The Lady Of Shalott, Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Unlike my previous two posts, The Lady Of Shalott is a longer narrative poem. I've read this one previously, so unlike I Felt A Funeral..., , I'm not going in blind. This is a beautiful poem, and again, one of my favourites. However, since it is pretty long, instead of posting the entire thing, I will quote the stanzas that refer directly to what I am discussing, and add a link to the entire poem at the bottom of the page

The rhyme scheme runs something like this:
A
A
A
A
Camelot
B
B
B
The Lady of Shalott.

This form doesn't really have a name. Most of the lines are in iambic tetrameter. The poem is very song-like, which, considering the subject matter, is very appropriate.

This poem tells the tragic tale of the titular lady. The first section of the poem sets up her existence. To the people of Camelot, the Lady is a fairytale, no more real to them than they are to us. She lives on an island, not really that far from Camelot, yet no one has seen her. You'll notice that the Lady has no name. Throughout the poem, she is only referred to as the Lady of Shalott. She is forgotten to the people of Camelot, and by extension to us. The very people she wants to connect with have no connection to her. I find this only adds to her tragedy.

The second section goes more into  the Lady's day-to-day life. All she does is weave. The Lady is cursed, so that she can never look at Camelot, but she doesn't know what will happen if she does. It's this fear that keeps her in her tower. Besides weaving, she  can look into a mirror to see what happens down in Camelot. However, the Lady is bored and lonely. It's stated in the third verse of Part II that she  "hath no loyal knight and true", and that she spends her time watching the people down below her. It is here we have one of the more famous quotes from this poem:
"I am half sick of shadows," 
said The Lady of Shalott. 
The Lady wants to interact with the people she has only watched for years, and it is in part this desire for companionship that drives her to leave the tower in Part IV

In Part III, we meet one of the other things that drive the Lady to her fate: Sir Lancelot. Part III is largely descriptions of how handsome he is. As he is riding towards Camelot, the Lady notices him, and this drives her to leave her loom and look out on Camelot. This is one of my favourite verses.
She left the web, she left the loom,
 She made three paces through 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.
I think it's a beautiful representation of exactly what drives the Lady to fulfill her curse and die. It's tragic, but also joyful in a way. By giving in to her curse, she will be free at last.

Part IV is where the Lady will meet her end. She climbs into a boat and sails herself down to Camelot. This section is beautiful, both from the poetry and the imagery. The Lady dies singing, revelling in her freedom despite the fact that she knows that she is dying. The last image left by the poem is Lancelot hoping that the Lady will be happy in heaven.

I like this poem very much. The imagery is beautiful, and the story is romantic, tragic and sweet.  It discusses the value of freedom as much as it tells a love story. It has beautiful language, and it is a wonderful read.
Full Text: The Lady Of Shalott

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