1. Introduction
This paper will try to analyze the growth of consciousness of the Lady of Shalott. Ranging from her state of mind in total isolation, her 'childhood', to her changing 'adolescence' and eventually reaching 'adulthood' and death, all in a sort of quick-motion.
It will further deal with the development of tension throughout the poem. By making a distinction between tension through formal aspects, such as rhyme scheme, and tension through content it will try to show the interconnection between both of them. Additionally, the paper will deal with the possible effect of tension on the reader and how the poem might be perceived by him/her.
2. Growth of Consciousness and Development of Tension
2.1. Initial Isolation
Lord Alfred Tennyson's poem starts out with the total seclusion of the beautiful, young Lady of Shalott surrounded by '…four grey walls, and four grey towers…';. (Tennyson, line 15). She is largely unaware of the world outside and of her own existence as a woman, only being able to see shadows of reality, which are reflected by her magic (?) crystal mirror and worked into her web.
At this point of time it is unknown to the reader whether the Lady of Shalott is forced to be in this situation or chose to live this life of isolation. Reasons for a self inflicted seclusion might be homophobia, the fear of rejection by the exterior world, or simply a lack of interest for it. However, the Lady of Shalott is quite content with what she has and what she does. Her life of art in front of the loom and the crystal mirror is all she needs singing her ';…song that echoes cheerly…'; (30) throughout the land. She is as innocent as a careless child giving little thought about her future. The Lady of Shalott has no urge to leave her own interior world because she is not aware of any other options. Little is known about her outside '…many-towered Camelot.'; (5) and apparently she intends to keep it that way:
But who hath seen her wave her hand ?
Or at the casement seen her stand ?
Or is she known in all the land,
The Lady of Shalott ? (24-27)
By now the reader might ask him-/herself why the Lady of Shalott is stuck in such a dreadful situation and why she does not attempt to do anything about it.
There is a cons...
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...martyrdom and so the story ends, leaving the reader in anger about the carelessly spoken words of Lancelot.
3 Conclusion
'The Lady of Shalott'; was and is subject for countless interpretation by readers and artists, especially pictorial. 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. Maybe she was not cursed al all. What was this whisper she heard ? Was she schizophrenic, hearing voices inside her head ? Another question is why she had to die in the end. Is it possible she eventually commit suicide, because she had realized that her love for Sir Lancelot was futile ? These are some questions that stay in the back of your head after reading Tennyson's poem. Even today you can feel the infinite struggle the Lady of Shalott had to undergo. Tennyson impressively shows the development of a young woman who is faced with one of the most difficult times in life- growing up in a world full of restrictions and rules and becoming a woman. His subtle description of a girls problems at his time is, slightly altered, even valid today.
The use of alliteration, tone, mood, theme and other elements that construct a well balanced poem are in this piece of literature.
The timeline carries on chronologically, the intense imagery exaggerated to allow the poem to mimic childlike mannerisms. This, subjectively, lets the reader experience the adventure through the young speaker’s eyes. The personification of “sunset”, (5) “shutters”, (8) “shadows”, (19) and “lamplights” (10) makes the world appear alive and allows nothing to be a passing detail, very akin to a child’s imagination. The sunset, alive as it may seem, ordinarily depicts a euphemism for death, similar to the image of the “shutters closing like the eyelids”
at the place and situation she is now in because of her servitude to her
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In this poem The Lady of Shalott was faced with a curse that would not even allow her to steal a glance out of her window, and the only way to view the world was through her mirror. She attempted to keep herself busy and distracted by weaving a web of beautiful colors and looking at the distorted images her mirror provided her with. Over time her strength that kept her safe wore thin and she grew tired of being held in solitude in her castle. Through watching Sir Lancelot, she fell in love and desired his attention so she left her web to pursue him. The Lady of Shalott pursued the knight, although she knew even a glance would mean certain death, but in her final moments she was happy and she sang of her happiness until her last moments breathing. The Lady chased unattainable love and faced death to find a sense of being whole and being loved. She tried to ignore her desires, but in the end she lost her life for the sake of love and only received the knight’s attention once her blood was frozen and her eyes were dark and
William Shakespeare created a dynamic character called lady Macbeth; she was the total opposite of what women of the Shakespearian era were supposed to be. Despite qualities women were supposed to have in Shakespeare’s time, Lady Macbeth defied the way most women of her time acted. Lady Macbeth defied the ways of women of her time by being manipulative, ambitious, and ruthless.
Baugh et al (2006 p57 to p60) give 9 rules of haiku, which I shall use to compare the two poems. I shall then use the study diamond to comment on the effects the poems have on me, the techniques used, the contexts of the two poems and their meanings.
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