The verb “to sojourn” means to stay in a place temporarily. Keats’s use of “sojourn” suggests that the knight is passing on, or dying, but is staying for a brief time beside the barren lake.
The noun “gloam” is another word for twilight, or the fading light between sunset and full darkness at the end of the day. Gloam symbolizes the knight’s impending death, which seems imminent after his horrifying dream.
The noun “thrall” refers to a state of servitude or being under someone’s power. A “thrall” can also be a servant slave or a state of being mentally or emotionally absorbed by someone or something. The pale men in the knight’s dream warn him that he has been enslaved by the merciless woman who seduced and then abandoned him. Though it is possible that the knight is only emotionally in thrall, the “death-pale” appearance of the other men suggest that the powerful effects of this woman are fatal.
The noun “grot,” or “grotto,” refers to a cave. Keats’s portrayal of the fairy woman living in an “Elfin grot” further associates her with folklore and nature. Both associations might explain why she does not ultimately seem to understand or care about the social constructs of chivalry and love like the knight does.
"Betide" is an archaic synonym of "happen" or "befall." Therefore, "woe betide" is an expression of sorrow and regret. One utters it in the wake of grief and suffering which seem to have happened as if determined by fate.
"her eyes were wild..."See in text(Text of the Poem)
The lady's "wild eyes" represent a romantic description subject to interpretation. Perhaps "wild" means otherworldly, passionate, or filled with grief and mourning.
In medieval times, a "knight-at-arms" was a soldier whose king or lord had elevated him to a position of honor in society. Historically, this term refers to a knight who fought for his king or benefactor after first serving as a page and squire.
