Workbook
‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ by John Keats
La Belle Dame Sans Merci
A Ballad by John Keats
I.
O, what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge has wither'd from the lake,
And no birds sing.
II.
O, what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
So haggard and so woe-begone?
The squirrel's granary is full,
And the harvest's done.
III.
I see a lily on thy brow,
With anguish moist and fever dew;
And on thy cheeks a fading rose
Fast withereth too.
IV.
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.
V.
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.
VI.
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.
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‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ by John Keats
VII.
She found me roots of relish sweet,
And honey wild, and manna dew,
And sure in language strange she said –
"I love thee true."
VIII.
She took me to her elfin grot,
And there she wept and sigh'd full sore,
And there I shut her wild wild eyes
With kisses four.
IX.
And there she lulled me asleep
And there I dream'd – Ah! woe betide!
The latest dream I ever dream'd
On the cold hill side.
X.
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!"
XI.
I saw their starv'd lips in the gloam,
With horrid warning gaped wide,
And I awoke and found me here,
On the cold hill's side.
XII.
And this is why I sojourn here
Alone and palely loitering,
Though the sedge has wither'd from the lake,
And no birds sing.
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‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ by John Keats
Your Name: ..................................................................
‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ By John Keats
When you first heard the poem did you (circle your answer):
Understand the story
Understand parts of it but feel confused about the main storyline
Understand very little of what the poem was about?
Now read it again!
Write about your thoughts and feelings as you listen to the poem:
Write what you think the poem is about:
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‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ by John Keats
An Analysis of ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ by John Keats
First write the meaning of the following words:
Plot ...............................................................................................................
Rhythm..........................................................................................................
Mood .............................................................................................................
Tragic ............................................................................................................
Romantic .......................................................................................................
Then complete the writing frame below:
The poem ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ was written by .............................. (who?) in
............................. (date when?). The poem was set in a time before/after
(choose which) it was written.
The poem plot seems easy to understand. At the beginning of the poem (say what is
happening)
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
Then (say what happens next)
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
At the end of the poem (say what happens)
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
John Keats uses different rhythms to make the poem change mood. One example is:
......................................................................................................................
The rhythm here is slow/fast and the effect is to:
......................................................................................................................
In addition, John Keats chooses his words carefully to create mood and atmosphere.
For example: ...................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
(choose two or three words from the poem and write about why Keats chose them)
Events in John Keats’s life may have caused him to write about romantic love in a
tragic way (write about the tragic things that happened).
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
My personal response to the poem is that I felt it was
......................................................................................................................
It made me think of/reminded me of (give reasons for what you think)
......................................................................................................................
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‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ by John Keats
Draw lines to link the stanza number with the right description
Stanza number
1-3
4-5
What is happening in the stanza
He tells of how they went for a ride on his horse and he could not
take his eyes off her.
The lady gave him presents and took him to her elfin grot.
6
The poet talks to the knight and asks why he looks so pale.
7-8
9-11
The knight explains he met a beautiful lady and made her
garlands.
He wakes up.
12
The knight describes his nightmare about the other knights’
warning.
A helpful summary
a)
The first speaker is walking along and sees a knight. It's autumn and the
speaker asks the knight why he is out in the middle of the meadow.
b)
The knight is scruffy and sad. He's also pale and sweating while the rosy
colour in his cheeks is fading.
c)
Now the knight begins to speak. He says that he met a fairy child.
d)
He gave her jewellery and perfume and it was love at first sight.
e)
He put her on his horse and she sang for him. She gave him food and said, “I
love you”.
f)
Then, she took him to her cave and she began to cry. He kissed away her
tears and then fell asleep.
g)
He dreamed of a hillside with many pale kings and warriors on it. These
ragged men claimed that La Belle Dame sans Merci had him in her
trance/charm.
h)
The knight then woke up on that cold, dark hillside just before twilight.
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