Download An analysis of the lady of Shalott poem and more Summaries English Literature in PDF only on Docsity! Lecture 4 : The Lady of shallot: Another poem written by Tennyson .As the title denotes the poem is about women .It relates the story of a woman cursed to remain inside a tower on Shalott an island situated in the river which flows to Camelot. No others know of her existence ,as her curse forbids her to leave the tower or even to look outside its windows. Instead , a large mirror within her chamber reflects the outside world ,and she weaves a tapestry illustrating its wonders by means of the mirror’s reflection. As the poem progresses , the lady becomes increasingly aware of the love which abounds in the outside world ,and she gets tired from her lonely existence in the tower. She is “half-sick of shadows” Then seeing Sir Lancelot riding down to Camelot .The Lady leaves her loom to look down on him directly from her window which immediately fulfills the curse .Her tapestry begins to unravel and the mirror cracks as she recognizes the consequences of her impulsive action .She flees from the tower and finds a boat in the river which she marks with her name and loosens from its moorings. She dies before her boat reaches Camelot Where she would have finally found life and love .Lancelot muses over the beauty of this unknown woman when the inhabitants find her body. Themes: 1.The Artist and the dangers of personal isolation from society. 2.Women in the Victorian World ;their sexuality , preserving their innocence , female passivity and female empowerment. 3.Death of the Lady reminds us of Sleeping Beauty or Snow White symbols of perfect feminine passivity or physical abandonment. 4.love : the sorrowful aspects of love such as unrequited love , the woman dying for love, the fallen woman who gives up everything for
