Poetry Analysis of La Belle Dame sans Merci

The poem Opens with a direct Question from a stranger to an unnamed pale looking Knight. " Knight at arms" what's wrong or what's ailing him?  something wrong. 'loitering by himself' around the edge of a lake and he is pale" The speaker says that the "sedge or marsh plants have all died around the lake and no birds sing. it is autumn or early winter.

In Stanza 2 the knight doesn't answer immediately. so the unnamed stranger has to repeat the question.  He is "haggard" or "worn out".  The knight is both sick and depressed.  "The squirrels have finished filling up their granary"  It can be assumed to be autumn.

In stanza 3 and 4 The speaker continues to address the sick Knight.  He asks about his deathly pale face which look like pale lily.  Cheeks are faded as faded roses.  His health has been sucked out from him. Lily and Rose are symbol of Death.

In 4th Stanza the Knight all of a sudden answers the speaker's question.  The knight says that he met a beautiful fairy like "lady" in the "meds" or fields.  She had long hair, was graceful and had wild eyes.  It was very attractive to the Knight.

In 5th stanza the knight made a flower wreath or garland for the lady along with flower bracelets.  The fragrant zone is a belt made of flowers.  It could be refered to hear body part.  The lady looking at the knight while loving and moaning making sweet sounds or murmurs.
the knight is so absorbed with his erotic encounter with his fairy lady that he does not notice anything else.  The lady leans sideways off the horse and sings "fairy songs" to the knight.

Stanza 7 and 8 says the lady found him tasty roots, honey and manna to eat.  It is a heavenly food.
( mana is, according to the Bible, an edible substance which God provided for the Israelites during their travels in the desert during the 40-year period following the Exodus and prior to the conquest of Canaan.)
The knight is enslaved to the beautiful fairy lady. she says that she love him but "language strange"

Lines 29 to 32 talks about the fairy lady who takes him to her Elfin Grotto or cave.  There she sighs loudly. The knight does not say why she is crying and we never find out.  The knight kisses her weepy eyes four times.

Stanza 9 to 10 says the fairy lady "lulls" the knight to sleep like a baby in her cave and he starts to dream something.  The memory of the dream is horrible.  His dream in the fairy cave is the last dream

In dream he saw " kings, princes and warriors and they were all death pale.  In fact he repeats the word "pale" three times.  All cry out in unison that "La Belle Dame sans merci has the knight " in thrall" or in bondage.
their mouth are starved and hungry looking and their mouths are all opened as they cry their warning to the knight.  the knight wakes up from the dream alone and cold on the side of a hill.

lines 45 to 48 .. the knight has finished the story. He tells the unnamed speaker that this is why he is hanging out by himself.  The poem ends with almost exactly the same stanza with which it began.

Features of Ballad

Ballad means dancing song.  it is a shorter narrative poem which comprises of short stanzas.  Ballad is a short story in verse which intended to be sung along with music.

Characters of a Ballad

1. Ballad is a short story in verse form which dwells upon on one particular episode of the story.
2. Universal appeal.  Every single Ballad touches upon a specific subject which bears universal significance.  It deals with the whole humanity.  John Keats's La Belle Dame sans Merci convinces the readers the most of the women are perfidious and double crossing.
3. Use of colloquial language is an important feature of a Ballad.
4. Ballad has an abrupt and unexpected opening. similarly the ending of many ballads many also be abrupt and unexpected.
5. simplicity is an important feature.
6. there are no extra details about the surroundings.
7. the Ballad starts suddenly.  It lacks superfluous details.
8. Themes are sadness, death, and power of seduction.
9. Dialogue is an indispensable feature.  The story is mostly told through dialogues.
10. Super natural element is an important feature.
11. There is a Refrain.  Line is repeated again and again.
12. Stanza consists four lines.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “La Belle Dame sans Merci”

Literary devices are meant to convey the writer's emotions, ideas, and themes to make texts more appealing to the reader.  John Keats has also used literary devices in this poem to express the miserable condition of a knight. The literary devices used in this poem has been given below.

• Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /o/ in “So haggard and so woe-begone” and the sound of /i/ in “And there I shut her wild wild eyes”.

• Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /n/ in “And honey wild, and manna-dew” and the sound of /l/ in “Alone and palely loitering”.

• Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line.such as the sound of /w/ in “With horrid warning gaped wide.”

• Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers to bring the picture to their five senses. For example, “She took me to her Elfin grot”, “I saw pale kings and princes too” and “And there she wept and sighed full sore.”

• Enjambment: It is defined as a thought or clause that does not come to an end at a line break; instead, it moves over the next line. For example "The latest dream I ever dreamt on the cold hill side."

• Symbolism: To signify ideas and qualities, giving symbolic meanings different from literal meanings. The phrases such as; “no birds sing”, “lily on thy brow” and “fading rose” symbolize the arrival of death.

• Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different in nature. For example, “I see a lily on thy brow”. Here the paleness is compared to a white lily.

• Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part of some verses. For example, ‘and there’ is repeated in the eighth stanza to emphasize the point."There she lulled me asleep, and there i dreamed Ah! woe betide."

        Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “La Belle Dame sans Merci”

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Few poetic devices used in this poem.

• Stanza: There are twelve stanzas in this poem, each having four lines.
• Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza. Here, each stanza is quatrain.
• Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows the ABCB rhyme scheme, and this pattern continues until the end.
• End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to give a melodious effect. For example, “sour/four”, “child/wild”, “zone/moan” and “betide/side.”
• Repetition: The following lines have been repeated in the first and last stanza of the poem which has created a musical quality in the poem.
• Refrain: The lines that are repeated at some distance in the poems are called refrain. The following verses have been repeated with the same words as given below. " Alone and palely loitering? The sledge has withered from lake......

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