thumb|[[John William Waterhouse – La belle dame sans merci, 1893]]
thumb|La Belle Dame sans Merci by [[Henry Meynell Rheam, 1901]]
thumb|[[Arthur Hughes (artist)|Arthur Hughes – La belle dame sans merci]]
thumb|[[Frank Dicksee – La belle dame sans merci, c. 1901]]
thumb|[[Punch (magazine)|Punch magazine cartoon, 1920]]
"La Belle Dame sans Merci" ("The Beautiful Lady without Mercy") is a ballad produced by the English poet John Keats in 1819. The title was derived from the title of a 15th-century poem by Alain Chartier called La Belle Dame sans Merci. version(s) of the poem:
Like the author's other 1819 poems such as “Ode to a Nightingale,” “Ode on Melancholy,” and “Ode on Indolence,” the poem was written in the heat of Keats' passion for his fiancée Fanny Brawne. This is why some critics think that its theme partly reflects their relationship. However, critics such as Amy Lowell argue that "La Belle Dame sans Merci" is not biographical and that it is "not connected, except in the most general way, with Keats himself and Fanny Brawne.”
In other media
Visual depictions
"La Belle Dame sans Merci" was a popular subject for the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. It was depicted by Frank Dicksee,
- A musical version of the poem, with music by Tom Drury and Brian Curran, appears on the 1995 self titled album by British group’s Heathens All.
- A setting of the poem, in German translation, appears on the 2009 music album Buch der Balladen by Faun.
Television
- Rumpole of the Bailey – Season 7, Episode 3