54 | YES 434

Poetry

Tennyson’s The Lady of Shalott

T his poem, first written in 1832 and revised in 1842 is hugely1 popular2, inspiring more Victorian paint-

ings than any other poem. It is a wonderfully mysterious story with a great philosophical backdrop3 but, as we shall see, it has a crucial flaw4.

The StoryThe Lady of Shalott /ʃəˈlot/ tells the story of a young woman who lives in a castle on an island in a river. She is cursed5 so she can’t leave the castle or even look out of the window. She can, however, see what is reflected in a mirror6, so she is indirectly aware of7 what goes on8 outside. She spends her days weaving9 pictures of what she sees out of the window. One day a knight in shin-ing armour10 – Sir Lancelot – rides past11 singing a song. The Lady can’t help but look12 out of the window. This causes her mirror to crack and her loom13 falls apart14. The Lady immediately knows that she is in trouble15 but she also knows that because her fate is sealed16, she is also free to act. So, she runs down to the river, finds a boat and paints17 “The Lady of Shalott” on it. She then gets into the boat and floats off down towards Camelot. As she does, she gradually dies so, when the boat reaches18 Camelot, it contains the dead body of a beautiful young woman. Lancelot and the townspeople19 wonder20 who this damsel21 was.

1 hugely – very, enormously 2 in 1994 it was voted Britain’s

second favourite poem 3 backdrop – back-

ground, back story 4 flaw – defect 5 to be cursed – be

afflicted by a malediction

6 mirror – looking glass (old fashioned),

7 to be aware of – be conscious of

8 to go on (go-went-gone) – happen, occur

9 to weave (weave-wove-woven) –

10 knight in shining armour –

11 to ride past (ride-rode-ridden) – pass

(by) on a horse 12 can’t help but look – involun-

tarily looks13 loom – 14 to fall apart

(fall-fell-fallen) – break, disintegrate

15 is in trouble – will have seri-ous problems,

(in this case) is going to die 16 one’s fate is sealed – one’s

destiny has been determined 17 to paint sth. – (in this case)

write sth. in paint 18 to reach – get to, arrive in 19 townspeople – citizens 20 to wonder – ask oneself 21 damsel – virginal young

woman

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The end of Torrijos’ insurrection

Alfred Tennyson

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Poetry

The Lady of Shalott: Contexts

SourceThe Lady of Shalott is based on a 13th-century Italian story called Donna di Scalotta as well as on the story of ‘The Maid1 of Astolat’ in Sir Thomas Malory’s 15th-century Le Morte d’Arthur2.

A Dysfunctional FamilyThe Lady of Shalott was written when Tennyson was 23, years before he became the godlike Poet Laureate of the Victorian Age. As a young man he was given to mel-ancholy. This may have been partly because his father was a violent alcoholic clergyman3 with an addiction to opium. Depression ran in the family and two of Alfred’s bothers were mentally unstable: Edward was institu-tionalized4 in 1833 and Septimus received treatment for his mental problems. Alfred’s favourite brother, Charles, was addicted to opium like dad.

Le Morte d’ArthurWhen Tennyson went to Cambridge he began an intense relationship with a young man called Arthur Hallam. There seems to have been a sexual attraction between them though it was probably not acted on physically.

In 1830, when Alfred was 21, he and Hallam volun-teered for the army5 of the Spanish republican insur-gent Torrijos who was fighting King Ferdinand VII. How-ever, they quickly became disillusioned and returned to Britain.

In 1833, the year after Alfred wrote The Lady of Shalott, Hallam died suddenly6. This was undoubtedly the great-est tragedy of Alfred’s life and he was emotionally unsta-ble for the next decade.

1 maid – (in this case) damsel, virginal young woman

2 the title is in French to make it sound sexier but the text is in English

3 clergyman – churchman

4 to be institutionalized – be put in a mental institution

5 army – military organization 6 suddenly – quickly and unexpectedly

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Poetry

The Lady of Shalott: Analysis

Vicarious Living1

The poem is enormously suggestive in that it deals with2 the age-old dichotomy of philosophers, Renaissance humanists, academics and artists about whether3 they should interpret the world from a distance or actually4 get involved in5 daily life.

The Lady experiences the world outside through a mirror6, which is a bit like sitting at home and seeing society through the television. In the context, however, the mirror is appropriate since7 weavers8 used mir-rors to see the progress of their work on the side of the tapestry9 which would eventually10 be the one people

looked at. Metaphorically, however, the mirror represents the vicarious11 life. There are strong echoes here of Pla-to’s Allegory of the Cave (and, if you like, an indirect con-nection with the Matrix movies). The Lady impulsively chooses to experience life directly, to live even though this also means that she will die. She prefers that Sir Lancelot will know her name (from the name written on the boat) and that she once lived, to a continued iso-lation and non-existence (as far as the rest of the world is concerned12).

Women in the WorldAt the same time, the story seems to be specifically about a woman and about the role ascribed to respect-able women in Victorian society. Middle- and upper-class Victorian women were expected to be ‘the angel of the house’ existing in the domestic sphere and participating as little as possible in public life.13 These women were, like the Lady of Shalott, metaphorically buried alive14 in their homes. The domestic prison is a place of immo-bility, frustration and stasis15. Tennyson had already explored this theme in Mariana (1830).

1 vicarious living – living through sb. else

2 to deal with (deal-dealt-dealt) – look at, explore

3 whether – ‘if’ (but ‘if’ cannot be used before ‘or’)

4 actually – (false friend) in fact, really

5 to get involved in (get-got-got)

– participate in 6 mirror – look-ing glass (old fashioned),

7 since – (in this case) given that

8 weaver – sb. who makes tapestries

9 tapestry – 10 eventually –

(false friend) in the end

11 vicarious – indirect, sec-ond-hand, by proxy

12 as far as... is concerned – from the point of view of

13 the Victorian attitude to women wasn’t very different to that of today’s Islamists

14 to be buried alive – be interred while one is still living, be condemned to perpetual imprisonment

15 stasis – immobility, stagnation, inactivity

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Poetry

The Ladyof Schlock1

As we have seen The Lady of Shalott has philosophical depth but it has a really silly rhyme scheme: AAAABC-CCB. This makes it sound like doggerel2 or, if you prefer, the lyrics3 of a really naff4 pop song. If you don’t believe me, try reading this verse without feeling nauseous:

Sometimes a troop of damsels glad5, An abbot6 on an ambling pad7, Sometimes a curly8 shepherd-lad9, Or long-hair’d page in crimson clad10, Goes by to tower’d11 Camelot; And sometimes thro’12 the mirror13 blue The knights14 come riding two and two: She hath15 no loyal knight and true16, The Lady of Shalott.

Not queasy17 yet? OK, try this one:

Lying, robed in snowy white18 That loosely flew to left and right19 – The leaves upon her falling light20 – Thro’12 the noises of the night She floated down to Camelot: And as the boat-head wound along21 The willowy hills and fields among22, They heard her singing her last song, The Lady of Shalott.

If you can take any more of this – and if you can you’ve got a stronger stomach than I have! – you can hear the whole poem at: http://goo.gl/85Nih. Read the full text of the poem, fully footnoted, at www.yes-mag.com.

1 schlock – (US English) trash, rubbish, garbage, (in this case) doggerel2

2 doggerel – inferior poetry that sounds ridiculous

3 lyrics – the words (of a song)4 naff – bad, inferior 5 a troop of damsels glad – a group of happy innocent young women

6 abbot – churchman who manages an abbey (= type of monastery)

7 an ambling pad – a lethargic old horse

8 curly – curly-haired, whose hair is not straight

9 shepherd-lad – boy who takes care of sheep

10 in crimson clad – wearing dark red clothing

11 tower’d – towered, fortified 12 thro’ – through 13 mirror – looking glass

(old fashioned),

14 knight – 15 hath – (archaic) has 16 she hath no loyal

knight and true – she doesn’t have a faithful knight who is devoted to her

17 queasy – nauseous 18 robed in snowy

white – wearing a white dress

19 that loosely flew to left and right – that blew about in the wind

20 the leaves upon her falling light – foliage gently fell on her

21 as the boat-head wound along – as the boat drifted down (= moved floating and carried by the current of) the river

22 the willowy hills and fields among – past wooded hills and fields

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