 13–16
“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.”
Translation
The knight replies to the speaker and says he met a beautiful lady in the fields (“meads”)
However, he describes her as very beautiful and magical (a “faery’s child”):
The knight refers to her wild and graceful movements, implying the lady lives amongst nature
Keats's intention
Keats introduces the knight’s passion for the lady:
Keats's knight is stirred by the memory of the mysterious and beautiful lady he has seen
Lines 17–20
“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.”
Translation
The knight relates the romantic moments they spent together in the fields:
They made bracelets and headdresses (garlands) out of flowers
Their time was intimate: she looked at him and “made sweet moan”
Keats's intention
Here, the romantic ballad describes, conventionally, an intimate love between two people
This is made more romantic by the natural setting and sensory imagery, such as the “fragrant” flowers” and sounds of sweet moaning
Lines 21–24
“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.”
Translation
The knight took the lady riding on his fast horse (“pacing steed”)
He says he was so enthralled by her he saw nothing else
The lady bends to the side and sings a magical (“faery’s”) song to him
Keats's intention
Keats's knight narrates a detailed story about his time with the lady to show its impact on him
Keats emphasises the intimacy between the knight and the lady
Lines 25–28
“She found me roots of relish sweet,
And honey wild, and manna-dew,
And sure in language strange she said—
‘I love thee true’.”
Translation
The speaker describes how the lady fed him herbs (“roots of relish”), honey and water (“manna-dew”)
Here, the lady is presented as unfamiliar, speaking in a “strange” language:
Nevertheless, the knight understands that she says she genuinely loves him
Keats's intention
Keats draws attention to the fact the lady is from another land, one that is “wild” and “strange”
Keats also emphasises the sensual nature of the lady as she feeds him “sweet” food
The poet makes use of a religious reference that connotes to salvation:
He describes the lady providing food given by the gods: “manna-dew”
Lines 29–32
“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.”
Translation
These lines confirm the lady represents the magical or supernatural:
She takes the knight to an elf cave
In the cave she shows empathy for the knight’s condition (“sighed full sore”)
The knight tries to reassure her: he kisses her and shuts her eyes
Keats's intention
The romantic elements of the poem can be seen in these lines especially as the knight and lady share a tender moment in an elf cave
Keats conveys typical ideas related to romantic love here:
The lady is sad and the knight comforts her
Keats uses ideas related to damsels and heroes
The wild setting is ethereal
Lines 33–36
“And there she lullèd me asleep,
And there I dreamed—Ah! woe betide!—
The latest dream I ever dreamt
On the cold hill side.”
Translation
There is a sudden shift in tone and mood here:
The knight is sent to sleep by the lady but his rest is disturbed
He exclaims an ominous warning, “woe betide!”, meaning bad tidings or bad news
The reference to the cold hill is a sudden contrast to the intimate elf cave
The knight says he dreamed his “latest” dream, perhaps meaning his final dream
Keats's intention
Keats begins to draw the knight’s story to a dark close:
Rather than comforted, the knight now appears scared
Keats implies the knight’s impending death: he dreams a last dream and is left “cold”
Lines 37–40
“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!'”
Translation
The knight says that in the dream he saw “pale” kings, princes and warriors and repeats they were all “death-pale”
They warn him about the lady and say she has enchanted him
They call her a beautiful lady without thanks or mercy
Keats's intention
Keats emphasises that the lady has enthralled many men from kings to warriors
This also connects with the title of the poem which plays on the word “merci”:
Some interpretations suggest the men view the lady as without mercy or compassion
Nevertheless, the earlier description of her as empathetic may contrast this
Keats may imply the lady receives no thanks (translated as “merci” in French) for the comfort she offers as the men realise this happens at the time of death
Lines 41–44
“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.”
Translation
The knight describes the men he sees in the dream with horrifying imagery:
The day has turned dark as the sun sets (the word “gloam” means dusk)
The men are “starved” and their mouths are wide open
This wakes the knight and he finds himself on the cold hill, not with the lady in the cave
Keats's intention
Keats's previously romantic natural imagery changes here to darker descriptions to convey themes of death:
The men call from death to warn the knight, and this wakes him from a fevered dream
Lines 45–48
“And this is why I sojourn here,
Alone and palely loitering,
Though the sedge is withered from the lake,
And no birds sing.”
Translation
The knight explains that this is the reason he stops (“sojourns”) on the hill
He repeats the words the speaker uses at the start of the conversation
Keats's intention
Keats uses a cyclical structure that conveys a lack of resolution:
The knight remains alone on the cold hill, implying his death
Form, language and structure
When you consider how John Keats uses form, structure and language, try to link your analysis of these elements to focus on how he presents his ideas and why he has made these choices in 'La Belle Dame sans Merci’. You will gain more marks if you focus on Keat’s themes rather than on individual poetic techniques.
Here are some suggestions for key aspects of the poem you might want to consider:
Form
John Keats's poem 'La Belle Dame sans Merci' is a romantic ballad that takes the form of speech between a speaker and a knight. The conversation relates a tale about a lady who vanishes as the knight dreams about death. It is told in medieval English to allude to classical romance.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
Illusion and reality | First-person perspective is used to mimic a strange conversation between a speaker and a knight:
| Keats uses the narrative form of a ballad to depict an interaction between a sick knight and an unidentified speaker |
Keats uses medieval language, such as “O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms?” | This gives the poem a mythical quality | |
The romantic tale alludes to medieval classical romantic tales involving fantasy and folklore | ||
Structure
The poem can be considered a lyrical ballad typical of the Romantic era. The ballad’s metre and rhyme scheme produces a song-like rhythm that makes the poem light-hearted and simplistic. But the poem also conveys ideas about the inevitability of loss.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
Acceptance and loss | The poem is divided into twelve quatrains, creating a regular structure:
| Keats takes readers through an engaging story in keeping with the oral traditions of a ballad and uses this to convey ideas about acceptance and inevitability |
The rhythm is iambic to replicate speech:
| Keats disturbs the casual rhythm of a normal conversation to convey tensions as the knight comes to a realisation about life and death | |
A caesura is used to break the flowing rhythm and highlight the knight’s emotions: “And there I dreamed—Ah! woe betide!—” and “Full beautiful—a faery’s child.” | The knight’s impactful realisations are depicted dramatically | |
Keats creates a lively, cyclical ballad about love, loss and acceptance | ||
Language
The rural setting contributes to the poem’s romanticised presentation of love. Rich and sensual imagery describes an intense love affair between a chivalrous knight and a beautiful, wild lady. By symbolising the knight’s imminent death with an autumnal setting, Keats conveys darker themes of loss.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
Romantic relationships | The knight’s “loitering” on a “cold hill” may allude to a fatal injury:
| Metaphorical language makes the knight’s death ambiguous, perhaps implying that due to his fevered state, he does not realise he is dying |
Natural imagery describes the knight’s fevered dream of love and romance:
| Keats describes the brief yet sensual nature of their relationship:
| |
Alliteration highlights the mystical quality of the lady: “Full beautiful - a faery’s child” and “roots of relish” | The knight’s obsessive fascination with the lady is presented through his poetic descriptions | |
Keats’s poem uses romantic imagery that presents the brief love between the knight and the strange lady as magical, intense and comforting | ||
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Try not to separate “language”, “form” and “structure” into three separate elements in your answer. The best answers deliver an integrated comparison of the themes and ideas in this and the other poem you choose for comparison and focus on the relevance of the methods used by the poet(s).
This means it is better to structure your answer around an exploration of the ideas in the poems, commenting on elements of language, form or structure that contribute to the presentation of these themes. Stay focused on the task, and then choose your comments based on the theme named in the question.
Themes
While knowing the poem is important, you also need to be able to show the examiner that you can write an informed, personal response. Therefore, you need to develop a solid understanding of the theme, main ideas and events depicted.
It is still important to have an awareness of background information that is relevant to the themes in the poem, even though you are not explicitly assessed on context. This can help you develop a sustained, critical understanding of the text.
To help you do this, the section below has been divided into two main themes that that Keats explores:
Romantic love
Death and loss
Romantic love
Keats is considered one of the best-known Romantic poets:
John Keats, born in 1795, lived at the time of other Romantic poets such as William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge
They, and other poets, are considered influential in Keats's work
In particular, Keats was inspired by Edmund Spenser’s “The Faerie Queene”:
This poem centres around an imaginative world
Its influence may be seen in Keats's poem in the depiction of a strange and, most likely, imaginary lady who is a “faery’s child”
The story in the poem conforms to classical romantic ballads that idealise a beautiful female character:
The lady in 'La Belle Dame sans Merci' is described, at times, as a stereotypical damsel in distress:
The lady is emotional and cries and sighs over the knight
However, Keats subverts conventions by depicting a woman who is more of a siren, a femme fatale:
The lady in this poem, though “sweet” and “beautiful”, is also “wild” and “strange”
Other knights, kings and princes ominously warn the knight that he has been seduced and that she has him “in thrall”
This links to the title that refers to a beautiful lady without mercy or thanks
Keats's poetry, typical of the Romantic genre, often focuses on nature:
Imagery related to flowers was frequently used in Romantic literature:
The rose and lily (as mentioned in Keats's poem) often appeared together
An example of this is William Cowper’s 1782 poem “The Lily and the Rose”
In this poem, the rural setting contributes to the romantic quality of the poem
The knight and lady meet in the “meads” and eat “honey wild” and “roots”
Death and loss
John Keats wrote 'La Belle Dame sans Merci' in 1819 just before he died from tuberculosis
Before Keats died, aged 25, he was engaged to Fanny Brawne:
However, due to his poverty he was not able to marry her
It is said that Keats was more prepared to lose his life than lose his love
The relationship was the inspiration for the 2009 film about Keats's life, Bright Star
Keats was well aware of his ill-health and the danger of his disease:
His mother and brother had died of tuberculosis earlier in his life
Descriptions of a weakened and feverish knight in 'La Belle Dame sans Merci' may have been influenced by this
Keats was depressed, dwelling especially on the idea of death and mortality in his writing:
The knight’s intense love, experienced just before his death, may represent Keats's short yet passionate love for Fanny Brawne
The poem depicts a vision of a woman comforting a man at his time of death, perhaps suggesting the comfort love can bring at the moment of death
Comparing poems
In your exam, you will be required to compare two poems from the anthology so you must have a good knowledge of poetic form, content and meaning to compare the poems effectively.
You must be able to explore links and connections between texts, which includes looking at both poets’ use of language, form and structure.
In 'La Belle Dame sans Merci' Keat’s explores the ideas of romantic love, desire and loss, the following comparisons are the most appropriate:
'La Belle Dame sans Merci' and 'Sonnet 116’
'La Belle Dame sans Merci' and 'My Last Duchess'
For each pair of poems, you will find:
Comparison summary
Similarities and differences between the ideas presented in each poem
Evidence and analysis of these similarities and differences
'La Belle Dame sans Merci' and 'Sonnet 116'
Comparison summary:
This is an effective comparative choice to explore the presentation of relationships and romantic love across traditional Romantic poems.
Topic sentence | Both poems can be considered classical and traditional in their presentation of love | |
Evidence and analysis | 'La Belle Dame sans Merci' | ‘Sonnet 116’ |
The lady in the poem is a typical female character in conventional medieval romantic poetry:
|
| |
Keats draws upon motifs found in classical literature through the knight’s encounter with a mysterious lady:
| The poem explores the enduring nature of true love which echoes classical notions of love as a transcendent force:
| |
Keats uses classical language to create a haunting image of the knight’s predicament:
| The poet also uses classical language and imagery and claims that love endures “even to the edge of doom”:
| |
Differences:
Both poems explore love and the impact of time though in different ways.
Topic sentence | Both poems explore love and time in different ways: while 'La Belle Dame sans Merci' has a negative view about love and its ability to last, ‘Sonnet 116’ shows love has a power that can never be altered or removed | |
Evidence and analysis | 'La Belle Dame sans Merci' | ‘Sonnet 116’ |
Keats's poem first presents love as powerful and imaginative:
|
| |
The knight’s encounter with the mysterious lady is fleeting:
| The speaker uses universally celebrated metaphors to present love as a guiding light through life:
| |
The knight’s experience with the lady is ephemeral and leads to his desolation:
| The speaker in ‘Sonnet 116’ believes that “love is not love/Which alters when it alteration finds”:
| |
The withering grass and the symbols of death evoke a sense of decay:
| The speaker uses a type of repetition called polyptoton to reinforce the idea that love does not “alter” when “alteration finds” or “bends with the remover to remove”:
| |
'La Belle Dame sans Merci' and 'My Last Duchess'
Comparison summary:
Both poems examine the complexity of love and explore its connections with death. The poems present intensely passionate love that ends tragically. However, while Keats's poem is a romantic ballad about a deceived knight, Browning’s dramatic monologue examines a Duke’s jealous control.
Similarities:
Topic sentence | Both poems present perspectives of male speakers who appear to have been driven mad by seductive female characters | |
Evidence and analysis | 'La Belle Dame sans Merci' | 'My Last Duchess' |
The poem describes a lady’s seductive powers:
| Browning presents a first-person speaker who describes his wife’s flirtatious nature:
| |
Keats uses exclamation marks and caesura to portray the knight’s emotional state: “—Ah! woe betide!—” and when the dead men warn him of her powers: “Thee hath in thrall!’”:
| Browning uses caesura and exclamations to show the Duke’s unstable voice: “She thanked men—good! but thanked”:
| |
Topic sentence | Both poems explore love that leads to death | |
Evidence and analysis | 'La Belle Dame sans Merci' | 'My Last Duchess' |
Keats’s poem depicts a knight who is “Alone and palely loitering”:
| Browning’s speaker implies the Duke has killed his wife while he shows off a painting of her “Looking as if she were alive” | |
The knight in Keats's poem is lured to his death by a lady:
| In Browning’s poem, too, the love ends with death:
| |
Differences:
Topic sentence | 'La Belle Dame sans Merci' is a conversation between a speaker and a knight on a hillside about a comforting albeit brief relationship, while 'My Last Duchess' is a dramatic monologue about jealousy and control within marriage | |
Evidence and analysis | 'La Belle Dame sans Merci' | 'My Last Duchess' |
Keats’s poem depicts a balanced conversation and relationship:
| In contrast, Browning’s dramatic monologue in which only the Duke’s voice is heard conveys imbalance and control:
| |
The knight describes the lady’s comforting and nurturing nature:
| In Browning’s poem, conversely, the “Last Duchess” is described with adverbs expressing the Duke’s criticisms of her:
| |
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