• Home
  • News
  • Bookshelf
    • 1 Romantic Suspense
    • 2 Paranormal Romance
    • 3 Gothic Romance
    • 4 Historical Romance
    • 5 Contemporary Romance
  • About Jane
  • Blog
  • Contact
April 13, 2014

John Keats, ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’

Keats (1795 – 1821) is now regarded as one of the major poetic figures of the British Romantic period. In his own lifetime, however, his poetry was neither particularly well-regarded nor popular.

This poem was written in 1819 and published in revised form in May 1820. Below is the original version, which is the one preferred by Keats scholars.

La Belle Dame sans Merci
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.

Related Posts

Jane Godman Blog

Have yourself a Paranormal Christmas…

Jane Godman Blog

The Most Haunted Place on Earth

Jane Godman Blog

Cover Reveal ~ Otherworld Challenger

Welcome to my blog

This is where I write about my own books and about things related to my books. Please be aware that everything is copyrighted and may be intended for an adult audience. Anyone under the age of eighteen should not proceed.

Blog archives

  • March 2019
  • November 2018
  • January 2018
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • December 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • February 2016
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013

Keyword Search

Recent Posts

  • A Fine Romance
  • Read new Jane Godman stories on Radish
  • New Year, Same Challenges #livewell
  • What Does the Arctic Smell Like?
  • Happy Werewolf Day!
Jane Godman
© Jane Godman 2021
Site by Bookwebs