Question

“La Belle Dame sans Merci: A Ballad” by John Keats Identify and evaluate the poet’s use of rhyme and meter in this poem.

Answer 1

The meter used in the poem is Iambic

Answer 2

The rhyme scheme is ABCB.

In relation to the metric, the poem follows the following pattern:

• 3 first verses: iambic tetrameter (the verses vary between 8 and 9 syllables)

• Last verse: iambic dimeter or iambic trimeter (verses vary between 4 and 5 syllables)

Step-by-step explanation:

The poem is a literary ballad, inspired by the folk ballads of medieval times. It is possible to observe several characteristics typical of a ballad, as the centralization in a single event (the story of the lady reported by the knight), presentation of the story through a dialogue (in the first three stanzas, the unknown narrator is talking to the knight, and the rest of the poem is the knight's response), use of few figures of language as metaphors and metonymy, and creation of an atmosphere (at the beginning of the poem, the narrator describes the nature as dead), and little information about the characters.