La Belle Dame Sans Merci

A detailed Summary of La Belle Dame Sans Merci


Poem Analysis: "La Belle Dame sans Merci"

In "La Belle Dame sans Merci," John Keats' stresses the idea that beauty is only skin deep and also lies in the eye of the beholder. Through the use of two speakers, Keats' is able to portray his theme by means of a story.

As the poem begins, the reader meets the first speaker. As we read on, we come to find out that this is a passer-by. We also find out the state of the other speaker, "wretched Wight." Sounds so full of life. We also find out the setting. "The sedge is wither'd from the lake, /And no birds sing." Again, the reader sees the lack of life in the setting. As the first speaker continues, he starts to interrogate the other man. "...what can ail thee...?" He describes the man as "a lily on thy brow, with anguish moist and


Now, it is time for the other speaker to respond. His first remark is the route of his problem..."I met a lady." Wow, cut, print, we have ourselves the beginning of the majority of problems men face. He has met a woman. He then starts to describe her as if in a trance "Full beautiful, a faery's child." The woman is made out to be a goddess. He furthers his description with "Her hair was long, her foot was light, /And her eyes were wild." Through stating her attributes in past tense, the second speaker is relaying that she is no longer there.

This is a true story of falling in love with the beauty and not the person. The man fell for her like a rock in water. He gave up everything for her and she left him. But in retrospect, when the title of the poem is translated, it turns out

Some common words found in the essay are:
Wight Sounds, Sark Sark, John Keats', Belle Dame, sans merci, wither'd lake /and, sedge wither'd lake, La Belle, dame sans merci, la belle dame, belle dame sans, belle dame, life setting, lake /and, sedge wither'd, dame sans, wither'd lake, la belle,

Approximate Word count = 536
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

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