First written in 1832, The Lady of Shalott, by Alfred Tennyson is a casual departure from his realism style of poetry. The Lady of Shalott is a melancholy fantasy in which Tennyson ventures into the realm of fantasy. Typical of Tennyson’s poetic themes, The Lady of Shalott’s protagonist is a tragic heroine who breaks tradition and meets her doom.

A creature of pure magic and fantasy, The Lady of Shalott lives alone in a castle on an island which is not far from King Arthur’s Camelot. The tragic heroine is condemned by a curse which forbids her to look directly at outside images and she must instead view life’s imagery via a mirror’s reflection. The mirror is conveniently situated so as to reflect the view from her window. Additionally she must weave a tapestry of her mirror’s reflection and she is never to leave the castle for fear of breaking the curse. With nothing better to do, The Lady of Shalott weaves her mirror images and sings for entertainment. Her voice can be heard by all in the vicinity, although no one can see her.

From this vantage point The Lady of Shalott, can see Knights, couples under the moonlight and ordinary people and animals going about their ordinary lives. One day the mirror reflection of Sir Lancelot appears and she is unable to resist temptation. The impression conveyed by Tennyson is that this was inevitable. “I am half sick of shadows,” said the Lady of Shalott. (Tennyson, Verse 8). The Lady of Shalott looks directly out of her castle window at Lancelot with tragic consequences. She immediately suffers the power of the curse.

A storm suddenly breaks and her mirror is shattered while the wind carries the tapestry. The Lady of Shalott flees the castle and finds refuge in a boat in which she carves out her name. Adrift in the boat which heads toward Camelot, she sings her final song. It is a morbid song of her death. Eventually locals locate the boat with her remains on board and after identifying her they extol her beauty and grace. Ironically, Lancelot, the inadvertent cause of her eventual demise prays that the Lord will have mercy on her soul.

The Lady of Shalott is more than mere fantasy. It is also a reflection of the isolation of an artist who looks at images, turns them over in his head and converts the image to a work of art. The Lady of Shalott is also a commentary on the abstract confinement of a beautiful woman in a male dominated society.

Works Cited

Alfred Tennyson. The Lady of Shalott. http://www.pathguy.com/shalott.htm
Viewed July 28, 2006