The Lady Of Shalott By Lord Alfred Tennyson
The Lady’s Inspiration
Within Lord Alfred Tennyson’s poem, “The Lady of Shalott”, Tennyson creates a tale that may seem tragic at first read. Within the story he imagines, the Lady’s untimely death upon her arrival at Camelot seems like a failure on the Lady’s part. However, said failure seems more as an achievement when the ensnarement of her shadowy haven is considered worse than death. Through lines 109-116, her prison is discovered for what it is, and even though fate has destined for her to lead a short life, these lines are the beginning of her meaningful journey.
The Lady of Shalott is an artist. She sings, she weaves, and this is all she does for day and night, and for an undetermined amount of time, this keeps her content. When she …show more content…
In this way, the Lady of Shalott bests fate in leaving the safety of a stagnant environment. She no longer is stuck weaving a piece of art she no longer cares about, as seen by her disinterest when it flies through the window. Before she dies, she is able to go on a journey in which she is able to be happy and sing again. This journey is something she would not have had again had it not been for the inspiration that seeing Sir Lancelot had given her.
As the mirror cracks, on line 115, this represents a shattered past. The object that the Lady uses to see the world and her tapestry is no longer necessary because she is now able to use her own eyes to do so. The shattering can also be seen as the Lady’s moment of “breaking free” from her binds and her sad fate of being condemned to solitude. The mirror is a definite shift in the story. The lady is no longer trapped in a reflective state of being. Like the tapestry, the mirror was fleeting and easily shatterable. She becomes the center of this stanza after the mirror breaks, symbolizing her
Within Lord Alfred Tennyson’s poem, “The Lady of Shalott”, Tennyson creates a tale that may seem tragic at first read. Within the story he imagines, the Lady’s untimely death upon her arrival at Camelot seems like a failure on the Lady’s part. However, said failure seems more as an achievement when the ensnarement of her shadowy haven is considered worse than death. Through lines 109-116, her prison is discovered for what it is, and even though fate has destined for her to lead a short life, these lines are the beginning of her meaningful journey.
The Lady of Shalott is an artist. She sings, she weaves, and this is all she does for day and night, and for an undetermined amount of time, this keeps her content. When she …show more content…
In this way, the Lady of Shalott bests fate in leaving the safety of a stagnant environment. She no longer is stuck weaving a piece of art she no longer cares about, as seen by her disinterest when it flies through the window. Before she dies, she is able to go on a journey in which she is able to be happy and sing again. This journey is something she would not have had again had it not been for the inspiration that seeing Sir Lancelot had given her.
As the mirror cracks, on line 115, this represents a shattered past. The object that the Lady uses to see the world and her tapestry is no longer necessary because she is now able to use her own eyes to do so. The shattering can also be seen as the Lady’s moment of “breaking free” from her binds and her sad fate of being condemned to solitude. The mirror is a definite shift in the story. The lady is no longer trapped in a reflective state of being. Like the tapestry, the mirror was fleeting and easily shatterable. She becomes the center of this stanza after the mirror breaks, symbolizing her