The Lady of Shalott

[Jessika]

Hi everyone!!

Do you know about a poem written by Tennison 'The Lady of Shalott'?

I've read the story and i'm discussing with more people about why the lady leaves her castle to go and die in the river..

Any suggestions?

I've read the story in this link:
pathguy.com/shalott.htm


I think that the mirror reflects the reality, but not a real one. A distorted one.
So, by weaving what she perceives as the true reality she is showing how she perceives THAT reality.

When the lady looks out the window directly, the tapestry (her perceived reality) flies, disappears. I think that is why she leaves her castle, to try to find her own true reality (am i making myself clear? lol sorry if that's not the case).

But then, i don't know why she commits suicide (does she really commit suicide?)

Any suggestions?


Thank you very much!! :p


Saludos!!!!!!!!

[C.Y. Ellis]

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[Jessika]

Thank you very much, C.Y. Ellis :)

I really appreciate your help :nod:

Saludos!! And happy new year!

[mono]

I entirely agree with your interpretations, Jessika. The reflection of the outside of Lady Shalott's room through a mirror certainly speaks much of subjective perceptions of reality, and how something beautiful (the knight, in this case) compels one attempt seeing its objectivity as clearly as possible. Reality's perception through art (in Lady Shalott's case, her making of tapestry), I think, all artists can relate; Immanuel Kant, Aristotle, and Ralph Waldo Emerson all claimed that "art is an imitation of nature," and the idealistic beauty represented through an artist's work certainly projects his/her perception of the world - in fact, the mirror may also demonstrate how an artist may have an increasingly unique perspective on the world, as opposed to others, until captivated by beauty.
Thank you for sharing the poem, and happy new year to you, also.

[Jessika]

Thanks for your comment, Mono :D

Can I post it in the other forum where I'm discussing it? :p

I read in another different link that the tapestry seems to flew to a boat. That boat is the one the lady 'uses' to die. I also read that she dies because of the cold. So.. is that considered to be suicide? I'm not sure about this
What do you think?

Thanks again, and happy new year!!

Saludos!!

[mono]

Can I post it in the other forum where I'm discussing it?

Of course, Jessika, you may copy my comments to elsewhere.
Living her relatively sheltered life, one could say that the Lady of Shalott reflected death quite a bit, and the means, but I do not know the tale as thoroughly, from what it sounds, as you. Michel de Montaigne, a 16th century French thinker/historian, in quoting Cicero, an ancient Roman philosopher/orator/politician, once agreed that the life of a philosopher and artist seems but one meditation regarding death, as if a thinker suffers for the sake of truth and art. This belief, I feel, may strongly apply to the life of the Lady of Shalott, especially when captivated by aesthetics. While the tapestry flew towards the boat, symbolically, a reader could consider that an act of fate, as if beauty influenced the Lady to something different (look somewhere other than through a mirror), and her own creation (another form of beauty) influenced her into her next step.
Interesting question, whether the Lady of Shalott committed suicide or not; one could answer either way, according to opinion. I would answer 'yes,' but indirectly. I know not if death proved the Lady's intention, but her own actions led her there, regardless; in her situation, however, death seemed the only option. What do you think?
(and Happy New Year!)

[Miranda]

The Lady of Shallot is one of my favourite poems, but I dont think it has any hidden meanings. I think it is just a 'fairy story.' At the beginning the Lady of Shallot is quite content to weave the mirror's magic sights, by night and by day. Her only 'care' is that she knows that there is a curse on her and if she looks towards Camelot something bad will happen to her, though she is not sure what.

Her discontentment begins when she sees 'two young lovers, lately wed' reflected in her mirror. The stirrings of the need for romance enter her heart and unsettle her in her world of shadows, of which she suddenly becomes tired of.

Then Lancelot enters the mirror - the description of him is dazzling, and magical, Tennyson makes this part of the poem alive with light and life, so different from the cloistered walls where the lady of shallot weaves her tapestry of the images that pass through her mirror. In an instant The Lady of Shallot loses her heart to him..she leaves the web and the loom and in a few glancing moments, she sees everything plainly, that previously had only been reflections.

But she commits the one thing that is not allowed and which brings the curse on her..she looks down to Camelot. The mirror cracks from side to side - confirmation that whatever fate was decreed in the curse, is about to fall on her. The web doesnt' actually float down to the boat, it tears from side to side. Her way of life is obviously over - the mirror is broken, the web torn, nothing will ever be the same again and she knows her death is imminent. Why does she die? She doesn't commit suicide, as I see it, her death is the result of invoking the curse by looking down to Camelot which she knew she wasn't allowed to do. How does she know she is to die. She always knew instinctively that she was cursed, though she did not know what the curse involved. Once the mirror and the web are marred, she instinctively knows that she will die. She longs to be part of the life she saw reflected in her mirror and the boat is the easiest way for her to get to Camelot, so she climbs into it, first writing her name around the prow so that anyone finding her will know who she is. As the boat winds along she sings one of the carols that she used to sing while she wove, until she dies. She dies because the curse decreed she must if she looked down to camelot and she did.

The ending is really sad but beautiful at the same time, as Sir Lancelot comes to see her in the boat and comments on how lovely her face is. If she had been living this would have been an answer to her dreams, but it is too late because she has died.

I think if an allegory could be drawn it would be the journey from innocence and girlhood, to an awakening longing for romance and womanhood, only to find that the reality doesnt always match the dream. But it is poem full of magic. I learned it off by heart when I was at school and years later, I still know all the verses.

I began writing this in the middle of the night. I just can't sleep - help! It will soon be time to get up and I haven't slept at all.

Miranda

[mono]

Nice analysis, Miranda, and how impressive that you once memorized the poem (what an accomplishment!). I see your point, and agree, that the Lady of Shalott most likely, instinctively, knew of her approaching death, due to not obeying the strict rules on her.
Regardless, too, I hope you get some sleep.

[Miranda]

Thanks Mono. Unforunately I can remember the Lady of Shallot but not what I did yesterday! No, I didnt get any sleep and a day has passed now and tis night again..but maybe tonight I will, cos I can hardly stay awake now!
Best wishes for the New Year Mono,

Miranda

[gabbydora]

the lady of shalott doesn't commit suicide
she lives on shalott
she is cursed and cannot see the world directly(because of the curse) which means she can't just go up to people and talk to them or see them like face to face
then she hears sir lancelot singing and falls in love with his voice
she goes to see him (wether or not of the curse she doesn't really care of it! as a matter of fact she doesn't know she is cursed!!)
she gets into the boat and tries to see sir lancelot but she dies on the way there because it's so cold(it says in the poem that her blood freezes and her eyes turn black). the boat keeps going down the river to camelot and when it arrives everyone gathers around her. they look at her suprised and wondering why she is dead. then sir Lancelot looks at her and thinks she is really pretty.

but if you couldn't understand me here is the short version:

the lady of shallot live on shalott henceforth "the lady of shalott".
she is cursed and can't see people directly.
she hears sir LAL(lancelot) singing and fall in love with him!
she goes to see him in camelot by riding down the river by herself in a boat but she dies on the way there because she is cold(she freezes to death). (you'll see in the poem it doesn't say anything about guinevere)
then her body keeps going down the river in the boat intil it reaches the shore of camelot. sir lancelot thinks she is pretty.

THE END! hope i helped!!

[Homers_child]

My English class just read this poem today, unfortunately we didn't spend as much time with it as I would have hoped. I was already familiar with it and it's one of my favorite poems so far. Does anyone else think that Lancelot's response to the Lady is kind of... hmm, depressing and trivial? Not sure. My teacher said it was ironic. But it just seemed ironic in a very sad way. It was such a trivial response to a Lady that got cursed and died because she longed for him and the outside world.

[Miss s]

I have recently read this poem in my english class and we have now moved onto different Victorian poetry, but im still interested in knowing about the irony presented in this poem.

i want to know what the irony presented is and how does it affect the development of the narrative?

can anyone help me?



Miss S :)

[Dipen Guha]

According to some critics The Lady of Shalott stands for " the erring human soul that lives apart from mankind". But, the soul is bound to get sick of this world of shadows, sooner or later. Then it gets in close touch with reality through love. The far too late realisation of the mistake may mean even death for the person, but still there is no other way for salvation. From an even more philosophical point of view it may be said that like the Lady of Shalott we all sit before our respective favourite magic mirrors, and deceive ourselves by looking at shadows which we mistake for reality. Disillusionment comes only too late in life. Mr. Hutton says that the poem has for its subject the emptiness of the life of fancy, however rich and brilliant, the utter satiety which at last compels a truly imaginative nature to give up this life. The curse, of course, is that "if she loves like a mortal, she will suffer the fate of mortals, when she looks away from the shadow to the reality." Hence, her death denotes triumph of reality over fancy.

[ennison]

It's her infatuation with the knight in the mirror that stirs her to risk the curse. Ironically the night is totally unaware of what she has done and merely says of her corpse that it is beautiful

[jajdude]

Ever hear the song, quite a voice.

Loreena McKennitt: the lady of Shalott

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw_cZGrVFqw

[Jassy Melson]

The Lady of Shalott is a perfect example of a poem that should be heard rather than read (actually all poems should be heard rather than read). Only by hearing the poem can we really catch the beauty of it.

[racheldee]

I think that tennyson is saying two things, both about the artist. The first is that art is isolating, and enslaving. And second, that distraction to the artist can destroy the art as well as the artist him or her self. He may also be making a statement about the implications of love as well. I'm sorry if my interpretation seems negative.

[PSRemeshChandra]

Tennyson wrote The Lady Of Shallot at a time which marks a turn of his themes to man-lady relations. This poem marks the beginning of that phase.
The Lady, though cursed, was living a kind of somewhat contented and adjusted life in the island as is evident from the images daily passing across her mirror. Only scenes of a rustic and peaceful village life appear there. Then Sir. Lancelot passes through in his full majesty like a meteor trailing light across the sky. Tennyson is presenting the universal picture of a strong male personality passing like a storm through the innocent and peaceful mind of a girl, causing turbulence and reverberations, leading her to her final doom. The world literature is full of such characters and such actual personalities were not uncommon in the Victorian England too. The storm shook the Lady like a fallen and dead leaf and she can do nothing but follow the storm, go the way it went, to her doom. And when her snow-clad pale body passes through the waterfronts Sir. Lancelot only comments, what a beautiful face. He does not know the doom he caused. Such is the pride of man. And the Lady could not restrict and curtail her emotions at the rare sight of a passing magnificence. Such is the folly of instant love. When we view from an impartial angle, the Lady of Shalott, Sir. Lancelot and Tennyson are justified in their actions.

[ennison]

There is cosiderable irony in the contrast between Lancelot and The Lady. He is singinging a meaningless refrain when he appears. He is a (stereo)typical man-of-action. Not much up top. Looks good but is desperately shallow. Carries the emblems of his religion but that's all they are, emblems. Her carol by contrast is varied and full of the depth of a real life and real experiences. The woman who has only had a short burst of freedom seems to have a deeper appreciation of life than the warrior who has never known anything but freedom. He does not even know who she is at the end and can only offer a banal cliche when faced with her corpse