What Is The Mood Of The Lady Of Shalott

The poem The Lady of Shalott describes the tale of an unnamed lady who is locked in her tower near Camelot. The story describes a mysterious woman who appeared at Camelot in a boat with only her name scratched onto the boat. The Lady was locked into a tower and was cursed to never look out into the outside world, only living in her world with the shadows she sees in her mirror, which is her only source of contact with the outside world. The only people that heard of her were those who heard her singing in the early morning. Tennyson employs the use of imagery, shifting moods and the theme of isolation to convey that the embowered Lady of Shalott may represent an artist, high above normal life, who loses her abilities once she interacts with the normal world.
Tennyson uses imagery to show the beauty of the outside world and the darkness of the Lady’s world.
The first stanzas describe the view from “the field the road runs by to many-towered Camelot” (line, 5-6). Camelot is shown as a wondrous land, where the king, knights, and civilians live together in peace and justice. To the lady, it seems almost unreal and most definitely unreachable. Tennyson also describes the “magic web” that the lady weaves “night and day” (line, 37-39). The lady weaves the sights that she sees through the mirror with bright colors to contrast the grayness of her tower. The mirror shows the happiness outside of the walls of her tower. As the lady descends down to Camelot, the “broad stream” begins to feel the lady’s fate and emphasizes the seriousness of the
situation. Tennyson also uses shifting moods to show how the isolated lady suffers as she comes back into contact with the outside world. The lady “hath no loyal knight and true”, so she feels isolated from the others who are happy with their significant others (lineTennyson, 60-63). This is after the Lady of Shalott sees the knights coming by, and realizes that she herself does not have a loyal knight by her side to save her from her fate. Later, when she finally gets sick of being alone, “she left the web” and “left the loom” to get up and looked at the outside world with her own eyes and go outside (lineTennyson, 109-113). Because the Lady is sick of living her life stuck in a tower, and after falling in love with Lancelot, she decides to leave the tower and her loom and go down to Camelot. Tennyson also uses the theme of isolation to describe the lady’s suffering and her poor situation. The setting describes “the silent isle imbowers The Lady of Shalott”. Usually, the word “imbower” would usually be associated with protection, or keeping someone safe from the outside world. However, in this poem, the bower is really a prison, making the Lady lonely, isolated and cut off from the rest of the world. He also writes how the lady of Shalott is half sick of the shadows”. This is the direct expression of frustration from the Lady. This is the first time she shows that she not only feels isolated in her shadow world, but also that the isolation is painful. She wants not only to watch other people but also to join them. Tennyson utilizes the imagery and shifting moods in the poem to show how the Lady of Shalott is similar to an author that has been isolated and suddenly feels separated and disconnected when they return to the normal world. Tennyson also uses the theme of isolation to show how disconnected the Lady of Shallot is from the outside world. The lady is destroyed after she returns to the normal world and arrives at Camelot.