Janedeline's Blog: The Lady of Shalott: Personal Response ... a. Once, she stops weaving to look down upon Sir Lancelot and Camelot, and her mirror cracks. Cleverly, the Lady uses a mirror to view the outside world. Tennyson uses pathos, an emotional appeal, to impact the reader by telling the story from a third person point of view so that readers feel the emotion of an observer . And moving thro' a mirror clear What was the curse of the Lady of Shalott? Because the. Tennyson's Poetry "The Lady of Shalott" Summary & Analysis ... The poem "The Lady of Shalott" is about the conflict between life and art. what is the lady of shalott about - Lisbdnet.com "And the silent isle imbowers The Lady of Shallot" (Tennyson, line 17-18) The Lady of Shalott written by an English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson in 1832. When she sets her art aside and gaze down to the real world, she meets her tragic end and curse befall on her. She leaves the tower, lies in a shallow boat, and floats down the river to Camelot. Lady of Shalott: The Imprisoned Artist This plot appears simple enough, especially when a knight appears and the reader expects the curse to be broken, yet the knight we expect to rescue the Lady of Shalott is the one that leads to her downfall. When she sees Sir Lancelot… Tennyson's poem "The Lady of Shalott" depicts a woman trapped in a tower due to a curse. It implies that the Subject's actions were monotonous C. It suggests that the narrative was about to end D. It builds a sense of anticipation and mystery Alfred Lord Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott" is a poem that tells the story of a cursed lady imprisoned in a tower on the island of Shalott near the city There are so many unanswered questions about the lady of Shalott. She gets into a boat and floats down the river, dying before she reaches Camelot. The Lady of Shalott - 1652 Words | 123 Help Me A curse, laid upon her for unknown reason, prevents her from leaving the tower lest she bear the consequences of death. The Lady of Shalott by Alfred Lord Tennyson - Poem Analysis Lines 42-45. A curse is on her if she stay To look down to Camelot. And finds a boat. She gets into a boat and floats down the river, dying before she reaches Camelot. Think of the Lady like Sleeping Beauty in the Disney cartoon - a beautiful maiden, trapped in a tower under a terrible curse. The Lady of Shalott « literaryreviewsandcriticism She is a supernatural or symbolic being, who apparently never eats, sleeps, bathes, or does any other normal activity, but instead sits . What oppositions exist? Lady of shalott Symbolism is an important aspect of the Lady of Shalott. Tennyson's famous "The Lady of Shalott" (1842) is a haunting tale of magic and art. Why doesn't the Lady of Shalott have another choice than suicide when the mirror cracks? Under that curse, she was forbidden to look directly upon Camelot or any of its inhabitants. Herein, what is the curse laid on the Lady of Shalott? Who does the Lady of Shalott love? She spends her days and nights weaving, only able to see the outside world through her mirror. What matters does the text leave uncertain? She lives a life imprisoned by a curse she knows no consequence for and so hesitates to live her life the way she would have liked. So she leaves the tower. The Lady of Shalott is one of three paintings that Waterhouse based on a poem by Alfred Tennyson, set in the times of the legendary King Arthur and the medieval city of Camelot. why is the lady of shalott called a "fairy"? "The Lady of Shalott" was loosely based on the Arthurian legend of Elaine of Astolat Who died of unrequited love for Lancelot. A curse is on her if she stay To look down to Camelot. Her mirror cracks and the curse comes upon her. One day, Sir Lancelot (of Arthurian legend) comes riding through the countryside on horseback, and the Lady of Shalott is forced to turn around to gaze at him. Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott", a poem in four parts, tells the story of a cursed Lady imprisoned on the island of Shalott. Who cursed the Lady of Shalott? The people in this stanza are in motion, going about their busy lives while hers is solitary and static. The Lady of Shalott believes a curse will fall upon her if she b) looks out toward Camelot. Click to see full answer. Why is The Lady of Shalott cursed? 'The Lady of Shalott' was painted by John William Waterhouse in 1888. She knows not what the curse may be, And so she weaveth steadily, And little other care hath she, The Lady of Shalott. Why is The Lady of Shalott cursed? The Lady of Shalott by Alfred Lord Tennyson is a popular ballad that illustrates the isolation of a woman in a tower far from what she wants to live and experience. The Lady who lives in the castle on the Island of Shalott spends most of her time weaving "a magic web with colors gay." "The curse is come upon me," cried The Lady of Shalott. It is her reality. She lives alone in a tower with all her needs met, but she is not allowed to look directly on the city of Camelot and its inhabitants or she will die. Under that curse, she was forbidden to look directly upon Camelot or any of its inhabitants. A curse is on her, if she stay Her weaving, either night or day, To look down to Camelot. b. But the curse denies her direct sight of life outside and ultimately she is unfulfilled. It is one of his most famous works, which adopted much of the style of the . Through her curse, she is unable to look outside of her window into the real world. Through her curse, she is unable to look outside of her window into the real world. She has heard a whisper say, A curse is on her if she stay To look down to Camelot. When Tennyson wrote the first version of the poem in 1832 at the age of twenty-three he . - having regular verse. The curser prohibits her from looking directly down the river at Camelot. In " The Lady of Shalott ," no information is revealed concerning who cursed the Lady, why she is cursed, or how long she's been cursed. Research tapestries from the Middle Ages and report on what kinds of images they present and what kinds of stories they tell. *She is aware of the existence of her curse although she doesn't know its origin. Though she is trapped against her will, "in her web she still delights / to weave the mirror's magic sights" (64-65). She knows not what the curse may be, Therefore she weaveth steadily, Therefore no other care hath she, The Lady of Shalott. She spends her days weaving the images she sees in her mirror, her "shadows of the world". In Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott," the eponymous Lady is cursed to spend her life alone, weaving in the top of a tower, with a mirror as her only window to the outside world. The Lady of Shalott is perhaps the most obvious example that comes to mind. She dwells in a tower on the island named Shalott, next to King Arthur's Camelot. She weaves; she is cursed. The Lady of Shalott. (Emphasis mine). *She is forced into isolation from the real world by devotion to her craft. Of all the magical elements of the poem, the Lady herself—who has no name, lives in a tower, and is cursed never to look out—is among the most unrealistic. Tennyson is a poet of the early nineteenth century. One was named Hallam after Tennyson's dearest friend, Arthur Hallam. The poem is about the life of a cursed Lady who is trapped in the Tower of Shalott. The lady of shalott was cursed by her lover who locked her up in the tower so that no one would take her, he wanted her for himself. The Lady of Shalott by Alfred Lord Tennyson is a popular ballad that illustrates the isolation of a woman in a tower far from what she wants to live and experience. Tennyson's poem 'The Lady of Shalott' exists as both a 20-stanza poem published in 1832, and the revised version of 19 stanzas - which is the one readers are most familiar with - which was published in 1842. One may also ask, what did the Lady of Shalott do which caused the curse to come upon her? A curse is on her that forbids her doing so. But in this story, she is cursed to never look out her window. And she falls in love with him in an instant of absolute tragedy as she falls into the trap of destiny and a curse that was laid upon her before she had the ability to speak for herself. Answer and Explanation: Become a Study.com member to unlock this answer! The tapestry is the world that the Lady of Shalott exists in. The Lady of Shalott by Alfred Lord Tennyson is a popular ballad that illustrates the isolation of a woman in a tower far from what she wants to live and experience.She lives a life imprisoned by a curse she knows no consequence for and so hesitates to live her life the way she would have liked. Lady of Shalott." PART II There she weaves by night and day A magic web with colours gay. However there is a prison like castle in which the Lady of Shalott resides. When he does not return her love, she dies of grief and floats in a barge down the river to Camelot. It is her experience and memory. The Arthurian legend belongs to the medieval literature and, more concretely, to the courteous novel, which is characterized for: - being cult. Indeed, the threat of the curse forces her to maintain this static existence. Stanza: Each stanza has nine lines in perfect rhyme. Some important symbols are the tapestry, the mirror, and the curse. The Lady of Shalott is under a curse. She is allowed to view the world only by looking into her mirror. Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott" is a poem that describes the imprisonment of an anonymous young woman. The Lady of Shalott dies in "The Lady of Shalott " as a result of the curse placed on her, which forces her to weave constantly. The poem was a very popular subject for artists in Victorian Britain because of its theme of tragic love. In Part II, what is the Lady of Shalott said to do. The "history" of the curse is left ambiguous. A. The legend of the Lady of Shalott, which is of such recurring interest and fascination to Victorian writers and painters, would seem therefore to be an instance of the type of myth that must be an attempt to symbolize something essential in human experience, a truth in the profoundest sense because, as Voegelin says, "A myth can never be 'untrue' because it would not exist unless it had . By using the present tense, Tennyson frames the Lady of Shalott's weaving as a continuous, static action which does not and will not change. She finds a boat, gets into it, and starts floating down the river toward Sir Lancelot. c. The king in Camelot has forbidden her to do so. These lines in "The Lady of Shalott" explain why the Lady remains unseen for years by her neighbors: She has been cursed. Among the beautiful flowers, trees, and scenery, there is a prison like, gray castle. Based upon the poem of the same name by Alfred Lord Tennyson, several Pre-Raphaelite artists painted the Lady who is imprisoned within "four grey walls, and four grey towers.". I like that you raised the question of why was the Lady of Shalott cursed in the first place. The island of Shalott, which is above Camelot. At the end, regretting her life, she dies. Why was the lady of shalott locked in a tower? Why? 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. There she weaves by night and day A magic web with colors gay. What does the Lady see in the mirror. Why is The Lady of Shalott cursed? d. She is too overburdened with her weaving to do so. . She knows not what the curse may be, And so she weaveth steadily, And little other care hath she, The Lady of Shalott. 'The Lady of Shalott'; was and is subject for countless interpretation by readers and artists, especially pictorial. The painting is held by the Wadsworth Atheneum, in Hartford, Connecticut. It is a beautiful and romantic place with flowers, streams, and trees. Literary Analysis: "The Lady of Shalott" Introduction: One of the most fascinating poems of Tennyson is "The Lady of Shalott". Yet that is precisely what her ladyship did one fateful day, when she caught sight of Sir Lancelot in her mirror. By the time she gets there she has died and is a "pale, pale corpse." Secondly, what kind of poem The Lady of Shalott is? Alfred Lord Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott" is a poem that tells the story of a cursed lady imprisoned in a tower on the island of Shalott near the city of Camelot. The Lady of Shalott: Personal Response Essay. Forbidden even a single glance out of her window, she sits each day weaving a tapestry that illustrates the outside world -- which she may glimpse only through her mirror's reflections. Why does the Lady of Shalott die? 7. a. Through her curse, she is unable to look outside of her window into the real world. Some of the children wanted to know why the curse was placed on the Lady; we really don't know but an imaginative young lady in England, Alice Bowen, wrote a poem (at age 10!) The legend of the Lady of Shalott, which is of such recurring interest and fascination to Victorian writers and painters, would seem therefore to be an instance of the type of myth that must be an attempt to symbolize something essential in human experience, a truth in the profoundest sense because, as Voegelin says, "A myth can never be 'untrue' because it would not exist unless it had . The Lady of Shalott dies in "The Lady of Shalott " as a result of the curse placed on her, which forces her to weave constantly. Critics such as Hatfield have suggested that "The Lady of Shalott" is a representation of how Tennyson viewed society; the distance at which other people are in the lady's eyes is symbolic of the distance he feels from society. Once, she stops weaving to look down upon Sir Lancelot and Camelot, and her mirror cracks. Her mirror cracks and the curse comes upon her. No time hath she to sport and play: A charmèd web she weaves alway. Here in Tennyson's poem ,however , the lady is condemned by a mysterious curse to weave a magic tapestry. The Lady of Shalott is a painting of 1888 by the English painter John William Waterhouse. It hints that the fate of the subject was inevitable B. Why does the Lady of Shalott look at Lancelot? She assumed she had been born, but maybe not. She looks at the world through her weaving mirror, otherwise she would be cursed. There is a Lady who sings in a remote tower and wears a magic web that appears to represent the artistic isolation from the activity and bustle of life. Assume that the Lady of Shalott is not under a curse at all, that she cannot go outside because of psychological inhibitions. Now part of her curse, as I understand it, is that she cannot leave Shalott, and cannot look out the windows because she may see Camelot. She looks through the mirrors distorted view and weaves what she sees. "The Lady of Shalott" is a lyrical ballad by the . Elaine of Astolat, a character closely related to the Lady of Shalott, is an innocent maiden who falls deeply in love with Sir Lancelot. In the first stanza of Part II, the narrator tells us that the Lady of Shalott has no time "to sport or play" because she must continue to weave and weave at her loom, and she is not permitted to. Divided in three parts, The Lady of Shalott describes a day in the life of the Lady of Shalott, a woman who sits in a tower in the city of Shalott and sings while she weaves, all day long. Reflected in her mirror she sees a group of happy girls, a clergyman, a page, and, sometimes, the . What she sees in the mirror's reflection, she weaves into a tapestry. The Lady of Shalott was created during a brief period in which Waterhouse painted en plein air - a French term for painting outdoors. She uses a mirror to look outside so that she doesn't have to look directly out the window . It's one of three paintings that the artist based on a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson - w. The Lady of Shalott does not fulfill her dreams of love and freedom, as she ultimately freezes to death while trying to reach Camelot. If the ballad were told from her point of view, we might get the back story on the curse. It is a representation of the ending of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's 1832 poem of the same name. I believe aspect is usually forgotten, and it brings other questions along with it like: did she ever deserve to be cursed? Lines 55-63. Alfred Lord Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott" is a poem that tells the story of a cursed lady imprisoned in a tower on the island of Shalott near the city of Camelot. Under that curse, she was forbidden to look directly upon Camelot or any of its inhabitants. This means, of. Explain why you think Tennyson leaves each matter uncertain and how each uncertainty impacts the text. She has no means of transport at the poem's beginning. She lives a life imprisoned by a curse she knows no consequence for and so hesitates to live her life the way she would have liked. The Lady of Shalott is cursed, this is because she's locked up by herself and the mirror cracks. The Lady of Shalott is under a curse. For the Lady of Shalott, reality is not the broad landscape but the images (Tennyson calls them "shadows") she sees in the mirror. She might have been born here. Singing "her deathsong," the boat follows the stream to Camelot, and the lady dies while she is singing. The Lady of Shalott lives secluded in her tower, always weaving her endless weave, always singing her . Elaine's story is found in important works of literature by authors such as Malory and Tennyson, and she . Although, or maybe because the whole setting is quite vague and shadowy there have been many attempts to explain why the Lady of Shalott was cursed. In another of Tennyson's writings, The Lady of Shalott (original version, 1833; revised version, 1842), also includes a barge. "The Lady of Shalott," written by Alfred Lord Tennyson originally published in 1832 but revised in 1842, is a poem about a woman who is trapped in a tower by an unknown curse. The correct answer is B. looks out toward Camelot. What does the Lady of Shalott do all day? Tennyson's poem "The Lady of Shalott" depicts a woman trapped in a tower due to a curse. Thus the first two sections of the poem simply describe the Lady's unchanging life and the unchanging landscapes that surround her. The Lady of Shalott believes that if she looks toward Camelot, she will be cursed. As far as she could remember, the Lady had never been outside the tower. Even though the setting of the painting is unknown, it was likely painted during one of the artist's visits to Devon or Somerset. She curses herself because of her fear and it's not like she knows anyone. A smaller version is held by the Manchester Art Gallery . She is unable to look out the window directly, although she . As the curse comes upon her, she decides to leave her tower, and lowers herself out the window. The poem is about the rise and fall of emotions of the Lady of Shalott. The theme can also be 'isolation' because it shows The Lady of Shallot imprisoned and lonely throughout the course of the poem.. Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows a rhyme scheme of a-a-a-a-b-c-c-c-b. Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-92) wrote two versions of 'The Lady of Shalott'. called "Why the Lady of Shalott was Cursed" which gives her explanation. b. Notes towards a commentary on Tennyson's allegory. Why may the Lady in "The Lady of Shalott" not leave her island? How is Sir Lancelot described in The Lady of Shalott? Camelot, townspeople living their life "moving and mingling in a bright world." She sees a bustling, active world as well as lovers. Theme: The theme of the poem is 'unrequited love,' owing to the fact that The Lady of Shallot barely even got to Lancelot when alive. the lady of shalott poem is about a lady who happens to b trapped in a long grey tower the poem implies that she is the spirit of Shalott. She knows not what the curse may be, And so she weaveth steadily, And little other care hath she, The Lady of Shalott. The Lady of Shalott. All day, every day, she wove a tapestry set on a loom . The Lady of Shalott dies because she has violated the terms of a curse placed upon her. The Lady of Shalott dies because she has violated the terms of a curse placed upon her. "The curse is come upon me," cried The Lady of Shalott." She sees him. The Lady of Shalott dies because she has violated the terms of a curse placed upon her. Why does the Lady of Shalott look in a mirror instead of out the window? - dealing with love and fantastic themes. Create your account View this answer It is unknown why. She leaves the tower, lies in a shallow boat, and floats down the river to Camelot. ' "I am half sick of shadows," said The Lady of Shalott' One day The Lady of Shalott steals a glance out of the window at the noble, handsome Sir Lancelot and with that glance the mirror cracks. In this poem, a mysterious woman lives alone on the island of Shalott. The lady of Shalott is a return to the Arthurian myths. Under that curse, she was forbidden to look directly upon Camelot or any of its inhabitants. Part Four of the Poem The weather is extremely bad and stormy, but the Lady of Shalott races down to the banks of the river, finds a boat, and scribbles . Maybe she just appeared, her complete adult self, flowing red hair and porcelain skin, dressed in a gown of blue trimmed with gold, with no memory of anything outside these rounded walls. This likely contributed to the naturalistic depiction of the landscape. She knows not what the curse may be, And so she weaveth steadily, And little other care hath she, The Lady of Shalott. The moment she did that, looked out toward Camelot and knight Lancelot, the curse came after her. (William Holman Hunt) The Lady of Shalott is an oil painting by William Holman Hunt, made c. 1888 -1905, and depicting a scene from Tennyson 's 1833 poem, " The Lady of Shalott ". The Lady of Shalott weaves a picture of what she sees outside her window. Waterhouse painted three different versions of this character, in 1888, 1894 and 1915. This plot appears simple enough, especially when a knight appears and the reader expects the curse to be broken, yet the knight we expect to rescue the Lady of Shalott is the one that leads to her downfall. The Lady of Shalott dies because she has violated the terms of a curse placed upon her. The Lady of Shalott realizes she is cursed. Alfred Lord Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott" is a poem that tells the story of a cursed lady imprisoned in a tower on the island of Shalott near the city of Camelot.