La Belle Dame sans Merci

"O, what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,

    Alone and palely loitering?

The sedge is wither'd from the lake,

    And no birds sing.

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.

I see a lily on thy brow,

    With anguish moist and fever dew;

And on thy cheek 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 look'd 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 sideways would she lean, 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 sad eyes

With kisses four"

   "And there she lulled me asleep,

    And there I dream'd --- 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 side"

La Belle Dame sans Merci (The Beautiful Lady Without Mercy) is John Keats' celebrated ballad which was subjected to numerous interpretations. It is a simple story of love on a bleak winter landscape. The lady who is erotic, attractive, fascinating yet deadly attracts lovers only to destroy them by her supernatural powers. 

The fourth line in each stanza is deliberately shortened which gives a slow movement to the ballad. Kates' repetitive yet simple language coupled with economic usage of words and an underlying supernatural tone makes it a classic.
(In the photo - Jibin, Harikrishnan and Praphul)