Part III, Chapters 16–17: "La Belle Dame sans Merci" by John Keats

In this ballad, a knight falls under the spell of a beautiful, supernatural being.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. loiter
    linger, remain, or wait around for no apparent reason
    O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
    Alone and palely loitering?
  2. haggard
    showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
    O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
    So haggard and so woe-begone?
  3. woebegone
    affected by or full of grief
    O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
    So haggard and so woe-begone?
  4. granary
    a storehouse for threshed grain or animal feed
    The squirrel’s granary is full,
    And the harvest’s done.
  5. steed
    a spirited horse for state or war
    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.
  6. lull
    make calm or still
    And there she lullèd me asleep,
    And there I dreamed—Ah! woe betide!—
  7. betide
    become of; happen to
    And there she lullèd me asleep,
    And there I dreamed—Ah! woe betide!—
  8. thrall
    the state of being under the control of another person
    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!’
  9. gape
    be wide open
    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.
  10. sojourn
    spend a certain length of time; reside temporarily
    And this is why I sojourn here,
    Alone and palely loitering,
    Though the sedge is withered from the lake,
    And no birds sing.
Created on 六月 7, 2021 (updated 六月 7, 2021)

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