Isolation In The Lady Of Shalott

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A major theme in “The Lady of Shalott” by Lord Alfred Tennyson, is isolation. The Lady, Tennyson’s central character in the poem, is under a curse and stuck in a tower. Isolated from the world, the lady feels three different types of isolation. The three-part stanza includes being physically, mentally, and emotionally isolated. Physically, the Lady believes she will be cursed if she stops weaving. It says in lines 39 and 40, that a “whisper” or rumor will curse her if she stops and looks outside. The reader was never told about the curse just that she is under one. Because of this belief, she weaves a dark magic web. Considering she never comes to the window, no one ever sees her. She just weaves day and night. Although the web is not magic, it has a power over her physically, and she can’t escape it. The Lady is mentally imprisoned as well. Despite being physically incarcerated, she possesses a magic mirror and it shows her “shadows of the world” (Tennyson 48). Seeing others enjoy love …show more content…

The Lady deals with the feeling of loss. As she daily sees what others in the village have that she cannot, she feels like she is missing emotions such as love, companionship, and comfort. In line 62, she expresses her want for love and companionship. Cursed to be alone, she watches others have happy lives and find love. She wants her own knight in shining armor. The poem shows how it is normal for a knight to protect and serve a lady (78-79), and that both belong together. Without a knight, the Lady feels incomplete and lonely. Desiring to love and to be loved, she expresses her real frustration saying “I am half sick of shadows.” (71-72) This is the first time the audience sees this in her. Fed up with her life, the Lady wants a real connection to the world. She does not want to just watch people, but to go join them. The isolation hurts the Lady and consequently makes her sacrifice her safety to see

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