The character of The Lady of Shalott by Lord Tennyson
What
is the character of Lancelot in Lady Shalott?
The character of The Lady of Shalott
The
Lady of Shalott is a dynamic character in Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "The
Lady of Shalott." The Lady of Shalott, a beautiful and gorgeous young lady,
leads a lonely, monotonous, and sad life in a castle tower. The lady is condemned by a strange curse to
endlessly knit the web. There is a big mirror in front of her. She is cursed to
see her outer life that is reflected in the mirror. She is prevented from looking
outside from the window. She looks pleased about it. However, one night when
she sees a newlywed couple in the mirror. This frustrates her and she says
that: “I am half sick of shadows.”
The Lady of Shalott is ignorant of the
nature of the curse. But she is not opposed to this and that is why she weaves
a magical web. She sees different images in the mirror. Sometimes she sees many
happy women heading toward the city of Camelot. Other times, she sees the head
of a monastery walking down the road. Sometimes the lady sees a curly-haired shepherdess. Therefore, the
Lady of Shalott can only look at the shadows of real life reflected in the
mirror. She seems to be happy about it. However, one night she sees a newly
married couple in the mirror. This frustrates her and she says, " I am
half sick of shadows.”
Although the Lady of Shalott lives alone in the castle, she yearns for real life. She's fed up with the life of the shadows. Feelings of love are strong in her, but she holds them back for a while. She sees the reflection of the knights riding their horses and heading to the city of Camelot. But no knight has seen her, and no knight loves her. No one is chivalrous towards her:
"And sometimes through the mirror blue
The knights come riding two and two.
She hath no loyal Knight and true,
The Lady of Shalott."
She is a rebel. When she sees
the young knight, Sir Lancelot in the mirror, she is attracted to him. A
feeling of love rises in her heart. She can no longer live in the shadows. Sir
Lancelot represents real life and action. His entrance on his stage had a great
effect on the life of the Lady of Shalott. So she rebels against her current
condition:
“She
left the web, she left the loom,
She made three paces through the room,
She
saw the water-lily bloom,
She
saw the helmet and the plume,
She
looked down to Camelot."
The Lady of Shalott knows that if she moves out of her tower, the curse
will fall on her. But she revolts against it and opts for a life of reality. It is the newborn love of the Lady of
Shalott for Sir Lancelot that has made her move out of the region of shadows.
She is not awakened to happiness but to sorrow. Her love is hopeless as she
comes out of the shadows to die. Even then she opts for the life of reality.
Sir Lancelot sees her dead in the boat and remarks:
"She has a lovely face;
God in his mercy lend her grace,
The Lady of Shalott".
Q. 2 Discuss the role of Sir Lancelot in the poem 'The Lady of Shalott'.
Sir Lancelot appears twice in the
poem. His first appearance in the poem is dramatic because it has a great
effect on the life of the Lady of Shalott. His second appearance at the end of
the poem is suggestive and symbolic. It is he who remarks:
"She has a lovely face
God in his mercy lend her grace,
The Lady of Shalott".
By
admiring her beauty, he expresses his love knight his concern for the Lady of
Shalott. for her in undertones. By praying for her, he shows his concern for
the lady of Shalott.
The
Lady of Shalott in the poem leads a passive contemplative and withdrawn life in
a tower of the castle. She is living her life under a curse. She is doomed to
live a life of shadows. A mirror is placed in front of her. She can see the
outside real life appearing in the mirror only. She is busy weaving a web
because she is under a mysterious curse. Thus she represents the withdrawn and
passive spirit. She is sure to meet her doom if she meets real life directly. Therefore, she must not look down the river to Camelot which symbolizes
the real life of the world. She can see the real sights of the world only in the mirror.
Sir
Lancelot is the male principal who represents action. He is the greatest knight
of Camelot. His arrival on the scene has a direct effect on the Lady of
Shalott. Tennyson's remarks:
"He
flashed into the crystal mirror
“Tirra
lirra', by the river
Sang
Sir Lancelot"
When
the Lady of Shalott looks at this young and charming knight, she is attracted
by him. A feeling of love for him arises in her heart. She no longer wants to
live a life of shadows and thus revolts:
"She
left the web, she left the loom,
She
made three paces through the room,
She
saw the water-lily bloom,
She
saw the helmet and the plume.
She
looked down to Camelot."
The
Lady of Shalott moves out of the life of shadows. She takes a boat and writes
her name 'The Lady of Shalott' on the prow of the boat and moves towards the
city of Camelot. She knows fully well that the curse will fall on her, but she
is determined to enter the life of reality. This is the effect of Sir Lancelot
on her. It is he who is responsible for arousing the feeling of love in her and
inciting her to leave the region of shadows.
At the end of the poem Sir Lancelot appears for the second time in the poem. The Lady of Shalott who sang her last song is lying dead in the boat. Many citizens come on the bank of the river to see her. The knights at the royal banquet cross themselves out of fear. But Sir Lancelot thinks about her and prays for her.
He
remarks:
"She
has a lovely face;
God
in his mercy lend her grace,
The
Lady of Shalott."
It is the newborn love of the Lady of Shalott for Sir Lancelot that has
taken her out of the region of shadows into reality. She is not awakened to
happiness but to sorrow. Her love is hopeless as she comes out of the shadows
to die. Lancelot admires the beauty of the Lady of Shalott. The poet suggests
symbolically his love for the Lady of Shalott. So the role of Sir Lancelot in
the poem is very significant because it is he who drives the Lady of Shalott out of the world of shadows
Q.3 Critical Appreciation of The Lady of Shalott
The poem 'The Lady of Shalott' has overtones of medievalism. The Lady leads a life made to weave a web day and night. There is a shadow in one of the towers on an island. She is a mysterious curse. She is cursed to lead a life of her. a big mirror in front of her. She can see the outside real life reflected in the mirror. She is prevented from seeing the outside life from the window. She lives all alone in the tower and leads a dull, lonely, and sorrowful life. Tennyson himself gives an interpretation of the story, "The newborn love for something, for someone in the world from which she has
been
so long secluded, takes her out of the region of shadows into that of
reality". She is awakened not to happiness but to sorrow. Her love is
hopeless as she comes out of the shadows only to die. She dies because of the
curse on her.
It is a symbolic tale of a lady condemned
by a mysterious curse to weave ceaselessly a magic tapestry. In part, I, the
poet describes the island castle of Shalott occupied by a mysterious lady. In
part II, the lady is weaving compulsively under the strange curse, seeing
outside life only through the mirror. In part III, the poet describes a young
handsome knight, Sir Lancelot, riding on his horse. The Lady leaves her weaving
and looks down to Camelot and the curse begins to work on her. In part IV, The
Lady dies and floats down the river to Camelot. She sings her last song before
she dies.
Symbolically,
the story depicts a contrast between the Lady of Shalott leading a life of shadows
and is cut off the active, external life with passive, contemplative, and
withdrawn life in the tower of the castle. The Lady of Shalott leads a life of
shadows and is cut off from the life of reality.
Each
picture portrayed in the poem is a pre- ly Raphaelitic painting, exquisite in
detail, profuse in e', imagery, and glowing in colour. Here we find most
clearly the effectiveness and abundance of Tennyson's skill as a narrative
artist. The poem's pre-Raphaelitism consists in the extreme minuteness of its
descriptions.
In
this poem, the poet conveys his favorite doctrine which is more elaborately
expressed in his in t other poem 'In Memoriam':
"Tis
better to have loved and lost
Than
never to have loved at all"
In this poem, the Lady of Shalott is
dissatisfied th with the life of shadows, fancies, and dreams. She knows that
the path of love in real life is beset with pitfalls but still, she chooses the
path of love. She dies in the process but she affirms Tennyson's belief in his
doctrine.
The
Lady of Shalott
BY
Alfred Lord Tennyson
Part
I
On
either side the river lie
Long
fields of barley and of rye,
That
clothe the wold and meet the sky;
And
thro' the field the road runs by
To
many-tower'd Camelot;
The
yellow-leaved waterlily
The
green-sheathed daffodilly
Tremble
in the water chilly
Round about Shalott.
Willows
whiten, aspens shiver.
The
sunbeam showers break and quiver
In
the stream that runneth ever
By
the island in the rive
Flowing down to Camelot.
Four
gray walls, and four gray towers
Overlook
a space of flowers,
And
the silent isle imbowers
The Lady of Shalott.
Underneath
the bearded barley,
The
reaper, reaping late and early,
Hears
her ever chanting cheerly,
Like
an angel, singing clearly,
O'er the stream of Camelot.
Piling
the sheaves in furrows airy,
Beneath
the moon, the reaper weary
Listening
whispers, ' 'Tis the fairy,
Lady of Shalott.'
The
little isle is all inrail'd
With
a rose-fence, and overtrail'd
With
roses: by the marge unhail'd
The
shallop flitteth silken sail'd,
Skimming down to Camelot.
A
pearl garland winds her head:
She
leaneth on a velvet bed,
Full
royally apparelled,
The
Lady of Shalott.
Part
II
No
time hath she to sport and play:
A
charmed web she weaves alway.
A
curse is on her, if she stay
Her
weaving, either night or day,
To look down to Camelot.
She
knows not what the curse may be;
Therefore
she weaveth steadily,
Therefore
no other care hath she,
The Lady of Shalott.
She
lives with little joy or fear.
Over
the water, running near,
The
sheepbell tinkles in her ear.
Before
her hangs a mirror clear,
Reflecting tower'd Camelot.
And
as the mazy web she whirls,
She
sees the surly village churls,
And
the red cloaks of market girls
Pass onward from Shalott.
Sometimes
a troop of damsels glad,
An
abbot on an ambling pad,
Sometimes
a curly shepherd lad,
Or
long-hair'd page in crimson clad,
Goes by to tower'd Camelot:
And
sometimes thro' the mirror blue
The
knights come riding two and two:
She
hath no loyal knight and true,
The Lady of Shalott.
But
in her web she still delights
To
weave the mirror's magic sights,
For
often thro' the silent nights
A
funeral, with plumes and lights
And music, came from Camelot:
Or
when the moon was overhead
Came
two young lovers lately wed;
'I
am half sick of shadows,' said
The Lady of Shalott.
Part
III
A
bow-shot from her bower-eaves,
He
rode between the barley-sheaves,
The
sun came dazzling thro' the leaves,
And
flam'd upon the brazen greaves
Of
bold Sir Lancelot.
A
red-cross knight for ever kneel'd
To
a lady in his shield,
That
sparkled on the yellow field,
Beside remote Shalott.
The
gemmy bridle glitter'd free,
Like
to some branch of stars we see
Hung
in the golden Galaxy.
The
bridle bells rang merrily
As he rode down from Camelot:
And
from his blazon'd baldric slung
A
mighty silver bugle hung,
And
as he rode his armour rung,
Beside remote Shalott.
All
in the blue unclouded weather
Thick-jewell'd
shone the saddle-leather,
The
helmet and the helmet-feather
Burn'd
like one burning flame together,
As he rode down from Camelot.
As
often thro' the purple night,
Below
the starry clusters bright,
Some
bearded meteor, trailing light,
Moves over green Shalott.
His
broad clear brow in sunlight glow'd;
On
burnish'd hooves his war-horse trode;
From
underneath his helmet flow'd
His
coal-black curls as on he rode,
As he rode down from Camelot.
From
the bank and from the river
He
flash'd into the crystal mirror,
'Tirra
lirra, tirra lirra:'
Sang Sir Lancelot.
She
left the web, she left the loom
She
made three paces thro' the room
She
saw the water-flower bloom,
She
saw the helmet and the plume,
She look'd down to Camelot.
Out
flew the web and floated wide;
The
mirror crack'd from side to side;
'The
curse is come upon me,' cried
The Lady of Shalott.
Part
IV
In
the stormy east-wind straining,
The
pale yellow woods were waning,
The
broad stream in his banks complaining,
Heavily
the low sky raining
Over tower'd Camelot;
Outside
the isle a shallow boat
Beneath
a willow lay afloat,
Below
the carven stern she wrote,
The Lady of Shalott.
A
cloudwhite crown of pearl she dight,
All
raimented in snowy white
That
loosely flew (her zone in sight
Clasp'd
with one blinding diamond bright)
Her wide eyes fix'd on Camelot,
Though
the squally east-wind keenly
Blew,
with folded arms serenely
By
the water stood the queenly
Lady of Shalott.
With
a steady stony glance—
Like
some bold seer in a trance,
Beholding
all his own mischance,
Mute,
with a glassy countenance—
She look'd down to Camelot.
It
was the closing of the day:
She
loos'd the chain, and down she lay;
The
broad stream bore her far away,
The Lady of Shalott.
As
when to sailors while they roam,
By
creeks and outfalls far from home,
Rising
and dropping with the foam,
From
dying swans wild warblings come,
Blown shoreward; so to Camelot
Still
as the boathead wound along
The
willowy hills and fields among,
They
heard her chanting her deathsong,
The Lady of Shalott.
A
longdrawn carol, mournful, holy,
She
chanted loudly, chanted lowly,
Till
her eyes were darken'd wholly,
And
her smooth face sharpen'd slowly,
Turn'd to tower'd Camelot:
For
ere she reach'd upon the tide
The
first house by the water-side,
Singing
in her song she died,
The Lady of Shalott.
Under
tower and balcony,
By
garden wall and gallery,
A
pale, pale corpse she floated by,
Deadcold,
between the houses high,
Dead into tower'd Camelot.
Knight
and burgher, lord and dame,
To
the planked wharfage came:
Below
the stern they read her name,
The Lady of Shalott.
They
cross'd themselves, their stars they blest,
Knight,
minstrel, abbot, squire, and guest.
There
lay a parchment on her breast,
That
puzzled more than all the rest,
The
wellfed wits at Camelot.
'The
web was woven curiously,
The
charm is broken utterly,
Draw
near and fear not,—this is I,
The Lady of Shalott.'
About the poet
Lord Tennyson was unquestionably the greatest poet of the Victorian era.
Tennyson is often considered the voice of Victorian England. “For almost half a
century, Tennyson was not just a man and a poet; he was a voice, the voice of
an entire people, expressing with exquisite melody their doubts and their
faith, their sorrows, and their triumphs. In the verse, he suggests all the
qualities of the greatest English poets: The dreaminess of Spenser, the majesty
of Milton, the natural simplicity of Wordsworth, the fantasy of Blake and
Coleridge, the melody of Keats and Shelley, the narrative vigor of Scott and
Byron. W.J. Long, writes "All these
striking qualities are evident in the successive pages of Tennyson's poetry.”
Tennyson's earliest work includes Poems by “Two Brothers”, and Timbuctoo”. A poem, Chiefly Lyrical was published in 1830. The Poems of 1833 contain pieces such as “The Lady of Shalott”, “The Palace of Art” and “The Lotos – Eaters”. Tithonus written in 1833, but not published till 1860 is one of his most exquisite dramatic monologues. Tithonus longs for death as he is granted immortality but not everlasting youth
In 1842 came two more volumes of poetry containing such well-known poems as “ Morte d'Arthur ”, “ Ulysses “and Locksley Hall. In 1847 came the ornate poem “The Princess “ in blank verse punctuated with charming lyrics. It is a story about Princess Ida and formed the basis for Gilbert and Sullivan's opera Princess Ida. In 1850 came In Memoriam written on the death of Tennyson's friend Arthur Henry Hallam. It is a noble elegy and perhaps the best in Tennyson's poetry.
About the Poem:
"The Lady of Shallot" is a
lyrical poem. It is marked by its sweet music and beautiful images, "The
Lady of Shalott", was first published in the year 1833. The poem narrates
a medieval tale with a moral. The ballad is based on an Arthurian legend. It
describes the life of a solitary lady Shalott and the disaster that befalls her
when the lady comes across Sir Lancelot, a young knight. The poem is full of
rich descriptions that prove Alfred Tennyson is a skilled narrative poet. It
conveys the idea that an isolated life makes a person unable to face reality.
The Lady of Shalott, who confines in
an isolated castle made of “four gray walls and four gray towers.” She has
lost interest in her life. She weaves a magical web day and night. She lives
under a curse. She sees the shadows of the world appear in a mirror. Therefore,
she is separated from the world of reality. When she looks out the window at
Sir Lancelot, the curse falls on her. The mirror and magic web are broken. She
leaves the tower, and takes a boat to Camelot. She sings a song in a high and low tone,
then dies while she sings.
. Summary of The Lady of Shalott
At the beginning, the poet gives a description of the island of Shalott. It is located on a river that runs into the city with the many towers of Camelot. The Lady of Shalott lives in a tower on the island. No one has seen her wave her hand out the window. Only the reapers that harvest hear the song of the Lady of Shalott. At night, the tired reaper listens, the listeners sing and whisper that he hears: “ Tis the fairy Lady of Shalott.”
The Lady is described as weaving a magical colorful web day and night.
She is cursed for doing this. If she stops weaving the web and looks at
Camelot, surely the curse will fall on her. So she is constantly weaving. There
is a mirror in front of her. She sees real-life shadows appear in the mirror.
The knights overlap two by two. The Lady is happy as she weaves the magical
mirror images. The Lady of Shalott sees many sights. She glimpses in the mirror a funeral
procession or two young lovers just
married. The lady gets half sick of these shadows of life and long for reality.
One day, the Lady of Shalott sees Sir Lancelot riding towards Camelot. Sir
Lancelot hangs a bugle from his belt and his armor thumps as he gallops along
the remote island of Shalott. As he rides, his armor gleams in the light. The leather
on his saddle glows brightly. His face appears in the mirror and the Lady of
Shalott is attracted to him. She begins to have feelings of love for him. She
no longer wants to live in the shadow world. Immediately, she leaves the room
and takes three steps across the room. She walks over to the window and looks
at Sir Lancelot. The magic web disappeared and the mirror shattered. Lady of
Shalott proclaims the arrival of her doom “The curse comes upon me.”
Thus, attracted by Sir Lancelot, she leaves the tower and takes a boat
floating beneath a willow She writes 'The Lady of Shalott' on the prow. She
moves towards Camelot in a boat. She sings a sweet and pathetic song. People
hear her song.She sings the song in a high and low tone and slowly her blood is
frozen. Lady of Shalott' sings her last
song and dies. Some citizens come to the river bank and find her dead. They
read her name on the boat. In Camelot, people are curious to know about the
Lady of Shalott. The knights of the banquet cross each other in fear. But Sir
Lancelot thinks about her and remarks:
"She has a lovely face
God in his mercy lend her grace
The Lady of Shalott......."
The poet conveys a symbolic meaning in the story. On the surface, the
poet describes the castle on the island of Shalott occupied by the Lady of
Shalott. The lady is compulsively weaving under the strange curse. She sees the
outside world only through the mirror. Then the Lady of Shalott sees a young and handsome knight Sir Lancelot. Lancelot mounted on the horse. She is attracted to the young knight. She decides to
leave her web and looks down through the
window. The moment she looks at the outside world, her curse takes hold of her. She moves out of the tower towards Camelot in a boat. She sings her last song
and dies. She pays a heavy price.
Symbolically, the story presents a contrast between the life of shadows
and fancies and life of activity and reality. The poet contrasts the passive,
dull, and withdrawn life of the Lady of Shalott with the active interesting, and
free life of Sir Lancelot. The Lady of Shalott knows that the path of love in
real life is beset with pitfalls, but still, she chooses the path of love in
real life. No doubt she dies, but she affirms the poet's favorite doctrine :
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Then never to have loved at all”
