The Lady of Shalott by Tennyson and Lady of Shalott by Liz Loched

The Lady of Shalott by Tennyson and Lady of Shalott by Liz Loched

In this essay I will compare and contrast the two poems, "The lady of

Shalott" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson and "Lady of Shalott" by Liz

Lochhed. The two poems have very similar ideas and themes but are

written in two very different styles. "The Lady of Shalott" is set in

medieval times and is about a young woman trapped in a tower. She

cannot leave the tower or even look out the window, as she believes

that if she does a curse will come upon her. So she sits in her tower

weaving and watching the people outside using a mirror. "Lady of

Shalott", the second poem is set in the 20th century and is about a

teenage girl getting ready for a youth club dance. As she's getting

dressed she prays that she'll find a boyfriend at the dance, but in

the end she returns home disappointed.

The first poem, "The Lady of Shalott" is written in ballad form and

has a rhythm or beat that goes A-A-A-A-B-C-C-C-B. The first part of

the poem is written in a very flowing style, "On either side the river

lye Long fields of barley and of rye"

The way it is written makes all the verses flow together as they build

up a picture of the town of Camelot. This part uses a lot of

descriptive words and language, "Four gray walls, and four gray

towers, Overlook a space of flowers." This works very effectively and

gives you a clear picture in your mind as to how the area looks. The

writer also uses imagery when he says "Tis the fairy Lady of Shalott"

this suggest that the Lady is not quite real and is a reference to a

kind of fantasy theme, which runs through the poem. The second part of

the poem is writ...

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...es between the poems as similarities

though. The main differences between the two poems are the styles in

which they are written. Where the first poem has a constant rhythm and

rhyme scheme the second poem is written in free verse with no pattern.

Another difference is the language used in the two poems. The first

poem uses a lot of flowing descriptive words whereas the second poem

is much more abrupt with less descriptive language.

In conclusion, I would say that although the two poems have similar

themes-of love and romance-they are totally different. I would say

that I prefer the second poem to the first, as it is more modern. The

first poem is really long and old-fashioned and written in a kind of

old style language. The second is more up-to-date and easier to read

and understand, so it's my favourite of the two.