The Lady of Shalott--

a constrained woman in an unrequited romance

Presenters: Cara Huang

Michelle Chiu

Jane Chen

Jessie Wang

Joyce Chia

Outline

I. Alfred Tennyson Biography

II. Background/ Culture Introduction

III. Role Play

IV. Analysis

V. Video Sharing

VI. Discussion

VII. Quiz

VIII. Conclusion

Alfred Tennyson

• Born in 1809

• Lifelong fear of

mental or physical

illness

• 1833: the death of

Arthur Hallam

• 1842: Lost most of

his fortune

• Died in 1892

Background Introduction

Background (1)

• The second phase of Romanticism(1805-1830s)

• John Keats, Percy Shelley, and Lord Byron

Interests in national history and folklore

• Sir Walter Scott—historical novels

• John Keats—the Robin Hood legends

• Tennyson— the tales of the Knights of the Round Table

Background (2)

• One of the Arthurian legends—Sir

Lancelot

• Lady of Shalott Elaine of Astolat

• "Lancelot and Elaine" from The Idylls of

the King (1859) by Alfred Tennyson

“Lancelot

and Elaine”

“The Lady of

Shalott”

Name Elaine Unknown

Abode Astolat The archaic

“Shalott”

Ending of

Story

Dies of unrequited love for Sir

Lancelot and floats down the

river in a barge to Camelot

Background (3)— Women in the Victorian Age

• Unmarried: virginal, embowered, passive,

awaiting the overtures of suitors

• Married: household management, the

rearing of children

• Good women Fallen women

Background (4)— Lady of Shalott: a constrained woman

• She strives for love, but she doesn’t

succeed, and she is only remembered for

being beautiful.

• “She has a lovely face” the orthodox

perception of women as the object of the

"masculine" gaze

Role Play: “The Lady of Shalott”

Analysis

PART I

On either side the river lie A

Long fields of barley and of rye, A

That clothe the wold and meet the sky; A

And through the field the road runs by A

To many-tower'd Camelot; B

And up and down the people go, C

Gazing where the lilies blow C

Round an island there below, C

The island of Shalott. B

Assonance

Long vowels The river flowing calmly

Iambic

Imagery

Symbolism

Willows whiten, aspens quiver,

Little breezes dusk and shiver

Through the wave that runs for ever

By the island in the river

Flowing down to Camelot.

Four grey walls, and four grey towers,

Overlook a space of flowers,

And the silent isle embowers

The Lady of Shalott.

Trochaic Short vowels

By the margin, willow-veil'd,

Slide the heavy barges trail'd

By slow horses; and unhailed

The shallop flitteth, silken-sail'd

Skimming down to Camelot

Yet who hath seen her wave her hand?

Or at the casement seen her stand?

Or is she know in all the land,

The Lady of Shalott?

Trochaic

Iambic

Short

vowels

Long vowels

Only reapers, reaping early,

In among the bearded barley

Hear a song that echoes cheerly

From the river winding clearly,

Down to towered Camelot:

And by the moon the reaper weary,

Piling sheaves in uplands airy,

Listening, whispers, " 'Tis the fairy

Lady of Shalott."

Part II (1): The magic web

• The magic web

There she weaves by night and day

A magic web with colours gay.

a constrained woman

while she seems to be in control, she's

obviously caught in someone else's web.

Part II (2): The magic web

Lines 37-41

• There she weaves by

night and day

A magic web with colours

gay.

• She has heard a whisper

say,

A curse is on her if she

stay

To look down to Camelot.

• 1. a boring and endless

chore, a symbol of

slavery and

imprisonment.

Part II (3): The magic web

Lines 64-70

• But in her web she still delights To weave the mirror's magic sights, For often through the silent nights A funeral, with plumes and lights And music, went to Camelot: Or when the moon was overhead, Came two young lovers lately wed;

2. It could be a symbol of

creative freedom and

possibility

Part II (4): The magic web

Lines 64-70

But in her web she still

delights

To weave the mirror's

magic sights….

Lines 71-72

• "I am half sick of shadows," said The Lady of Shalott.

• Irony

She should be the web-weaving predator, but instead she turns out to be the prey of some unseen, mysterious force.

Part II (5): The mirror

Lines 46-50

• And moving through a

mirror clear

That hangs before her all

the year,

Shadows of the world

appear.

There she sees the

highway near

Winding down to

Camelot:

1. She had to look outside

through the mirror.

2. She couldn’t see the real

things but images.

3. Paradox

Part II (6): The mirror

• The Lady's talent is that she can turn the

sights of the mirror into an image in her

web. It's because of this that we might

think of the mirror and web as metaphors

for the life of the artist.

PART III

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.

Out flew the web and floated wide;

The mirror cracked from side to side;

"The curse is come upon me," cried

The Lady of Shalott.

Arthurian

legends: Sir

Lancelot

versus

The Lady of

Shalott as a

constrained

woman

Part IV (1)

In the stormy east-wind straining, A The pale yellow woods were waning, A

The broad stream in his banks complaining, A Heavily the low sky raining A

Over tower’d Camelot; B Down she came and found a boat C

Beneath a willow left afloat, C And round about the prow she wrote C

The Lady of Shalott. B

Autumn scene

Part IV (2)

And down the river’s dim expanse A

Like some bold seër in a trance, A

Seeing all his own mischance— A

With a glassy countenance A

Did she look to Camelot. B

And at the closing of the day C

She loosed the chain, and down she lay; C

The broad stream bore her far away, C

The Lady of Shalott. B

Dull; lifeless

Part IV (3)

Lying, robed in snowy white A That loosely flew to left and right— A The leaves upon her falling light— A

Thro’ the noises of the night A She floated down to Camelot: B

And as the boat-head wound along C The willowy hills and fields among, C

They heard her singing her last song, C The Lady of Shalott. B

Purity

Part IV (4)

Heard a carol, mournful, holy, A Chanted loudly, chanted lowly, A Till her blood was frozen slowly, A

And her eyes were darken’d wholly, A Turn’d to tower’d Camelot. B

For ere she reach’d upon the tide C The first house by the water-side, C

Singing in her song she died, C The Lady of Shalott. B

transitional stanza, connecting the dying

woman's departure with the dead woman's

arrival at Camelot.

Death images

Part IV (5)

Under tower and balcony, A By garden-wall and gallery, A

A gleaming shape she floated by, D Dead-pale between the houses high, D

Silent into Camelot. B Out upon the wharfs they came, C

Knight and burgher, lord and dame, C And round the prow they read her name, C

The Lady of Shalott. B

Part IV (6)

Who is this? and what is here? A

And in the lighted palace near A

Died the sound of royal cheer; A

And they cross’d themselves for fear, A

All the knights at Camelot: B

But Lancelot mused a little space; C

He said, “She has a lovely face; C

God in his mercy lend her grace, C

The Lady of Shalott.” B

A Comparison:

the 1833 and 1842 version

The 1833 Version

They crossed themselves, their stars they blest,

Knight, minstrel, abbot, squire and guest.

There lay a parchment on her breast,

That puzzled more than all the rest,

The wellfed wits at Camelot.

"The web was woven curiously

The charm is broken utterly,

Draw near and fear not--this is I,

The Lady of Shalott."

(1) The local

people

(2) A quote from the

Lady of Shalott

The 1842 Version

Who is this? and what is here? And in the lighted palace near Died the sound of royal cheer;

And they cross'd themselves for fear,

All the knights at Camelot:

But Lancelot mused a little space;

He said, "She has a lovely face;

God in his mercy lend her grace,

The Lady of Shalott."

(1) Sir Lancelot

1833 versus 1842

“The revision brings the story around to the

person who unwittingly caused her death”

(Kelly).

Performance

“The Lady of Shalott”

Performance • Songs:

(1)“The Lady of Shalott” (Loreena McKennit)

(2) “Shalott” (Emilie Autumn)

(3) “If I Died Young” (The Band Perry)

(4) “Lily Maid” (Heather Dale)

Performance

• Films:

(1)TV series Anne of Green Gables

(2) Short film of “The Lady of Shalott”

Relevance

Relevance (1)

• Korean drama “49 days”

• The main actress didn’t know he loved her

until she came back to the world as a

ghost.

The Little Mermaid

Die for

love

Do not

get love

Discussion (1)

Q1: What kind of effect does the repetition of

“Camelot” and “Shalott” in each stanza bring

about?

Discussion (2)

Q2: Do you have any examples of

unrequited love like The Lady of Shalott in

contemporary society?

* Definition: Unrequited love is a term that is used

when one person has strong feelings towards

another that are not reciprocated and even do not

know s/he is loved by that person.

Answers

• It’s hard to find such an example like The

Lady of Shalott.

• Why?

• 1. Unrequited love always ends with a

broken heart.

• 2. People in contemporary society are

encouraged to express love toward

another.

Conclusion

• Much of the poem’s charm stems from its

sense of mystery and elusiveness: many

interpretations of “Lady of Shalott”

• Focus: a constrained woman in unrequited

love

• “Lady of Shalott” is a popular poem of

Tennyson that becomes inspiring materials

of many works: romantic but tragical

Quiz

1) Why can’t the Lady of Shalott go out or

look out the window?

a. She is cursed.

b. She has demophobia.

c. There are no stairs in the tower.

d. She is waiting for Lancelot to save

her.

• 2) How does the Lady of Shalott get to

know about the world?

a. She has maids to tell her everything.

b. She sees the world through a mirror.

c. She has the ability to foretell the future.

d. She sees the world through the

reflection of the river outside the tower.

3) What/Who is Camelot?

a. It is biologically related to llamas.

b. It is not mentioned in the poem.

c. It is the dwelling place of King Arthur.

d. He is the half brother of Sir Lancelot.

• 4) Why did the Lady of Shalott die?

a. She was drowned in the river.

b. She was died of heart attack.

c. She grieved to death.

d. Her blood froze as she sang.

• 5) What did Sir Lancelot say when he saw

the Lady of Shalott’s dead body?

a. “Alas! What a loss!”

b. “She has a lovey face.”

c. “We’re all going.”

d. “Who is this lady?”

Works Cited

• Cummings, Michael. “The Lady of Shalott A Study Guide”. Cummings

Study Guide. Web. 17 Dec 2012. <

http/www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides8/Shalott.html >.

• “The Lady of Shalott”. SparkNotes. Web. 17 Dec 2012. <

http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/tennyson/section2.rhtml>.

• “The Lady of Shalott”. Shmoop. Web. 17 Dec 2012. <

http://www.shmoop.com/lady-of-shalott/symbolism-imagery.html>.

• “The Lady of Shalott”. ENotes. Web. 17 Dec 2012. <

http://www.enotes.com/lady-shalott/themes>.