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Lady Of Shalott Essay

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The ‘Lady of Shalott’ first published in 1833 is loosely based on medieval sources, the Arthurian times.
The island of Shallot lies further down a river near the town of Camelot. A woman is imprisoned on the island in a castle, known as the lady of Shallot. She is cursed from looking outside and thereby spends time weaving a magical tapestry. A magic mirror serves as her only way to view the external world but not her own image. Once she dared to glance at Sir Lancelot who was passing by the nearby road, and the result was disastrous. She sets on the river on a boat singing her ‘last song’ and dies before she reaches Camelot. The poem ends with an irony as Lancelot views her lifeless body and muses over her beautiful face. The death of the lady of Shallot follows a life of negation. At no point in her life, she experiences relief or happiness and her presumed freedom is her death. The life of Lady of Shallot, partly also reflects the secluded life of an artist (poet) from the ordinary. Death also seemed to preserve her character and beauty forever more unlike her imprisoned life did. …show more content…

It is a sacrifice the lady makes while looking at Lancelot, losing her virtue as a good and obedient woman. The wonted images - cold, dark, melancholic singing etc. resembles death. The ‘last song’ represents the lady’s ultimate euphony as her life slowly fades away. The alignment of mirrors with death is common in the myths.
‘The Lady of Shallot’ qualifies as one of Tennyson’s psychological cryptograms, consisting of an equivocal essence of the paradox of desire and death. Here, he celebrates the mystery of life and death, the reality of spirit etc. The immobility of the Lady as well as her castle is in stark contrast with the freedom of movement on the river outside the

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