John Keats - La Belle Dame Sans Merci

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        John Keats Is the youngest of the Romantic poets in English literature. He is a sensuous poet who loves the beauty of Nature. He believes that “beauty is truth, truth beauty”. He also says that “A thing of beauty is a joy forever”.  His Odes are the highest expression of his creative genius. Some of his famous Odes are “Ode to a Nightingale”, Ode to Autumn”, Ode on a Grecian Urn”, and “Ode on Melancholy”.  “La Belle Dane Sans Merci” is written in a ballad form.  This ballad tells us an English fairy tale of a knight seduced by a fairy called ‘femme fatale.  Femme fatale represents excessive female sexuality and she always used her charm and beauty to ensnare handsome young men. This is the story of an unfortunate English knight who is entrapped by the beautiful fairy. Ballad is a narrative poem recited by villagers by word of mouth. Ballad usually speaks of war, love and fairy tales. The poem in the form of  a dialogue between the knight at arms and a way farer in the rhyme scheme abab.

There is an autobiographical element in the poem titled “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” written by John Keats. The protagonist Knight-at-arms is the poet himself. Being a poet of love, Keats fell in love with many girls and Fanny Browne is one among them and whom the poet loved much, but she never cared for him. When the poet was on death bed due to tuberculosis, he wanted to see her but she never turned up. This is why the poet calls her “La Belle Dame Sans Merci, comparing her to  the female fairy Femme fatale.

It is winter season and in the extreme cold no creature comes out in the open. But the knight-at-arms is seen wandering near the icy lake and a way farer asks him why he is wandering aimlessly in the cold winter. He also tells him that the summer is over and all the green carpeted meadows disappear in the ice. Even squirrel is in its cave and no bird is flying. The pedestrian wonders why the knight-at-arms is very pale and tired. He also asks the soldier why he is very sad and full of pain.

In reply to  the queries of the pedestrian, the knight at arms tells him his sad tale. Once he met a beautiful young lady on the green carpeted meadows. It was the spring season and everywhere flowers and bushes blossomed and there was bright sunlight. The lady looked like a faery’s child, such beauty she had and her hair was long and foot was light and she had bright starry eyes and he fell in love with her at the first glimpse. He made a garland of flowers and also designed beautiful and sweet smelling bracelets and belt for her waist. She looked at him with love.

He took her on his steed’s back and they galloped over the meadows, hills and valleys and she sang a faery’s song and captivated his heart. She gave him sweet relished food from nature which  include wild roots, wild honey  and manna dew. Finally, she expressed her love to him in a strange musical voice.

The faery’s child took the knight-at-arms to her magical cave and when she wept, he kissed her wild, wild, starry eyes with kisses four. Finally, she sang a sweet lullaby and in its magical effect the soldier fell into sleep.

In his sleep the knight at arms saw horrible dreams. It was full of horror,  pain and sorrow.  In his dream he saw kings, emperors and great men and scholars who are almost dead. They all cried to me in pain that the faery is indeed a blood-sucker, a cheat, a female devil, Femme fatale. In short she is ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ has entrapped the soldier and put him in hell. In the dream, the knight-at-arms witnessed the ‘starved lips’ of the kings and emperors. They all wanted love from her but she cheated them all. When the knight at arms opened his eyes, he saw himself lying helplessly on the cold hill side and it was winter season. The soldier tells the way farer that he is still searching for the sweet lady, because his love for her is deep and sincere. But the lady rejected him and walked to other men to cheat them.

1.       Bring out the images of decay and desolation in the poem

2.       Bring out the significance of the repetition of the words ‘pale’ and ‘wild’ in the poem

3.       Supernatural elements in the poem      (same answer is given for the three questions)

4.       Justify the title of the poem

Among the Romantic poets, S. T. Coleridge and John Keats are very fond of using ‘supernatural elements’ in their poetry. S. T. Coleridge’s poem “Kubla Khan”  and John Keats’s “ La Belle Dame Sans Merci”, “Isabella or the Pot of Basil” are examples.  In La Belle  Dame Sans Merci’, supernatural elements are very skillfully used by  the poet. The knight at arms is entrapped by the beautiful faery’s child Femme fatale. Summer season and winter season are metaphors.  The faery’s child gives the knight at arms wild honey, wild roots and manna dew are foods from Nature. This ballad reflects the sad tale of the poet himself. 

 The title of the poem “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” means beautiful young lady who does not have any sort of kindness or love.   There are autobiographical elements in the poem. The night at arms is poet himself. He meets his girl friend Fanny Browne  and falls in love with her which reflects the summer season of the poet’s life. But winter season creeps on when the poet is bed ridden with the dangerous disease of tuberculosis. The summer and winter are the metaphors used in  the poem. “Misfortune comes not in single but in battalions’ – Shakespeare says. It is true in Keat’s own life. He is rejected by his lady love when his misfortune comes. Keat’s love for Fanny Browne is sincere and true.  The poet uses the terms ‘pale’ and ‘wild’ repeatedly to show his illness and its effects upon his face and body. The poet uses the words “I see a lily on thy brow”. Lily means white flower which means pale face.  Due to  the illness of tuberculosis, the poet is coughing out  blood and mucous and body becomes tired and thin. This is why the images of decay and desolation are repeated in the poem.   Kjt/-