The Lady of Shalott by Alfred Tennyson
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“The Lady of Shalott” is a Victorian ballad written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Alfred Tennyson was born in 1809 in Somersby and was writing poetry even as a teenager. He entered Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1927 but did not complete his studies. In 1850 Alfred Tennyson was appointed to the position of Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland and held this position till his death in 1892. “The Lady of Shalott” is one of his most notable poems included in his second book of poetry which was published in 1833. A revised version of the poem composed of nineteen stanzas as opposed to the original twenty stanzas was published in 1842. The poem is divided into four parts with isometric stanzas. The main themes in the ballad are love, even though unspoken, isolation, art and the supernatural which is represented by the curse. The poem was loosely based on the Arthurian legend of Elaine of Astolat but Tennyson changed the name to Shalott which is a variation of the former. Tennyson claimed that at the time he wrote “The Lady of Shalott” he was unfamiliar with the legend of Elaine and had taken his idea from an Old Italian romance.
The story of the poem revolves around The Lady of Shalott who lives in an island castle. She is secluded from the rest of the world by the height of the tower she resigns in and the water that surrounds the castle. The Lady is restricted from going outside by a mysterious curse brought upon her by an unknown source. She looks outside at the real world only by the means of a mirror since the curse restricts her from directly doing so. She spends her time weaving images on her loom until one day she sees Sir Lancelot, the hero of the King Arthur stories, who is described as a dazzling knight in brass armor, passing by the castle. Her interest for him grows in time but it is when she hears him sing that she falls in love. She stops weaving her web which flies out the window and her mirror, the only connection to the outside world, cracks. It is then that the Lady realizes her impending doom. But nevertheless she decides to abandon the castle. The Lady finds a boat and heads down the river to Camelot but dies before arriving there. Among other people who witness her decent through the river is Sir Lancelot who finds her face lovely. By abandoning her artistry the Lady herself becomes art object left unappreciated by Sir Lancelot.
In the beginning the Lady does not seem much bothered by her situation but in time and especially after seeing Sir Lancelot she begins to grow tired of the reflections and shadows in the mirror and starts to long for life out of her prison. She then decides to leave her castle, possibly also influenced by her feelings for Sir Lancelot. Another motive for her attempt to escape confinement might have been the realization that life outside the tower even for a few moments, where she could experience what everyone else was experiencing, was more precious