Essay, Research Paper
?? This poem by
Alfred, Lord Tennyson is exciting for many reasons.? The poem has a dramatic narrative, includes exciting events, has
a beautiful heroine and a handsome hero.?
It also has strong characters, old language and a fast and exciting
tempo.? It is set in the time of Arthur
and the king of the round table.? It is
about a young lady named ?The Lady of Shalott? who has a fairytale image
surrounding her.? When people hear her
singing they say, ?Tis the fairy Lady of Shalott? ?????? She lives on the island of Shalott near
to the town of Camelot, where she is trapped inside a tower, in a castle
within, ?Four grey walls and four grey towers? ?????? She is not allowed to leave the tower
or look directly out of the window, because she has been cursed.? No one has ever seen her, but they know she
is in the tower because they hear her singing, early in the morning.? This adds extra interest to the poem, making
it more mysterious.? She passes the days
by weaving tapestries on her web, of the things she sees through the reflection
in her mirror.? She also notices many
people going down to Camelot: ?a long-haired page in crimson clad.? ?market
girls in red cloaks?, ?a curly haired shepherd lad?, ?an abbot on an ambling
pad’ At
first she is content with her life, then when she sees the knights ride past,
she begins to realise how lonely she actually is and doubt sets in as, ?she
hath no loyal knight?.? Then when she
sees, ?two young lovers lately wed? in the moonlight, she becomes aware of what
she is missing out on, romance, and she is almost upset, ?I am half sick of
shadows?. ?????? The final thing that makes her think
she is missing out on the real world is, ?bold Sir Lancelot?.? She is enchanted by him.? Instantly, she becomes aware that if she
remains in the tower forever she will never be happy.? Therefore, she decides to leave the tower.? Although she knows that something bad might
happen, she is willing to take that risk.?
She decides to take a chance because she can no longer live life in a
shadow.?She
left the web, she left the loom, ?She made three paces thro? the room, She
saw the water-lily bloom, She
saw the helmet and the plume, ?She looked down to Camelot.? And,?The
mirror cracked from side to side?. ??????????????????????? The tapestry flew out
of the window, ??????????????????????? ?Out flew the web and
floated wide?. This
is when the Lady of Shalott realises that, ?The curse is upon her?. ?????? Suddenly, there is a sudden change in
the weather and it turns dark, ?????? ?In the stormy east wind straining, The
pale yellow woods were waning?. ?????? We are made to believe that this is
some to so with the curse.? The Lady of
Shalott goes down to the water?s edge and under a willow tree she finds a boat
and around the side she writes, ?The Lady of Shalott?.? She unties the boat, lies down in it and
floats down the river to Camelot.? There
is a moment of anxiety, as to whether she will actually make it to
Camelot.? Unfortunately, she dies, as
she sings and she reaches Camelot where she is surrounded by, ?Knight and burgher, lord and dame, ?And round the
prow they read her name, The Lady of
Shalott?. The
poem ends with Sir Lancelot saying,?She
has a lovely face; God in his mercy give her grace, The Lady of Shalott?.This
is an ironic ending, because the Lady of Shalott has loved Sir Lancelot for
most of her life and he has only just noticed her, would probably have loved
her too and now she is dead.? ?????? The characters in this poem are also
exciting. ?These include the Lady of
Shalott and Sir Lancelot.? The Lady of
Shalott is young and attractive, a talented weaver and singer.? Beneath the surface lies a strong-minded
lady who is willing to take risks, she broke the curse, although she knew that
this would fall back on her. ?????? Sir Lancelot is an excitingly handsome
red cross knight.? He made a powerful
impression on the Lady of Shalott.? He
is a perfect man.? A brave, handsome,
heroic knight.? He is the stereotypical
knight.? He wears a shoulder sash with
heraldic designs and a hanging silver bugle too.? He has, ?Coal-black curls,? which are half-covered with a helmet,
in shining armour he rides his horse. ?????? ?On burnished hooves his war-horse
trode? ?????? The language
used by Alfred, Lord Tennyson also makes the poem exciting.? He uses language, to show a change.? He also uses exciting colour imagery,? "barley?", "dazzling",
"flamed", ?and imagery, sounds, "Hear
a song that echoes cheerly". In Part I there is a lot of movement described, for example,
"Flowing down to Camelot." ?????? In Part II
there is a vivid sense of exciting colour and movement described.? It is a very funny part of the poem and
ideas of happiness are shown. ?????? Colour is
described when the Lady of Shalott sees, a long haired page in crimson clad,
market girls in red cloaks and when she looks into her mirror, "And
sometimes thro? the mirror blue." ?????? Part III
brings about, a sense of lust and passion surrounding, ?bold Sir Lancelot? In the first stanza, there is a great deal of ?Golden
Imagery?, ?barley?, ?sun?, ?dazzling?, The effect of this is to create a romantic feeling. ?????? The second
stanza sets off the loving imagery and there is sound imagery too, to set the
scene and let you feel the sounds, all these sounds add to the excitement, ?The
bridle bells rang merrily? ?And
as he rode his armour rung?. ?????? Stanza three is full of sparkly imagery, which adds to the
excitement ?flame?,
?starry?, ?bearded meteor? Stanza four
brings a sudden change, to emphasise the panic she is experiencing,? ???????????????????????????????????? ?She left the web, she left
the loom, ????????????????????????????????????? She made three paces thro?
the room, ????????????????????????????????????? She saw the water-lily bloom, ?????? ???????????????????????????????She saw the
helmet and the plume, ????????????????????????????????????? She looked down to Camelot.? This stanza has suddenly
altered the happy mood to a moment of tension. In Part IV
the mood changes.? In the first stanza, there
is a change in weather and a sense of evil is revealed. ?In
the stormy east wind straining? ?Heavily
the low sky waning? The final
four stanzas are very important.? At
first she lies in the boat ?robed in snowy white? this is showing purity. In stanza
four, the poem is slowed down; this is the death of the Lady of Shalott, ?Till her blood was frozen slowly? She then enters Camelot,
?Dead-pale? and it is silent.? Everyone
is very nosy, so they ask questions, ?Who
is this? And what is here?? The poem ends with Sir Lancelot
saying, ?She has lovely face; God in his mercy lend her
grace, The Lady of Shalott.? ?????? The tempo of this poem also makes it exciting.? In Part I, it is very calm and slow.? In Parts II and III, the poem becomes brighter
and the tempo is slightly faster too. ?????? In the last verse of Part III there is a dramatic change in
the tempo, there is a definite increase in pace, therefore, an increase in
excitement too.? The final Part is very
slow and quiet, as this is when the Lady of Shalott actually dies and it is
showing her journey down to Camelot and the death itself. ?????? In conclusion, you should take more
chances.? I found it sad and felt sorry
with the Lady of Shalott and her situation.?
It must have been terrible to be locked up in a tower while the outside
world is having fun and experiencing everything that life has to offer.? It is an exciting poem. ??
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