What can ail thee knight?
What can ail thee knight?
O, what can ail thee, knight at arms, Alone and palely loitering; The sedge has withered from the lake, And no birds sing.
What is La Belle Dame Sans Merci a ballad about?
La Belle Dame sans merci, poem by John Keats, first published in the May 10, 1820, issue of the Indicator. The poem, whose title means “The Beautiful Lady Without Pity,” describes the encounter between a knight and a mysterious elfin beauty who ultimately abandons him.
What does the Knight gift the lady?
As if to complement the three gifts (garland, bracelets, ‘zone’ or girdle) the knight gave her, the belle dame sans merci gives the knight three sweet gifts: sweet relish, wild honey, and manna-dew (implying something almost divine: ‘manna’ was the foodstuff that fell from heaven in the Old Testament).
Does the knight die in La Belle Dame Sans Merci?
In the poem, a knight tells the story of how he becomes obsessed with, and then gets abandoned by, a spirit known as La Belle Dame sans Merci, or “The Beautiful Lady Without Mercy.” Though seemingly aware she’s an illusion, the knight lingers in his memory of the Lady, and it’s implied he will do so until he dies.
Who is the protagonist in La Belle Dame Sans Merci?
“La Belle Dame,” a compact ballad, is wound as tightly as a fuse. Keats’s life and conflicts, his love for his neighbor Fanny Brawne, and his awareness of impending death are written like code into the predicament of a dying medieval knight, the poem’s principal character.
What is the mood of the poem La Belle Dame Sans Merci?
The tone is haunting and often ominous. This effect is created partly through the use of frequent repetitions, such as the reciprocated structure: ‘And there she .. / And there I ..’ in stanzas 8 and 9, and the circular effect of almost exactly replicating the second to fourth lines of verses 1 and 12.
What is the form of the poem La Belle Dame Sans Merci?
“La Belle Dame Sans Merci” is a ballad—one of the oldest poetic forms in English. Ballads generally use a bouncy rhythm and rhyme scheme to tell a story. Take the final word from each line of Keats’s poem (arms, loitering, lake sing).
What dream does the knight at arms have?
In his dream the knight sees the Lady’s former victims: “pale kings,” “princes,” and “warriors”—”death-pale were they all.” In their faces he sees the man he will become: someone deathly, starved, and captivated by memories of the Lady to the point of enslavement.
What is the message of La Belle Dame Sans Merci?
The tragic ballad tells about the sad condition of the knight and the deception of the lady. Major Themes in “La Belle Dame sans Merci”: Illusion versus reality, death, love, and seduction are the major themes of this poem. The lady, with her beauty, enslaved the knight and left him to die at the lake.
What does the lady tell the knight?
The woman tells the knight that he must pledge himself to her in return for her help, and the knight, having no options left, gladly consents. She then guarantees that his life will be saved. The old hag comes forth and publicly asks the knight to marry her.
What is the condition for the knight to live?
What is the condition for the knight to live? He must return in a year with a rare flower guarded by a dragon. He must return in a year with 100 soldiers to fight in a tournament.
What does Wife of Bath mean?
/ðə ˌwaɪf əv ˈbɑːθ/ /ðə ˌwaɪf əv ˈbæθ/ one of the best-known characters in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. She is a lively woman who has been married five times and makes many humorous remarks about sex.
What happens to the old woman in the Wife of Bath’s Tale?
What happens to the “old” lady? With a kiss to the forehead, she becomes a young and beautiful woman. What is ironic about the Wife of Bath’s ending to this story?
What is the meaning of Belle Dame?
beautiful lady
What is a elfin grot?
In the poem “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” or “The Lady Without Mercy”, the knight tells the poet that the lady took him to her “Elfin Grot” i.e. a small fairy cave. There she lays herself in the arms of the knight and weeps a lot and kept mourning. The knight is full of love for her and kisses her eyes.
Why does the Knight call the place where the lady lived elfin grot?
Answer. Answer: Secondly, the knight tells us that this lady took him to her “elfin grot,” which makes it sound as if it were an abode for elves or other magical creatures of fantasy.
What is the main theme of La Belle Dame Sans Merci?
The supernatural “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” deals with supernatural elements. The woman that the knight falls in love with is described as a “faery’s child.” A faery is a mythical, supernatural being, thus, by describing the woman as a faery’s child, Keats brings out the theme of supernatural beings in this poem.
How many speakers are there in the poem La Belle Dame Sans Merci?
two speakers
What is the nature of La Belle Dame?
Therefore, “La Belle Dame sans Merci” is presented as wild, untamed, and feral—like nature. He gives her flowers, and she gives him food from nature: “roots of relish sweet,” wild honey, and “manna-dew.” The place where he falls asleep is an “Elfin grot,” a cave.
Who is the tragic hero in La Belle Dame Sans Merci?
Porphyro
Where did the knight see a lily?
The knight says that he met a beautiful, fairy-like “lady” in the “meads,” or fields. She had long hair, was graceful, and had “wild” eyes. (We’re not sure what “wild” eyes would look like, but apparently the knight thought it was attractive.)
Which song did the beautiful lady sing while Travelling on the pacing steed?
The Lady the knight meets is “a faery’s child” who sings a “faery’s song” as she rides with the knight on his “pacing steed.” She feeds him “manna-dew,” then brings him to her “Elfin” cave.
Why is the knight in La Belle Dame Sans Merci so pale and ill?
Why is the knight in “La Belle Dame sans Merci” so pale and ill? He has been emotionally enslaved by the woman. According to “Ode on Melancholy,” what lives alongside beauty, joy, and pleasure in the temple of Delight?