John Keats, The Eve of St. Agnes, Stanza 33. "La Belle Dame, sans Merci" is a poem by Alain Chartier. Attributed to Jean Marot by M. Paulin—Manuscript Français, VII. 252. In Harleian Manuscript, 373, a translation is attributed to Sir Richard Ros.

He play'd an ancient ditty long since mute, In Provence call'd, "La belle dame sans merci."

— John Keats on Song

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "He play'd an ancient ditty long since mute, In Provence call'd, "La belle dame sans merci."" in the context of "John Keats, The Eve of St. Agnes, Stanza 33. "La Belle Dame, sans Merci" is a poem by Alain Chartier. Attributed to Jean Marot by M. Paulin—Manuscript Français, VII. 252. In Harleian Manuscript, 373, a translation is attributed to Sir Richard Ros." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Song" (Quotes, Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations: Quotes reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 732-33.) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
John Keats

About John Keats

John Keats (October 31, 1795 – February 23, 1821) was one of the principal poets of the English Romantic movement.