“La Belle Dame Sans Merci”

The Beautiful Lady Without Mercy

One of John Keats’ best poems, penned in 1819, is the one above. The title of the subject is “The Beautiful Lady Without Mercy” in English. Alain Chartier wrote a previous version of the same title in which he sort of emphasized the subject expressed by the original poet, John Keats. However, the basic differences in the structure and meaning are there. Although there are two versions of the poem, John Keats’ original version has been given priority. I will analyze many different topics in order to explain the poetry. For instance, the structure, the subject matter, the thematic dominant areas, the mood, the tone, the attitude of the persona as well as identifying the major stylistic devices used by the poet.

The Structure and Style

The structure depicted by the poet is very simple. There are twelve stanzas having four lines each. This type of poem is called a quatrain. Ideally, a quatrain ought to have a rhyme scheme of the ABCD pattern that will be depicted throughout the poem. Truly, the poet has achieved this standard in his twelve stanzas. For instance, consider the second stanza; the second line clearly rhymes with the fourth line: ’begone’ and ’done’. The writer has also brought in a rhythm in each line when stressing the syllables. A reader will find a pattern in some syllables which are stressed systematically to give prominence to some of the words. For instance, the first line: “O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms”: the stressed words are what, ail, knight, arms. The poet is very categorical in order to bring out the clear intended meaning.

Further, the form used by the poet is very simple ad quite easy to read and understand. This sort of writing is a traditional form that was used to ensure the less educated also understood the intended meaning with ease. Perhaps the poet wrote the poem with the specific purpose of ensuring that by the end of it all, the reader knows the flow, understands the story and can easily memories as well as narrating to other people the contents of the poem. This style is called a ballad which was used mostly by French storytellers who eventually brought in the same format to French operas. People like farmers, laborers as we all house helps could resonate with the contents with ease.

The Literal Meaning

The literal meaning of the poem is quite simple. As pointed out earlier, the poet wrote this poem with an aim of ensuring that any reader understands the intended message. A dialogue ensues between one person as he questions a knight he finds who is worn out and destitute. He asks him why he seems sad. In stanza one to three, the poet notes that the knight is surely not himself. In stanza four to twelve, the knight answers the question put forth to him. The Knight describes how he came across a fair lady and how she disappointed him. By the twelfth stanza, we all understand why the knight is alone and palely loitering.

Characters and Personas

Who then is the persona depicted by the poet? Well, a close look at the poem will actually show that the poem is divided into two parts which form a dialogue between two people. The poet does not indicate a transition from the first persona to the second persona and as such, a reader must be thoroughly careful to ensure that by the persona in stanza one to three is different from the persona in stanza four and twelve. The first speaker asks the question in a very intelligent manner. He is keen to take note of the seasons. Consider the second stanza, “So haggard and so woe-begone? The squirrel’s granary is full, And the harvest’s done.” He is old fashioned as he uses the old forms of English to pass his message. The respondent who is definitely worn out gives out his response by using the same form of language that was used in the medieval times. He is full of anguish, scorned and very bitter as he tells the misfortunes that have befallen him.

Setting

The setting of the poem is during the medieval times. One can easily note this from the English used herein by the poet. This sort of brings in the idea of this being a classic fairy tale. The use of knights also rubberstamps the idea that the setting of the poem was quite medieval. A knight is injured, torn, worn out and bitter due to two things, war, and love. Further, the knight encounters with princes and kings. This is a very clear indication that this is during the medieval times. The setting specifically is a season of war; various themes of war have been identified to clearly show that the poet placed the persona in the times of war during the medieval times.

Themes

Generally, the major thematic areas described by the poet are, love and romance, betrayal and war. Right from the onset, we identify that knight is affectionate towards a beautiful lady. Ideally, fairy tales tell of stories of a fair lady who meets a prince charming and the two become entangled with love that knows no bounds. They even break various stereotypes and end up living happily ever after (Whale 23). The storyline created by the poet is quite different. The topic clearly depicts that a lady is the theme of the story. The lady is without mercy if we literally look take the meaning directly without giving due consideration to the body of the poem. This cannot be a happy ending. It is a tragic love story that culminates with the knight being heartbroken perhaps due to the craftiness of the fair lady. The depiction of love is so clear in stanza seven; line four: ’I love thee true’. Love should be a pleasant feeling but in the end, the knight tells of how his love story ends in tatters.

Betrayal and abandonment as a theme is very clear from the narration given by the knight as from stanza four to twelve. The first persona has found a knight who is alone, forsaken and destitute. He asks the knight what had happened and the knight gracefully describes an encounter with the lady without mercy. True love had been in the air when the lady assured the knight that indeed she did love him for sure in the seventh stanza, fourth line. In fact, they went places together and kissed and built castles in the air. However, the man is betrayed when the lady decides that enough is enough. The knight is betrayed, forsaken, heartbroken and injured severely. The thematic issue herein is that being left by the one you love hurts really bad.

The other theme depicted herein is the theme of feminism. Specifically, the women feminism and how the female gender dominates over the male gender. The fair lady shown is particularly how she has the power to over the knight. She seduces him with her beauty: her long flowing hair, her light foot and her wild eyes which sort of enslave the knight. He is bound by the chains of infatuation that he does anything the lady so desires. By the end of the whole love experience, the man is depicted to be the underdog who is sort of left in tatters. The lady on the other hand is Gone with the Wind leaving her man behind.

Mood, Attitude and Tone

In this poem, we shall take note of the mood of the two personas, their attitudes as well as noting the tone of the poem. The first persona is depicted to be a very inquisitive person. He is also very keen to note the unusual nature of the knight hence portraying his caring nature. On the other hand, the second persona is clearly very sad. He is quite heartbroken, forsaken, destitute and lonely. He is all out of faith feeling like the world is not on his side. His attitude towards love will definitely be twisted. Perhaps he will not fall in love again after the episode he has had with this lady with no mercy. He will hate all ladies and keep to himself in solitude, palely loitering alone where the chirpings of the birds are not heard.

The tone of the poem is a somber one. The guy is moaning after being left alone. He had loved but the love died. As he gives an account of the encounter, it is clear that he had the best of times which ended so soon. He is scorned but he cannot do anything apart from finding solace in solitude. Hopelessness seems to be his portion as he lacks happiness.

Conclusion

In conclusion, in explicating the poem by John Keats, the narrative is plain and clear. The ballad has achieved its objectives that is, making the language to be so straightforward and understandable to all the people regardless of their education standing. There lies a lot of themes that are derived from the poem. For instance, love, betrayal and abandonment as well as feminism. Further, the poet has been careful to maintain many stylistic devices including the use of a rhyme scheme, allusion of previous poem, use of dreams as well as vivid description. Surely, by the end of the poem, the main theme is clearly intertwined to the topic that is the beautiful lady without mercy.

Works Cited

“La Belle Dame Sans Merci Analysis.” Shmoop: Homework Help, Teacher Resources, Test Prep, www.shmoop.com/la-belle-dame-sans-merci/analysis.html.

“La Belle Dame Sans Merci: A Ballad by John Keats.” Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/resources/learning/core-poems/detail/44475.

Whale, John C. John Keats. Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.