La Belle Dame Sans Merci (Original Version ) Poem by John Keats

La Belle Dame Sans Merci (Original Version )

Rating: 3.4


Oh what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge has withered from the lake,
And no birds sing.

Oh 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 lulled 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
Hath thee in thrall!'

I saw their starved lips in the gloam,
With horrid warning gaped 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.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Michael Walker 19 September 2019

A brilliant ballad, a dialogue between an observer and the knight, who is deceived by 'la belle dame', after it seemed they had fallen in love. I could recite this poem by heart to a high school class. I closed the books and took up the memorizing challenge.

0 0 Reply
Cassaries Johnson 11 March 2014

This is one of my favorite poems. Reading it again after my first and only relationship, I can relate very well to the speaker. However, when I read it for the first time in my English literature class in high school, it was brought up that the lady in the poem could be a symbol of health, as the poet was suffering from an illness. Still, I like thit and it it reminds me of fond- and not so fond- mempories.

3 0 Reply
David Wood 04 April 2013

Oh what a poet John Keats is. Britians finest.

4 2 Reply
Srimayee Ganguly 16 December 2012

My favorite poem of favorite poet!

8 13 Reply
Khundana Brahma 24 February 2012

I have read this poem in 1990. Being fascinated by this poem I have made a PPT for my future kids with a very beautiful picturization so that I can feel this poem till eternity and also make them know about the beauty of the writings!

10 18 Reply
READ THIS POEM IN OTHER LANGUAGES
John Keats

John Keats

London, England
Close
Error Success