Poem Review: The Lady of Shalott
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The Lady of Shalott by English poet Alfred Lord Tennyson was published in 1833, and nine years later, in 1842, a second version was published. Both versions of the poem focus on a cursed woman – more so the 1942 version – who is locked inside of a plain, old tower (‘four grey walls and four grey towers’) that overlooks the beautiful town of Camelot.
However, the Lady’s life is plagued because of her curse. She can’t look out of her window and can’t leave her tower or the curse will kill her. This makes for both interesting and painful reading, especially in Part II of the sonnet: ‘And moving thro’ a mirror clear/ That hangs before her all the year,/ Shadows of the world appear.’
Tennyson’s sonnet is loosely based on Elaine of Astolat, an Arthurian legend in a thirteenth century Italian novella. The first version of The Lady of Shalott is closer to the legend than the 1842 version, which focuses more on the Lady’s isolation in the tower and how she longs to leave it, to experience real life in the place she exists – Camelot.
While the Lady of Shalott can’t look directly out of her window, she does watch through her mirror (see quote above) while she weaves all day long. At the beginning of the sonnet, Tennyson is describing a woman who is concealed and appears to be weak. But there is a significant turning point in his writing’s rythm (‘She left the web, she left the loom,/ She made three paces thro’ the room’) when she spots Lancelot – her sudden love interest – and then in his vocabulary when ‘the mirror crack’d from side to side’ – signalling a turning point not only in the sonnnet but in the Lady’s life.
All in all, Tennyson’s sonnet The Lady of Shalott is emotional and moving. It is a sonnet to be read by everyone of every age as it incorporates fairytale themes and characters as well as twisted and dark elements from Tennyson’s writing, making the piece accessible to older people. The Lady of Shalott is a beautiful piece of poetry and will be remembered for many more years to come.