ENGLISH 100: Analyzing Art and Life in Tennyson's 'Lady of Shalott'

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "The Lady of Shalott," focusing on the central contradiction of whether the Lady's solitary art preserves or destroys her life. The essay explores the Lady's weaving and her limited view of the world through a mirror, dictated by a curse. It examines the symbolism of the web and the mirror, representing both artistic creativity and the Lady's imprisonment. The analysis delves into the Lady's yearning for a fully lived life, triggered by the sight of Sir Lancelot, and the subsequent breaking of the curse, leading to her death. The essay also considers critical interpretations of the poem, including its connection to Arthurian legends and the question of whether artistic seclusion is necessary for achievement. Ultimately, the essay argues that the Lady's art serves as both a preserver and destroyer, providing a space for innovation while simultaneously creating a desire for a life beyond her tower, a desire that ultimately leads to her demise. Desklib provides access to this and many other student-contributed assignments to aid in your studies.

Running Head: ENGLISH ESSAY
English Essay
Nam of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ENGLISH ESSAY
2. In Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shalott,” the Lady’s art seems initially at odds with a fully
lived life; her weaving leaves her a solitary and unsatisfied prisoner in her tower. Yet when
she leaves this prison and abandons her weaving for love, the result for her is death, not
life. Is her solitary art, then, the preserver or the destroyer of life?
“The Lady of Shalott” is written by the English poet Sir Alfred Lord Tennyson. The
poem relates the story of a young woman who was imprisoned in a tower near Camelot. The lady
is threatened to be cursed if she looks outside and can only see the world through a mirror. She
must also weave what she sees in the mirror (Alaya and Flavia). Although she does not know
what the curse will be but she keeps on weaving a magical web without even lifting her eyes.
Notably, there is a contradiction at the end of the poem. When she leaves the prison and her love
for weaving, the outcome is her death and absolutely not life (Gribble). The solitary life she led,
is either the preserver or destroyer of her life constitutes the primary contradiction. The aim of
the paper is to analyze the contradictory element critically and come up with a statement.
The Lady of Shalott weaves day and night and takes delight in creating the new through
the “magic sights”. She sometimes sees the sights of two young lovers and mourns on her
solitary life saying” I am half sick of shadows “. Once Sir Lancelot passes through the barley
sheaves shining his silver bugle. In a “blue unclouded weather” he rides by Shalott and the
helmet feather burns like “one burning flame together” (Chalykoff, Gordon and Lumsden). The
image of Sir Lancelot flashes on the mirror and catches the sight of Lady of Shalott (Black et
al.). The lady looks down the tower being oblivious of the curse. As she looks down to Camelot,
the mirror cracks and the web flies out from the window and she cries aloud “the curse is come
upon me”. She dies after much struggle (Chalykoff, Gordon and Lumsden).

2ENGLISH ESSAY
Critics suggest that it reflects the story of Elaine of Astalot, the maid of Astalot in the
Arthurian legend who died out of unrequited love. Her weaving of the magic web alludes to the
wife of Odysseus who also weaved when her husband was away. The use of imagery and
symbolism is abundant in the poem as in other poems of Tennyson. The magic web, in this
poem symbolizes the artistic fecundity and also the enslavement she goes through. The world is
visible to her but only through her mirror. She sometimes sees the knights, sometimes sees the
boys and girls. Apart from these, she sees two contradictory phases of life, the wedding and the
funeral. She can see everything but cannot experience any of them in her own life and thus
claims her own identity by saying that she is sick of the shadows (Potwin). It shows that she is
not living. She is just surviving and struggling with the burden of her paralyzed life that is
completely stagnant. She is excluded from the life of things and lost in some other world.
Her resistance breaks one day when she feels and intense connection with the man
(Lancelot). Regarding her artistic seclusion, critics have raised a question of whether the artistic
seclusion is necessary for the achievement or not. In these terms, it can be said that, the isolation
has been a blessing for her as she reached the culmination of her artistic life. However, the
isolation gradually led her towards passion and lastly towards embracing death (Shannon and
Edgar). Critic Harold Bloom comments” the end of artistic isolation leads to the death of
creativity” (Chalykoff, Gordon and Lumsden). The web and the mirror are at first depicted the
talent and creativity of the lady. The mirror used to show the image and the web used to reflect
that through the artistic hands of the lady. On the other hand, it is shown as the symbol of the
lady’s pseudo-life, the boredom, the slavery, imprisonment and ultimately her death. Hence, it
has a dual nature. It can be considered as both preserver of her art and destroyer of her life.

3ENGLISH ESSAY
However, there is also an inherent theme of liberation. As the mirror beaks and she
realizes that the curse has come upon her, she does not die instantly (Black et al., ). Her entering
the real world from the world of shadows even through death sings her victory over the spell.
She wins over the curse through death. The leaving of her tower, the drowning of the boat
signifies the passive entry to the world of real people, of action. The life she was leading could
be escaped only through death. It was her choice to embrace death than staying living lifelessly
bestowed by the curse around her. Hence, it can be asserted that the solitary artistic life of the
lady functions both as a preserver and destroyer of life. It is preserver because, it provided the
lady that peaceful space without interruption where innovation could take place (Barzilai and
Shuli). It is destroyer in the sense, the isolation at a point of time created the extreme desire for
the lady to be outside and taste the life of real world. This desire led her towards her ultimate
demise. It can also be seen as the extreme attachment of the lady with her Art. The moment she
became distracted and detached from her art, her love, she lost her life.

4ENGLISH ESSAY
Reference
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Poetry (1970): 273-289.
Barzilai, Shuli. "" Say That I Had a Lovely Face": The Grimms'" Rapunzel," Tennyson's" Lady
of Shalott," and Atwood's Lady Oracle." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature19.2 (2000):
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Black, Joseph, et al., eds. The Broadview Anthology of British Literature: Concise Volume A-:
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Restoration and the Eighteenth Century. Broadview Press, 2016.
Chadwick, Joseph. "A Blessing and a Curse: The Poetics of Privacy in Tennyson's" The Lady of
Shalott"." Victorian Poetry(1986): 13-30.
Chalykoff L, Gordon N, Lumsden P. “Tennyson’s” The Lady of Shallot Poetry(1832)
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Gribble, Jennifer. The Lady of Shalott in the Victorian Novel. Springer, 1983.
Potwin, L. S. "The Source of Tennyson's the Lady of Shalott." Modern Language Notes 17.8
(1902): 237-239.
Shannon Jr, Edgar F. "Poetry as Vision: Sight and Insight in" The Lady of Shalott"." Victorian
Poetry (1981): 207-223.