La Belle Dame sans Mercy
Encyclopedia
Assumed to have been written in 1424, La Belle Dame sans Mercy is a French poem on courtly love
written by Alain Chartier
.
in the "Ballade des dames du temps jadis
" written later in the 15th century. In the debate between the Lover and the Lady, the alternating octaves delineate their arguments.
The rhyme scheme is ABABBCBC of crossed rhymes (rimes croisées).
The first 24 stanzas describe the mourning poet, the self-described most unhappy lover ("le plus dolent des amoureux"), as he embarks alone on horseback, driven to wander by Sadness (Tristesse) and divested of his capacity to feel by Death (Mort). After reaching the edge of town, the narrator-poet finds himself obliged to attend a party with two of his friends. It is at this party that the poet observes the unhappy lover, with whom he can empathize, and his lady. At the end of the twenty-forth stanza, the narrator-poet takes on the role of silent interlocutor. The text then becomes a transcript of the conversation between the melancholy lover and the lady who refuses to enter into a reciprocal amorous relationship with him. In the last four stanzas the poet-narrator takes over the narrative to give the moral of the poem.
Courtly love
Courtly love was a medieval European conception of nobly and chivalrously expressing love and admiration. Generally, courtly love was secret and between members of the nobility. It was also generally not practiced between husband and wife....
written by Alain Chartier
Alain Chartier
Alain Chartier was a French poet and political writer.He was born at Bayeux, into a family marked by considerable ability. His eldest brother Guillaume became bishop of Paris; and Thomas became notary to the king. Jean Chartier, a monk of St Denis, whose history of Charles VII is printed in vol. III...
.
Versification
The poem is written in a series of octaves (huitains in the French) each line of which contains eight syllables (octosyllabes), which is also the style of the poet François VillonFrançois Villon
François Villon was a French poet, thief, and vagabond. He is perhaps best known for his Testaments and his Ballade des Pendus, written while in prison...
in the "Ballade des dames du temps jadis
Ballade des Dames du Temps Jadis
The Ballade des dames du temps jadis is a poem by François Villon which celebrates famous women in history and mythology, and a prominent example of the "Ubi Sunt ?" genre...
" written later in the 15th century. In the debate between the Lover and the Lady, the alternating octaves delineate their arguments.
The rhyme scheme is ABABBCBC of crossed rhymes (rimes croisées).
Structure of the Poem
The body of La Belle Dame sans Mercy is composed of 100 stanzas of alternating dialogue between a male lover and the lady he loves (referred to in the French as l'Amant et la Dame). Their dialogue is framed by the observations of the narrator-poet who, as we learn in a separate introduction to the poem (Complainte de la mort a la dame Maistre Alain) and in the introductory verses of the main text, is grieving for his recently deceased lady.The first 24 stanzas describe the mourning poet, the self-described most unhappy lover ("le plus dolent des amoureux"), as he embarks alone on horseback, driven to wander by Sadness (Tristesse) and divested of his capacity to feel by Death (Mort). After reaching the edge of town, the narrator-poet finds himself obliged to attend a party with two of his friends. It is at this party that the poet observes the unhappy lover, with whom he can empathize, and his lady. At the end of the twenty-forth stanza, the narrator-poet takes on the role of silent interlocutor. The text then becomes a transcript of the conversation between the melancholy lover and the lady who refuses to enter into a reciprocal amorous relationship with him. In the last four stanzas the poet-narrator takes over the narrative to give the moral of the poem.
Editions
- Alain Chartier, Baudet Herenc and Achille Caulier, Le Cycle de la Belle Dame sans Mercy : une anthologie poétique du XVe siècle (BNF MS FR. 1131), Edition bilingue établie, traduite, présentée et annotée par David F. Hult et Joan E. McRae. Paris : Champion, 2003.