Read the poem below and answer the question that follows.
“La Belle Dame sans Merci: A Ballad”
by John Keats
O, what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge has withered 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 looked 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 sighed full sore,
And there I shut her wild wild eyes
With kisses four.
And there she lullèd me asleep,
And there I dreamed—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
Thee hath 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 withered from the lake,
And no birds sing.
Source: Keats, John. “La Belle Dame sans Merci: A Ballad.” Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 June 2011.
Determine the meter of this poem. Which sentence describes the metrical pattern?
The meter is iambic with 8 feet in the first 3 lines; the last line has 4 feet.
The meter is iambic with 4 feet in the first 3 lines; the last line has 2 feet.
The poem is written in blank verse.
The poem is written in free verse.
Answer:
The poem is written in free verse.
Explanation:
According to the poem given, the poet writes in free verse.
A poem written in free verse is a type of poem which is inconsistent with its rhyme patterns and rhythm, uses repetition, alliteration, and scattered internal rhymes.
