La Belle Dame sans Merci
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| + | '''"La Belle Dame Sans Merci"''' ([[French language|French]]: "the beautiful lady without pity/mercy") is a [[ballad]] written by the [[England|English]] poet [[John Keats]]. It exists in two versions, with minor differences between them. The original was written by Keats in [[1819 in poetry|1819]], although the title is that of a fifteenth century poem by [[Alain Chartier]]. | ||
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| + | The poem describes the encounter between an unnamed [[knight]] and a mysterious [[fairy]]. It opens with a description of the knight in a barren landscape, "haggard" and "woe-begone". He tells the reader how he met a beautiful lady whose "eyes were wild"; he set her on his horse and they went together to her "elfin [[Grotto|grot]]", where they began to make love. Falling asleep, the knight had a vision of "pale kings and princes", who warn him that "La Belle Dame sans Merci hath thee in thrall!" ( The Lady without pity has you in her charm!). He awoke to find himself on the same "cold hill's side" where he is now "palely loitering". | ||
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| + | Although ''La Belle Dame Sans Merci'' is short (only twelve [[stanza]]s of four lines each, with an ABCB [[rhyme scheme]]), it is full of enigmas. Because the knight is associated with images of death — a [[lily]] (a symbol of death in Western culture), paleness, "fading", "wither[ing]" — he may well be dead himself at the time of the story. He is clearly doomed to remain on the hillside, but the cause of this fate is unknown. A straightforward reading suggests that the Belle Dame entraps him, along the lines of tales like [[Thomas the Rhymer]] or [[Tam Lin]]. More recent [[feminist]] commentators have suggested. that the knight in fact raped the Belle Dame, and is being justly punished — this is based on textual hints like "she wept, and sigh'd full sore". Ultimately, the decision comes down to whether Keats wrote the poem as a simple story, or as a story with a [[moral]]: given his other work, this may be more an evocation of feeling than an intellectual attempt at moralising. | ||
| + | == In Other Media == | ||
| + | === Visual depictions === | ||
| + | "La Belle Dame sans Merci" was a popular subject for the [[Pre-Raphaelite]] painters. It was depicted by Sir [[Frank Dicksee]], [[Frank Cadogan Cowper]], [[John William Waterhouse]], [[Arthur Hughes (artist)|Arthur Hughes]], [[Walter Crane]], and Henry Maynell Rheam. It was also satirised in the December 1, 1920 edition of ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' magazine. | ||
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| + | === Musical settings === | ||
| + | The best-known musical setting is that by [[Charles Villiers Stanford]]. It is a dramatic interpretation requiring a skilled (male) vocalist and equally skilled accompanist. It has remained popular and is included on many anthologies of English song or British Art Music recorded by famous artists. [[Patrick Hadley]] also wrote a version for tenor, [[SATB|four-part chorus]], and orchestra. | ||
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Revision as of 08:53, 18 September 2010
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"La Belle Dame Sans Merci" (French: "the beautiful lady without pity/mercy") is a ballad written by the English poet John Keats. It exists in two versions, with minor differences between them. The original was written by Keats in 1819, although the title is that of a fifteenth century poem by Alain Chartier.
The poem describes the encounter between an unnamed knight and a mysterious fairy. It opens with a description of the knight in a barren landscape, "haggard" and "woe-begone". He tells the reader how he met a beautiful lady whose "eyes were wild"; he set her on his horse and they went together to her "elfin grot", where they began to make love. Falling asleep, the knight had a vision of "pale kings and princes", who warn him that "La Belle Dame sans Merci hath thee in thrall!" ( The Lady without pity has you in her charm!). He awoke to find himself on the same "cold hill's side" where he is now "palely loitering".
Although La Belle Dame Sans Merci is short (only twelve stanzas of four lines each, with an ABCB rhyme scheme), it is full of enigmas. Because the knight is associated with images of death — a lily (a symbol of death in Western culture), paleness, "fading", "wither[ing]" — he may well be dead himself at the time of the story. He is clearly doomed to remain on the hillside, but the cause of this fate is unknown. A straightforward reading suggests that the Belle Dame entraps him, along the lines of tales like Thomas the Rhymer or Tam Lin. More recent feminist commentators have suggested. that the knight in fact raped the Belle Dame, and is being justly punished — this is based on textual hints like "she wept, and sigh'd full sore". Ultimately, the decision comes down to whether Keats wrote the poem as a simple story, or as a story with a moral: given his other work, this may be more an evocation of feeling than an intellectual attempt at moralising.
In Other Media
Visual depictions
"La Belle Dame sans Merci" was a popular subject for the Pre-Raphaelite painters. It was depicted by Sir Frank Dicksee, Frank Cadogan Cowper, John William Waterhouse, Arthur Hughes, Walter Crane, and Henry Maynell Rheam. It was also satirised in the December 1, 1920 edition of Punch magazine.
Musical settings
The best-known musical setting is that by Charles Villiers Stanford. It is a dramatic interpretation requiring a skilled (male) vocalist and equally skilled accompanist. It has remained popular and is included on many anthologies of English song or British Art Music recorded by famous artists. Patrick Hadley also wrote a version for tenor, four-part chorus, and orchestra.
