1. Introduction
This paper will try to analyze the growth of consciousness of the Lady of Shalott. Ranging from her state of mind in total isolation, her 'childhood', to her changing 'adolescence' and eventually reaching 'adulthood' and death, all in a sort of quick-motion.
It will further deal with the development of tension throughout the poem. By making a distinction between tension through formal aspects, such as rhyme scheme, and tension through content it will try to show the interconnection between both of them. Additionally, the paper will deal with the possible effect of tension on the reader and how the poem might be perceived by him/her.
2. Growth of Consciousness and Development of Tension
2.1. Initial Isolation
Lord Alfred Tennyson's poem starts out with the total seclusion of the beautiful, young Lady of Shalott surrounded by '…four grey walls, and four grey towers…';. (Tennyson, line 15). She is largely unaware of the world outside and of her own existence as a woman, only being able to see shadows of reality, which are reflected by her magic (?) crystal mirror and worked into her web.
At this point of time it is unknown to the reader whether the Lady of Shalott is forced to be in this situation or chose to live this life of isolation. Reasons for a self inflicted seclusion might be homophobia, the fear of rejection by the exterior world, or simply a lack of interest for it. However, the Lady of Shalott is quite content with what she has and what she does. Her life of art in front of the loom and the crystal mirror is all she needs singing her ';…song that echoes cheerly…'; (30) throughout the land. She is as innocent as a careless child giving little thought about her future. The Lady of Shalott has no urge to leave her own interior world because she is not aware of any other options. Little is known about her outside '…many-towered Camelot.'; (5) and apparently she intends to keep it that way:
But who hath seen her wave her hand ?
Or at the casement seen her stand ?
Or is she known in all the land,
The Lady of Shalott ? (24-27)
By now the reader might ask him-/herself why the Lady of Shalott is stuck in such a dreadful situation and why she does not attempt to do anything about it.
There is a cons...
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...martyrdom and so the story ends, leaving the reader in anger about the carelessly spoken words of Lancelot.
3 Conclusion
'The Lady of Shalott'; was and is subject for countless interpretation by readers and artists, especially pictorial. Although, or maybe because the whole setting is quite vague and shadowy there have been many attempts to explain why the Lady of Shalott was cursed. Maybe she was not cursed al all. What was this whisper she heard ? Was she schizophrenic, hearing voices inside her head ? Another question is why she had to die in the end. Is it possible she eventually commit suicide, because she had realized that her love for Sir Lancelot was futile ? These are some questions that stay in the back of your head after reading Tennyson's poem. Even today you can feel the infinite struggle the Lady of Shalott had to undergo. Tennyson impressively shows the development of a young woman who is faced with one of the most difficult times in life- growing up in a world full of restrictions and rules and becoming a woman. His subtle description of a girls problems at his time is, slightly altered, even valid today.
Under the orders of her husband, the narrator is moved to a house far from society in the country, where she is locked into an upstairs room. This environment serves not as an inspiration for mental health, but as an element of repression. The locked door and barred windows serve to physically restrain her: “the windows are barred for little children, and there are rings and things in the walls.” The narrator is affected not only by the physical restraints but also by being exposed to the room’s yellow wallpaper which is dreadful and fosters only negative creativity. “It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke study, and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide – plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions.”
The taming of the Shrew and The tragedy of Mariam, both embody the misogynistic claustrophobic nature of the Renaissance society, through elucidating the psychological suffocation of their female protagonists. This essay will focalise on how the claustrophobia illustrated, within both plays, is parallel to that which the sixteenth century women suffered. Predominant notions explored will be: the suffocating expectations of society, the role, and contribution of males to said suffocation, the utilisation of confined space, and lastly the restrictions implemented on the voice of women. A range of critics will be engaged, in order to grasp different vantage points and opinions, qualifying an adept realistic understanding of the texts, applying both texts, in their original society, as well as the modern.
"The Lady of Shalot" tells the story of a woman who lives in a tower in Shalott, which is an island on a river that runs, along with the road beside it, to Camelot, the setting of the legends about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Every day, the woman weaves a tapestry picture of the landscape that is visible from her window, including Camelot. There is, however, a curse on her; the woman does not know the cause of the curse, but she knows that she cannot look directly out of the window, so she views the subjects of her artwork through a mirror that is beside her. The woman is happy to weave, but is tired of looking at life only as a reflection. One day, Sir Lancelot rides by, looking bold and handsome in his shining armor, and singing. The woman goes to the windo...
The lady in the tower has next to no power over her own life. Tennyson never even presents his audience with a name for her. In a time period when the naming of things is considered to be one of the most important things about a character, we are presented with a woman known only as The Lady, or even just She. This person is a woman who is summed up in a pronoun and nothing more, a mere word that leaves so much to the imagination. Nothing is known about the woman’s life. She lives to weave and really wants to get out and explore. How did the Lady get even get inside that tower in the first place; was she born there? Who are her family or does she even have one? There are so many questions surrounding this woman, and there are never any answers. What exactly is it Tennyson was trying to portray with he...
The use of alliteration, tone, mood, theme and other elements that construct a well balanced poem are in this piece of literature.
The speaker begins the poem an ethereal tone masking the violent nature of her subject matter. The poem is set in the Elysian Fields, a paradise where the souls of the heroic and virtuous were sent (cite). Through her use of the words “dreamed”, “sweet women”, “blossoms” and
...d stanza begins with, “One shade the more, one ray the less” (Byron pp. 358). This demonstrates that the woman is not solely good or positive. Even with a heart of innocence the contradiction of being born with different shades and gray areas leaves the reader to think that the beauty is not entirely good. Her beauty might make her fragile and innocent. One thing that Byron ends with is referencing the separation of the mind and heart in the last two lines. This separation lets the reader truly analyze the fact that feelings and thoughts can be two separate realities. Feelings and thought inside a person can be a mixture of good and evil. This can influence an individual’s actions looking at each especially through separation. Byron continues to leave the reader with these two lines maybe inferring that innocence is what we should finally revolve our lives around.
“It was a large, beautiful room, rich and picturesque in the soft, dim light which the maid had turned low. She went and stood at an open window and looked out upon the deep tangle of the garden below. All the mystery and witchery of the night seemed to have gathered there amid the perfumes and the dusky and tortuous outlines of flowers and foliage. She was seeking herself and finding herself in just such sweet half-darkness which met her moods. But the voices were not soothing that came to her from the darkness and the sky above and the stars. They jeered and sounded mourning notes without promise, devoid even of hope. She turned back into the room and began to walk to and fro, down its whole length, without stopping, without resting. She carried in her hands a thin handkerchief, which she tore into ribbons, rolled into a ball, and flung from her. Once she stopped, and taking off her wedding ring, flung it upon the carpet. When she saw it lying there she stamped her heel upon it, striving to crush it. But her small boot heel did not make an indenture, not a mark upon the glittering circlet.
Most of students who study literature have experienced a trouble when they understand poetry. There are many genres in literature; poem, novel, drama, myth and so on. Generally, people do not have a difficult comprehension of a variety of literary genres except poem. In case of poem, even people read a poem, they do not understand what that means perfectly. Because, unlike other genres of literature, poetry consists of short sentences. Some of poems are not made up of grammatically correct sentences. Also, poetry has implications. Sometimes, the words a poet use have a different meaning, unlike original meaning. A figure of speech helps expression of topic of a poem more effectually. Theme relates to a mood and is an important clue what the poet want to say. Both “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” and “Because I Not Stop for Death” have a theme of death. Compare and contrast the figure of speech and the theme of death in the poem Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” and Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could Not Stop for Death” in this research paper.
at the place and situation she is now in because of her servitude to her
By using onomatopoeia, description, and dialogue each poet argues their subject or theme. Although each poet does not write about the same subject or theme they each use the literary device effectively to help support their poem. By using each literary device in different context the poets show the many different styles when writing poetry. Each poet uses the literary devices efficiently to help their overall message in each poem.
William Shakespeare created a dynamic character called lady Macbeth; she was the total opposite of what women of the Shakespearian era were supposed to be. Despite qualities women were supposed to have in Shakespeare’s time, Lady Macbeth defied the way most women of her time acted. Lady Macbeth defied the ways of women of her time by being manipulative, ambitious, and ruthless.
Baugh et al (2006 p57 to p60) give 9 rules of haiku, which I shall use to compare the two poems. I shall then use the study diamond to comment on the effects the poems have on me, the techniques used, the contexts of the two poems and their meanings.
John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi and Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock each feature females as the dominate characters, but represent them in very different ways. In Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi it is made clear and significantly expresses how being vigorous, prideful and independent are not solely male characteristics, but assist in empowering women. In Pope’s The Rape of the Lock he presents women of circumstance and their over the top reactions to events that are superficially inconsequential, ruled over by a culture of consumerism and materialistic and vain necessities.
In this poem The Lady of Shalott was faced with a curse that would not even allow her to steal a glance out of her window, and the only way to view the world was through her mirror. She attempted to keep herself busy and distracted by weaving a web of beautiful colors and looking at the distorted images her mirror provided her with. Over time her strength that kept her safe wore thin and she grew tired of being held in solitude in her castle. Through watching Sir Lancelot, she fell in love and desired his attention so she left her web to pursue him. The Lady of Shalott pursued the knight, although she knew even a glance would mean certain death, but in her final moments she was happy and she sang of her happiness until her last moments breathing. The Lady chased unattainable love and faced death to find a sense of being whole and being loved. She tried to ignore her desires, but in the end she lost her life for the sake of love and only received the knight’s attention once her blood was frozen and her eyes were dark and