la belle dame sans merci
Acrylic painting on canvas 254mm x 355mm Unframed
The painting is based on the poem of the same name by John
Keats. The poem below -
" O WHAT can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge has 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 cheeks 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 sidelong would she bend, 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 sigh'd full sore;
And there I shut her wild, wild eyes
With kisses four.
"And there she lullèd
me asleep,
And there I dream'd—ah! woe betide!
The latest dream I ever dream'd
On the cold hill's 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 gapèd wide,
And I awoke and found me here
On the cold hill's side.
"And
this is why I sojourn here
Alone and palely loitering,
Though the sedge is wither'd from the lake,
And no birds sing."
Joe Blue, USA, Hannah, USA; Albert Martinez Garcia, Spain; William Rendfeld, USA; Tiffany Carden, USA; Ida, USA; Roxy Elle, Romania; Heinrich, Italy; Winfrith, USA; HSR, USA; Keona, Canada; Susana, Germany; M Tyler, USA; Abdul, Cyprus; Athena, Germany; Enrico, Spain; Ivan, Russia; Roberto, Italy
Joe Blue, USA, Hannah, USA; Albert Martinez Garcia, Spain; William Rendfeld, USA; Tiffany Carden, USA; Ida, USA; Roxy Elle, Romania; Heinrich, Italy; Winfrith, USA; HSR, USA; Keona, Canada; Susana, Germany; M Tyler, USA; Abdul, Cyprus; Athena, Germany; Enrico, Spain; Ivan, Russia; Roberto, Italy