La Belle Dame Sans Merci by John Keats

Important Solved Questions and Answers -

A. Answer the following questions in one or two words -

1. Which season is the poem set in?
Ans: The late autumn and the advent of the winter season.

2. Who is being addressed at the beginning of the poem?
Ans: The knight-at-arms.

3. Where did the knight meet the lady?
Ans: In a meadow.

4. In which year was the poem composed?
Ans: 1819.

5. What words did the lady utter?
Ans: "I love thee true".

6. What did the beautiful lady sing?
Ans: A fairy's song.

B. Answer the following questions in a few words -

1. What did the knight make for the lady?
Ans: The knight, to express his love, made a garland, bracelets, and a girdle of flowers for the lady.

2. What did the lady give him in return?
Ans: In return for the gifts of the knight, the lady gave him relish sweet roots, wild honey, and manna dew i.e. nectar of the gods.

3. What did the lady do in her cave?
Ans: The fair lady took the knight to her fairy cave. In the cave, she wept bitterly and sight sorely. Being overwhelmed by her expression of love, the knight kissed her wild and beautiful eyes. Then the lady lulled the knight to sleep.

4. Who did the knight see in his dream?
Ans: In his dream, the knight saw pale-faced kings, princes, and warriors who were the victim of the beautiful lady.

5. What was the lady known as?
Ans: The lady was known as 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci' - which means 'the beautiful lady without mercy'.

C. Answer the following question briefly in your own words -

1. What are the signs that show us that the knight is suffering?
Ans: The knight is loitering about alone and pales the cold and desolate hillside. His face looks wrinkled with deep pain and internal turmoil. His brow is pale like a lily and is moist and feverish caused by deep mental agony. Moreover, the bloom of radiant cheeks of the knight is faded like a fading rose. Again, it is the late autumn, an odd time of the year and the place he visits is not suitable to visit at that time. The sedge has withered away and the birds are also not singing. All these are the signs that clearly show us that the knight is suffering.

2. Give a description of the lady.
Ans: The lady in the poem 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci' is a very beautiful one. The knight met the lady in the meadow was pleasantly captivated by the charm and beauty of the lady. She was extremely beautiful with a face like a fairy's child, her hair was very long and she had attractive and wild eyes. Being nimble-footed, she attracted the knight by her movements. Her alluring long hair, the glance of her passionate eyes, and sweet moan enraptured the knight and eventually, he fell in love with the lady. But the lady ultimately betrayed the knight and left him all alone on a cold hillside.

3. Describe the dream of the knight.
Ans: In his sleep, the knight had a terrible dream. He dreamt of several kings, princes, and warriors who were looking pale and weary. Their lips were dry and seemed to have been starved for a long time. They were the earlier victims of the lady who tormented them by her indifference and betrayal. They called the lady 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci' - which means 'the beautiful lady without pity' and warned the knight of the lady's apparent love, enslavement, and eventual deception. They further cautioned the knight that he would meet the same miserable fate as them. The startling dream woke the knight up and he found himself lying all alone on a cold hillside.

D. Give a suitable answer to the following -

1. Why was the knight loitering about?
Ans: In the poem 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci' the poet John Keats speaks about a knight who was once enchanted by a beautiful lady and eventually got deceived by her apparent show of love. The knight happened to meet a beautiful lady in the meadow who was extremely beautiful and charming. Her alluring long hair nimble foot and glance of wild and passionate eyes enraptured the knight and eventually, he fell in love with the lady. The knight, to express his love, made a garland, bracelet, and girdle for the lady. The lady was responsive to the knight's approach and her sweet moan reflected her love for the knight. He spent the whole day in the delightful company of the lady and finally followed her to the fairy cave. She offered him relish sweet roots, wild honey, and manna dew and expressed her love for the knight in a strange language. In the cave, she displayed her emotion and lulled the knight to sleep.

In his sleep, the knight had a terrible dream. He dreamt of several kings, princes, and warriors who were looking pale and weary. Their lips were dry and seemed to have been starved for a long period. They were the earlier victims of the lady who tormented them by her indifference and betrayal. They called the lady 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci' - which means 'the beautiful lady without pity' and warned the knight of the lady's apparent love, enslavement, and eventual deception. They further cautioned the knight that he would meet the same miserable fate as them. The startling dream woke the knight up and he found himself lying all alone on a cold hillside. To his utter surprise, the knight realized that his dream turned into reality as the lady was not with him. He found it difficult to accept the reality - the betrayal of his lady love. Hence, he was forced to loiter about aimlessly with the anguish of unrequited love.

2. What was the dream about? What is the significance of the dream?
Ans: In the lady's cave, the knight had a terrible dream. He dreamt of some horrible figures of kings, princes, and warriors who were looking pale and weary. Their lips were dry and seemed to have been starved for a long period. They were the earlier victims of the lady who tormented them by her indifference and betrayal. They called the lady 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci' - which means 'the beautiful lady without pity' and warned the knight of the lady's apparent love, enslavement, and eventual deception. They further cautioned the knight that he would meet the same miserable fate as them. The startling dream woke the knight up and he found himself lying all alone on a cold hillside. The dream revealed the truth of the fair lady.

3. In your own words describe the experience of the knight.
Ans: Same as the previous answer (D)(Q. no. 1)

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La Belle Dame Sans Merci by John Keats - Important questions and answers