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In this poem, a mysterious woman lives alone on the island of Shalott. Just down the river from her is King Arthur's court at Camelot, but the Lady of Shalott is not allowed even to look in that direction, much less travel there: a mysterious curse forbids it.
- Summary
- Structure and Form
- Part I
- Part II
- Part III
- Part IV
The poem, divided into four parts, narrates the tragedy of The Lady of Shalott. Part I introduces the idyllic landscape around the island of Shalott and Camelot, with fields of barley and rye stretching to the horizon, a river flowing around the island, and onwards to Camelot, bordered by willow and aspen trees. On the silent island stands a buildi...
‘The Lady of Shalott‘ is structured into 19 stanzas, each containing 9 lines, and divided into four parts. This segmented structure helps to methodically narrate the tale of the Lady of Shalott, from her isolated life to her tragic demise. The form is unique, not adhering to any conventional pattern, yet it evokes the ballad tradition, which aligns...
Stanza One
Summary: The opening stanza of this poem introduces the two most important places that are present in this narrative: Camelot and Shalott. We, as readers, are given a vivid image of the beautiful mainland of Camelot. The road is full of natural beauty and the constant flow of people traveling in and out. Shalott, on the other hand, is mentioned almost as if in passing and is portrayed as just a place that is merely noticed by people on their journey to and fro Camelot. Analysis: Tennyson uses...
Stanza Two
Summary: This stanza shifts the imagery in the direction of winter, with snowy white willows and aspen trees that “quiver” in the cold. It also mentions the “little breezes” that run through the waves of the river near the island of Shalott, which flows towards Camelot. The island is finally given some attention as the introduction to the Lady of Shalott surfaces. The Lady of Shalott is described as sheltered in a building or structure that has four grey walls and towers and is located on a l...
Stanza Three
Summary: Stanza three begins by painting a picture of willows that cover the bank of the river, diverting our attention back to the busy scene outside the small castle-like building in which the Lady of Shalott is encased. This river and the road leading to Camelot are described to be busy with “heavy barges” (boats carrying goods), horses, and “shallop flitteth silken sail’d” (small boats flying down the river with their silk sails). The narratorhere starts to throw around questions that for...
Stanza Five
Summary: As we go through the poem, this stanza catches the first details of who the lady of Shalott is. She is a woman who busies herself in weaving a “magic” colorful web. She has been cursed with a curse for which she doesn’t know the consequences. All she does know, however, is that she is not to look down from her towers at Camelot (if she wants to be protected from this curse). We are also told that she focuses her life on her weaving, not giving anything around her care in the world, m...
Stanza Six
Summary: Stanza six continues by giving the readers a little insight into the character of the lady of Shalott. Here, we learn that she owns a mirror that hangs in front of her as she weaves. The interesting quality of the mirror is that it shows her “shadows” of the world around her, so the images are unclear or blurred. From this mirror, she can get a glimpse of the whirlpools in the river and some people. There are various kinds of people that the lady of Shalott can make out in her mirror...
Stanza Seven
Summary: Here, we see that the list of people that the lady of Shalott sees through her mirror continues. We are told she sometimes sees “glad” young women and an abbot (a person of authority amongst the monks/monastery) who rides “an ambling pad” ( a slow road horse). A curly-haired shepherd and a long-haired “page in crimson” (an attendant of a nobleman wearing crimson) on his way to the towered Camelot. The narrator mentions that the lady has sometimes even seen “knights riding two by two”...
Stanza Nine
Summary: Here begins part three of this poem, and the scene changes to introduce a second character: Sir Lancelot. He enters the story by riding through the barley fields, with his armor “dazzling” in the sun, quite close to where the Lady resides. He is described as “bold” and has a picture of a knight kneeling before his lady on his shield. The narrator is not shy about reminding us that he was near “remote Shalott,” emphasizing the obvious difference between him and Shalott. Analysis: Part...
Stanza Ten
Summary: Stanza ten is purely a detailed illustration of Sir Lancelot. It starts with the comparisonof his beautifully adorned bridle to the decoration of stars in the sky. The bells on his bridle ring “merrily”, as he rides “down to Camelot”. A small silver trumpet hangs from his quite obvious strap belt (baldric) as he noisily passes by “remote Shalott.” Analysis: From this stanza, we take away that Lancelot makes noise as he passes by Shalott, looking quite magnificent. Very similar to the...
Stanza Eleven
Summary: The importance of Lancelot is rather obvious through the number of stanzas dedicated to just his description. Here, we observe that even the leather of his saddle was shining bright, and his helmet had feathers that looked quite fierce. Lancelot riding to Camelot is compared to a “bearded meteor” (referring to the feathers on his helmet) that is trailing light in the sky. Again, as the stanza concludes, the strong contrast between Lancelot and Shallot is emphasized by describing Shal...
Stanza Fourteen
Summary: We are now entering the last part of this poem. Stanza fourteen begins with stormy weather, portraying to the reader the circumstances of the situation. There is now a “stormy” wind, the yellow leaves of the forest seem to be disappearing, the river is complaining, and heavy rain begins to fall. The lady of Shalott finally leaves her abode to find a boat floating under a willow tree. She gets in the boat and carves “The Lady of Shalott” on the front of the boat. Analysis: The stormy...
Stanza Fifteen
Summary: Stanza fifteen continues the Lady of Shalott’s journey outside her normal domain. Before she actually gets in the boat, she looks down the river at Camelot like a fortuneteller who is in a “trance” once he realizes his own misfortunes that await him. At the end of the day, she eventually loosens the chain that is tying the boat to land and lays down in it. The boat then starts to take her “far away.” Analysis: In this stanza, The lady anticipated the curse to befall her and basically...
Stanza Sixteen
Summary: This stanza illustrates an image that is most popular amongst the art and is very commonly available in the poem. The Lady of Shalott, dressed in white, lay at the bottom of the boat with her garments moving in the wind and leaves lightly falling on her as the boat traveled through the river at night towards Camelot. Everything that surrounded the boat, including the willows and fields, were witnesses of the last song that the lady of Shalott sang as she drifted by. Analysis: This de...
In 'Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’, we will read a poem written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson who was born in 1809 and died in 1892. Who was the British monarch for most of Tennyson's adult life?
Mar 7, 2024 · “The Lady of Shalott” by Lord Tennyson was first published in 1832 and quickly gained popularity, becoming one of the most celebrated works of the Victorian era. The poem tells the story of a cursed lady who weaves a web and gazes out of her tower at the outside world through a mirror.
"The Lady of Shalott" (/ ʃ ə ˈ l ɒ t /) is a lyrical ballad by the 19th-century English poet Alfred Tennyson and one of his best-known works. Inspired by the 13th-century Italian short prose text Donna di Scalotta, the poem tells the tragic story of Elaine of Astolat, a young noblewoman stranded in a tower up the river from Camelot.
Oct 3, 2006 · In this powerful climax Tennyson focuses the action exclusively on the Lady of Shalott. He uses the word "she" six times in five lines. And, more importantly, it is the first time in the poem the Lady of Shalott moves: she walks across the room to the window.
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On the island, a woman known as the Lady of Shalott is imprisoned within a building made of “four gray walls and four gray towers.” Both “heavy barges” and light open boats sail along the edge of the river to Camelot. But has anyone seen or heard of the lady who lives on the island in the river?
