CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
2. La Belle dame sans Merci
O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms, 1 Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge has wither’d from the lake, And no birds sing.
The first stanza is started by a question, the knight looks confuse why he was here not in the war conquering a kingdom or in the castle guarding the king and queen. He is wondering why brave knight like him alone, worse because he looks pale as he is ill or tired. The surrounding around the knight is very alarming - the plants die and no bird in sight – because the winter will come and all birds migrate to another place that’s why no birds flying or singing around.
O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms! 5 So haggard and so woe-begone?
The squirrel’s granary is full, And the harvest’s done.
Getting no answer, the writer repeats his questions why the knight looks very emaciated and depressed. Writer is wondering why he looks so bad whereas the crops have been harvested and there is lots of rice in storage for the winter. This stanza reinforces that autumn will be over and people have prepared food for winter.
I see a lily on thy brow
With anguish moist and fever dew, 10 And on thy cheeks a fading rose
Fast withereth too.
Writer sees the knight’s face that looks pale like a lily and is sweaty or rather cold sweat. The knight’s cheeks also looks like a fading rose, pale even if I put a rose on your cheeks, they are withered immediately.
With the conditions, he is obviously sick.
I met a lady in the meads, Full beautiful— a faery’s child,
Her hair was long, her foot was light, 15 And her eyes were wild.
The knight finally answers the questions in the previous stanza, so
“I”here is the knight. He said that he met a lady in the meadow, a beautiful lady whose beauty is like an angel or fairy. He describes the lady who has long hair, light foot and wild eyes but attractive.
I made a garland for her head,
And bracelets too, and fragrant zone;
She look’d at me as she did love,
And made sweet moan. 20
The knight continues his story with the lady that he said wonderful lady. He made her a crown made from flower and he put on her head.
Then, he made a bracelets for her white and soft hands also from flower.
Not only bracelets he made but also a belt, a fragrant belt looks like the lady is full of flower now. The lady responses the knight’s romantic treatment by looking him as they have loved each other for a long time and make a 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.
Then, he takes the lady on his horse and they are riding horse together. It is the best moment in knight’s life, he does not see anything but only the lady sitting behind him, embracing him tenderly for sidelong.
Along the way riding horse, the lady is singing a song, a beautiful song from beautiful lady.
She found me roots of relish sweet, 25 And honey wild, and manna dew,
And sure in language strange she said—
“I love thee true.”
The lady serves the knight very well by giving him sweet root and wild honey. She also gives the knight a manna dew – food provided from God, from heaven – unexpected and very welcome gift. Then, the lady said unexpected words but I was expecting “I love you”but the lady feels uncomfortable, feel strange with the words she has just said, she does not know why but it looks like this is the first time she says it.
She took me to her elfin grot,
And there she wept, and sigh’d fill sore, 30 And there I shut her wild, wild eyes
With kisses four.
Then, the lady takes the knight to a cave, a small and delicate cave.
Suddenly, the lady cries and takes a long deep breath as if she is angry and painful. Knight looks confuse and does not know why the lady suddenly cries. The knight tries to calm the lady by giving her four time kisses, sweet and soothing kisses and again he described her eyes as wild, wild eyes.
And there she lulled me asleep, And there I dream’d— Ah! woe betide!
The latest dream I ever dream’d 35 On the cold hill’s side.
The fairy lady lulls the knight to sleep and he starts is surprised when he has just started to sleep, he sees a nightmare will come into his dream and interrupt his well sleep. He said this the first time he had a dream like this and he wants to wake up soon since it is the dream that he does not want to dream of it for twice.
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!” 40
In the dream, he saw king, princes and warriors with terrible conditions – they are cold and pale as the dead. Knight is wondering what really happens to them, the majesty king and princes and his friends the knights may die in the battle but there is no any battle right now in the kingdom. Then, the knight heard them crying in foreign language – “La Bell Dame sans Merci”which means beautiful lady without mercy. In the end of this stanza, they tied to remind the knight that the lady with him is not a good lady and ask him to runaway before the lady makes him become a thrall or slave.
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.
He continues describing their terrible conditions – not only pale as the dead but also their lips were dry as if they had a very severe thirst.
Then, their lips were widely open because they still try to warn the knight about the lady. Then, the knight wakes up from his nightmare, he feels strange because he is not in the cave with the lady but in the place where the writer met him.
And this is why I sojourn here, 45 Alone and palely loitering,
Though the sedge is wither’d from the lake, And no birds sing.
The question from first stanza is revealed here – why the knight sits in the cold hill’s side lonely and looks gloomy in the surrounding which seems to sense what the knight feels. It is interesting that Keats tries to show his skill in the poem that the first stanza as same as with the last stanza