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La Belle Dame sans Merci
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<p>"La Belle Dame sans Merci" ("The Beautiful Lady without Mercy") is a <a href="/facts/Ballad/fy4mVSDS">ballad</a> produced by the English poet <a href="/facts/John_Keats/lImImXhl">John Keats</a> in 1819. The title was derived from the title of a 15th-century poem by <a href="/facts/Alain_Chartier/S7uHfzRr">Alain Chartier</a> called <i><a href="/facts/La_Belle_Dame_sans_Mercy/gMLut6h6">La Belle Dame sans Mercy</a></i>. </p><p>Considered an English classic, the poem is an example of Keats' poetic preoccupation with love and death. The poem is about a <a href="/facts/Fairy/P5ca3mNx">fairy</a> who condemns a knight to an unpleasant fate after she seduces him with her eyes and singing. The fairy inspired several artists to paint images that became early examples of 19th-century <i><a href="/facts/Femme_fatale/Xm8E98jJ">femme fatale</a></i> iconography. The poem continues to be referred to in many works of literature, music, art, and film. </p>