La belle dame sans merci | Cosa ti affligge, o cavaliere armato

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by John Keats (1795 - 1821), as Caviare

Translation © by Ferdinando Albeggiani

La belle dame sans merci

(Sung text for setting by W. Mayer)

See base text

Language: English

Our translations: GER ITA

O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
   Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge has wither'd from the lake,
   And no birds sing.

 ... 

I met a lady in the meads,
   Full beautiful -- a faery's child,
Her hair was long, her foot was light,
   And her eyes were wild.

I see a lily on thy brow
   With anguish moist and fever dew,
And on thy cheeks a fading rose
   Fast withereth too.

 ... 

I made a garland for her head,
   And bracelets too, and fragrant zone;
She look'd at me as she did love,
   And made sweet moan.

 ... 

She found me roots of relish sweet,
   And honey wild, and manna dew,
And sure in language strange she said --
   "I love thee true."

 ... 

There she lull'd me asleep,
   There I dream'd --  ...  woe betide!
The latest dream I ever dream'd
   On the cold hillside.

I saw pale kings and princes too,
   Pale warriors, death-pale were they all;
Who cried -- "La Belle Dame sans Merci
   Hath thee in thrall!"

 ... 
And I awoke and found me here,
   On the cold hillside.

And this is why I sojourn here,
   Alone and palely loitering,
Though the sedge is wither'd from the lake,
   And no birds sing.

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1,4,3,5,7,9-12 of the original text.

Note: in the published form of this poem, each stanza has a Roman numeral. We have removed them. First published in Indicator, May 1820.

Composition:

William Mayer

Text Authorship:

by John Keats (1795 - 1821), as Caviare, "La belle dame sans merci", appears in Life, Letters, and Literary Remains, of John Keats, first published 1820

See other settings of this text.

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "La belle dame sans merci"
GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "La belle dame sans merci", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Mihály Babits) , "La belle dame sans merci"
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "La belle dame sans merci", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Ted Perry , Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 48
Word count: 297

La belle dame sans merci

(Sung text translation for setting by W. Mayer)

See original

Language: Italian (Italiano) after the English

Cosa ti affligge, o cavaliere armato,
che vaghi solitario e con la faccia smunta?
Il giunco, in riva al lago, è ormai appassito,
non un uccello canta!

 ... 

"Nel prato ho incontrato una dama,
stupendamente bella, e di fatato lignaggio,
lieve il suo passo, lunga la sua chioma,
e lo sguardo, selvaggio.

Come un candido giglio appare la  tua fronte,
tutta imperlata di febbrile sudore,
e la tua guancia sembra una rosa morente,
rapida perde colore.

 ... 

Per il suo capo una ghirlanda ho intrecciata,
le diedi un braccialetto e un profumato cinto,
lei mi fissava come un'innamorata,
con un dolce lamento.

 ... 

Poi lei cercò per me  radici dal sapore gradito,
rugiada di manna e selvatico miele;
e sembrava dicesse, nel suo linguaggio ignoto:
"Io ti sono fedele".

 ... 

Lei mi cullò fino a che caddi addormentato,
e allora io sognai - ahimè triste ventura -
l'ultimo sogno che fu da me sognato
su quella fredda altura.

Il pallore mortale allora mi colpì
di sovrani e principi e guerrieri che, in coro,
mi gridavano: "La belle Dame sans merci
ti ha fatto prigioniero"

Scorsi le loro smorte labbra, nel rosso tramonto,
spalancate avvertirmi per un pericolo orrendo,
mi ridestai dal sogno in quel momento
su quel colle freddo.

Per questa ragione qui tu mi hai trovato
mentre solitario vago e con la faccia smunta,
anche se il giunco sul lago è ormai appassito
e non un uccello canta."

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1,4,3,5,7,9-12 of the original text.

Text Authorship:

Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2010 by Ferdinando Albeggiani, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:

a text in English by John Keats (1795 - 1821), as Caviare, "La belle dame sans merci", appears in Life, Letters, and Literary Remains, of John Keats, first published 1820
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This text was added to the website: 2010-03-26
Line count: 48
Word count: 315