ENGLISH LITERATURE: THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON--P-10

ENGLISH LITERATURE: THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON--P-10: She left the web, she left the loom,   She made three paces through the room,   She saw the water-lily bloom,   She saw the helmet an...

THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON--P-10

She left the web, she left the loom, 
She made three paces through the room, 
She saw the water-lily bloom, 
She saw the helmet and the plume, 
She looked down to Camelot.

• When the Lady sees him, she makes a fateful choice. She steps away from her loom and walks across the room. For the first time she actually looks outside, and sees the real world, the lilies, the knight's helmet, and Camelot.
• The poem doesn't actually say that she's fallen hopelessly in love at the very sight of Lancelot, but that's pretty much the implication.

Out flew the web and floated wide; 
The mirror cracked from side to side; 
"The curse is come upon me," cried 
The Lady of Shalott.

• Of course we learned early in the poem that the Lady is forbidden by the mysterious curse from looking outside. So when she does, her web flies apart and the magic mirror cracks.
• The Lady realizes right away that she's in trouble, and the third part of the poem finishes with her crying out: "The curse is come upon me."

In the stormy east-wind straining, 
The pale yellow woods were waning, 
The broad stream in his banks complaining, 
Heavily the low sky raining 
Over towered Camelot;

• The weather lets us know that things are all messed up. There's a stormy wind, the leaves are yellow and fading ("waning"). Even the river "complains" and the sky is low and heavy with rain above Camelot. The outside world reflects the Lady's sad situation.

Down she came and found a boat 
Beneath a willow left afloat, 
And round about the prow she wrote 
The Lady of Shalott.

• Now the Lady does what pretty much everyone does when they feel bad: she goes and finds a boat and writes her name on it. Actually we're not sure why she does this, but it does make her easier to identify later in the poem.

ENGLISH LITERATURE: THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON-P-9

ENGLISH LITERATURE: THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON-P-9: As often through the purple night,   Below the starry clusters bright,   Some bearded meteor, trailing light,   Moves over still Shal...

THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON-P-9

As often through the purple night, 
Below the starry clusters bright, 
Some bearded meteor, trailing light, 
Moves over still Shalott.

• Just for a little icing on the cake, the speaker compares Lancelot's feathered helmet to a shooting star, with a tail ("bearded") that lights up the night sky.

His broad clear brow in sunlight glowed; 
On burnished hooves his war-horse trode;

• A few more lines describing the studly Lancelot: his forehead glows in the sunlight (which is apparently supposed to be sexy). His horse's hooves are polished ("burnished") and bright.

From underneath his helmet flowed 
His coal-black curls as on he rode, 
As he rode down to Camelot.

• He's even got great hair ("coal-black curls"), which flows out of his helmet. You should really be thinking of a movie star by now, some unbelievably cool, well-dressed dude. Shmoop won't pick one for you, since we don't know your type, but you get the idea, right?

From the bank and from the river 
He flashed into the crystal mirror,

• Now he shows up in the Lady's "crystal mirror." She finally sees this superman we've already heard so much about, and we have to believe she's impressed.

"Tirra lirra," by the river 
Sang Sir Lancelot.

• Lancelot is singing a song as he trots along, and we get a little snatch of it, just the words "Tirra Lirra."
• This may be a reference to Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale (Act 4, Scene 3) where one of the characters sings a song about "The lark, that tirra-lirra chants." It's probably also just a nonsense word from an old song, like "hey nonny nonny" or "sha la la." It's important, however, because it echoes the Lady's singing from earlier in the poem.

ENGLISH LITERATURE: POEM—THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON-P-8

ENGLISH LITERATURE: POEM—THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON-P-8: That sparkled on the yellow field,   Beside remote Shalott. Check out how often the speaker reminds us where we are. Here he menti...

POEM—THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON-P-8

That sparkled on the yellow field, 
Beside remote Shalott.

• Check out how often the speaker reminds us where we are. Here he mentions the field of barley again, and the "remote" island of Shalott.
• It's pretty unlikely that you forgot about these natural details, so we think this has more to do with how Tennyson gives the poem its rhythm.

The gemmy bridle glittered free, 
Like to some branch of stars we see
Hung in the golden Galaxy.

• Brace yourself for a long description of Lancelot, with some unfamiliar words.
• This is the major shift in the plot, so the speaker has to get us really invested in Lancelot. He starts out by comparing his jewel-covered bridle (the gear that fits over the horse's head) to a constellation of stars in the sky.

The bridle bells rang merrily 
As he rode down to Camelot:

• We also learn that the bridle has ringing bells on it, and that Lancelot is headed down the river, towards Camelot.

And from his blazoned baldric slung 
A mighty silver bugle hung, 
And as he rode his armour rung, 
Beside remote Shalott.

• Lancelot apparently also has a strap or belt across his shoulder called a "baldric." It's specially decorated, or "blazon'd."
• Don't worry if these words are new to you. They would have seemed old-fashioned to readers in the nineteenth century too. Tennyson uses them to give this poem a medieval feel.
• The baldric was often used to carry something, and Lancelot is toting a silver bugle (a horn that a knight could blow in battle). All this gear is making a lot of noise as he heads down the trail.

All in the blue unclouded weather 
Thick-jewelled shone the saddle-leather, 
The helmet and the helmet-feather 
Burned like one burning flame together, 
As he rode down to Camelot.

• There's more description here, of the jewels on his saddle, and his helmet, (with a feather sticking out of it) which burns like a flame.
• The take-away point here is that Lancelot is about as impressive, manly, and cool-looking as he could possibly be – sort of a medieval rockstar. Definitely the kind of guy a lonely lady could fall in love with.

The author here created impression well that lonely lady could have been fall in love.

ENGLISH LITERATURE: POEM—THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON-P-7

ENGLISH LITERATURE: POEM—THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON-P-7: "I am half sick of shadows," said   The Lady of Shalott. Still, magic mirror or not, we get the sense that this is a pre...

POEM—THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON-P-7

"I am half sick of shadows," said 
The Lady of Shalott.

• Still, magic mirror or not, we get the sense that this is a pretty crummy deal for the Lady. She has some entertainment, but no real connection to the world. As she puts it: "I am half sick of shadows."
• She's fed up with this life, and we can feel that something may be about to change.

A bow-shot from her bower-eaves, 
He rode between the barley-sheaves,

• Here it comes – the big turn in this poem.
• Someone's coming, although in these lines, he's only identified as "He." He shows up riding through the barley just a "bow-shot" (as far as you could shoot an arrow) from the Lady's little prison.

The sun came dazzling through the leaves, 
And flamed upon the brazen greaves

• Tennyson really ratchets up the effects for this big entrance. If it were a movie, this moment would definitely be in slow motion. The sun is dazzling and bright, and it sparkles off his greaves (that's a piece of armor, like metal shin-guards for a knight).

Of bold Sir Lancelot.

• Then he drops the name. This isn't just any knight; it's Sir Lancelot, the toughest and most famous (and, we imagine, the best-looking) of King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table.
• Here's a note for all you poetry nerds: this is the only stanza where the fifth line doesn't end with the word "Camelot." Here it's "Lancelot," which is a sneaky but also maybe a really powerful way of showing how important he is.

A red-cross knight for ever kneeled 
To a lady in his shield,

• Literally these lines mean that Lancelot's shield has a picture on it of a knight kneeling before his lady.
• Like in many spots in this poem, there's a lot more going on under the surface. The Redcross Knight is a character in The Faerie Queene, a famous epic poem by Edmund Spenser. The red cross is also the sign of St. George, the patron saint of England. Basically that picture on the shield is a symbol of courage, chivalry, and the political and literary history of England. You don't have to wrestle with all that stuff at once, but it's good to know that it's there.

ENGLISH LITERATURE: POEM—THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON--P-6

ENGLISH LITERATURE: POEM—THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON--P-6: There the river eddy whirls,   And there the surly village-churls,   And the red cloaks of market girls,   Pass onward from Shalott. ...

POEM—THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON--P-6

There the river eddy whirls, 
And there the surly village-churls, 
And the red cloaks of market girls, 
Pass onward from Shalott.

• What does she see on the highway in the mirror? For one thing, there's a spot in the river where the current makes a little whirlpool ("the river eddy whirls"). Mostly though, she sees a parade of people.
• The first people the speaker introduces to us are some rough peasants from the town ("surly village-churls") and some girls from the market in red cloaks.

Sometimes a troop of damsels glad, 
An abbot on an ambling pad, 
Sometimes a curly shepherd-lad, 
Or long-haired page in crimson clad, 
Goes by to towered Camelot;

• The parade of passers-by continues. We see a group of happy young women ("damsels glad"), then an abbot (the head of a monastery) on a lazy old horse ("an ambling pad"). Young men too, a shepherd with curly hair maybe, or a page (a young servant to a knight) with long hair and red clothes.
• We get lots of fun little details here, but these aren't really characters in the poem. They are meant to represent the outside world, the place where the Lady can't go.

And sometimes through the mirror blue 
The knights come riding two and two: 
She hath no loyal knight and true, 
The Lady of Shalott.

• Sometimes, she sees knights in the mirror. This is a big deal because we know that knights are a major part of the Camelot story.
• The speaker notes that the Lady doesn't have a "loyal knight" of her own, and you can begin to feel her loneliness and longing. This is definitely a set-up for the rest of the poem.

But in her web she still delights 
To weave the mirror's magic sights, 
For often through the silent nights 
A funeral, with plumes and lights 
And music, went to Camelot: 
Or when the moon was overhead, 
Came two young lovers lately wed;

• Whatever "magic sights" she sees in the mirror, the Lady weaves into her web.

The speaker gives us a couple more examples of those magic sights: a funeral on a quiet night, full of light and music, or two newlyweds walking alone in the moonlight

ENGLISH LITERATURE: POEM—THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON --P-4

ENGLISH LITERATURE: POEM—THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON --P-4: There she weaves by night and day   A magic web with colours gay. RTC--If the Lady of Shalott never comes to the window, and no one...

POEM—THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON --P-4

There she weaves by night and day 
A magic web with colours gay.

RTC--If the Lady of Shalott never comes to the window, and no one ever sees her, what is the lady doing with her free time? She's weaving a "magic web" all day and all night. The speaker doesn't tell us right away what this web is, just that it's brightly colored.

She has heard a whisper say, 
A curse is on her if she stay 
To look down to Camelot.

RTC--Why does she weave all the time without stopping? She's heard a rumor ("a whisper") that she'll be cursed if she should stop working ("stay" is an old way of saying stop or pause) and look down the river at Camelot.

Think of the Lady like Sleeping Beauty in the Disney cartoon – a beautiful maiden, trapped in a tower under a terrible curse.

She knows not what the curse may be, 
And so she weaveth steadily, 
And little other care hath she, 
The Lady of Shalott.

RTC--The twist in this poem is that no one told the Lady of Shalott exactly what the curse involves. To be on the safe side, she just keeps weaving all the time, with nothing else ("little other care") to worry her or occupy her time – in other words, a pretty boring life.

And moving through a mirror clear 
That hangs before her all the year, 
Shadows of the world appear. 
There she sees the highway near 
Winding down to Camelot:

RTC--The web she's weaving isn't the only magical prop in this poem. There's also a magic mirror, which shows "shadows of the world."

That's an important phrase, and a little mysterious. She's not seeing the real thing, just images, and the use of the word "shadows" makes us think they might be fuzzy, dark, faint images. Still, this mirror gives her a way to watch the highway, even though she can't really look outside.

ENGLISH LITERATURE: POEM—THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON--P-3

ENGLISH LITERATURE: POEM—THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON--P-3: By the margin, willow-veiled,   Slide the heavy barges trailed   By slow horses; and unhailed   The shallop flitteth silken-sailed   ...

ENGLISH LITERATURE: POEM—THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON-P-2

ENGLISH LITERATURE: POEM—THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON-P-2: Willows whiten, aspens quiver, RTC--The poem holds off on the plot details for a second here, and tells us a little more about the  ...

POEM—THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON-P-2

Willows whiten, aspens quiver,

RTC--The poem holds off on the plot details for a second here, and tells us a little more about the natural world around the island.

We hear about the willow trees that grow on the river banks, and the aspen trees that "quiver" (when the wind blows though the branches of an aspen tree, the leaves shake or "quiver").

Little breezes dusk and shiver

RTC--The speaker mentions little breezes that blow around the island too, and says that they "dusk and shiver." It's a little hard to say exactly what those words mean in this context, since we usually don't talk about something "dusking."

All the same, can you feel the atmosphere this creates? Even if the words don't add up right away, can you feel the little chill of darkness and mystery they send through the line? That's what they're there for.

Through the wave that runs for ever 
By the island in the river 
Flowing down to Camelot.

RTC--Those breezes run along with the river, which flows constantly past the island in an endless wave.

Here the speaker is really underlining the flow of the river as it heads toward Camelot. That flow, that "wave that runs for ever" (line 12) will be really important later on, so he's careful to plant the idea in our heads now.

Four grey walls, and four grey towers, 
Overlook a space of flowers,

RTC--Now we hear about a building on the island, a simple structure, just four walls with four towers. We imagine a mini-castle, a way smaller version of the many-towered Camelot we heard about in line 5.

It's apparently surrounded by flowers too. Weaving the natural and the manmade together is a big deal in this poem.

And the silent isle imbowers 
The Lady of Shalott.

RTC--Finally, we meet the star of this little show, the Lady herself. The only thing we learn right away is that the silent island of Shalott "imbowers" her. This might be an unfamiliar word, but it's really important for this poem. It means to enclose, to shut up in a bower, which was the private room of a medieval lady. Right off the bat, we can feel how the lady is restricted, shut up, even imprisoned on this island.

ENGLISH LITERATURE: POEM—THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON--P--1

ENGLISH LITERATURE: POEM—THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON--P--1: On either   side the river lie Long fields of barley and of rye,   That clothe the wold and meet the sky;   And through the field the r...

POEM—THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON--P--1

On either side the river lie
Long fields of barley and of rye, 
That clothe the wold and meet the sky; 
And through the field the road runs by
To many-towered Camelot;

RTC--Tennyson starts out this poem with a quiet description of a landscape. A river runs through fields of grain. The barley and the wheat cover ("clothe") the "wold" (an old word for an open, unforested piece of land). Through this field, there's a road running toward the castle of Camelot, which is the legendary home of King Arthur and his knights.

And up and down the people go, 
Gazing where the lilies blow 
Round an island there below, 
The island of Shalott.

RTC--Apparently this road is pretty well traveled. The people who use the road can look down and see an island in the middle of the river. This island, which the speaker says is surrounded by lilies, is called the island of Shalott.

FYI, that's pronounced with the accent on the second syllable (shalot). To hear it out loud, check out one of the audio recordings of the poem in the "Best of the Web" section

ENGLISH LITERATURE: POEM—THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON

ENGLISH LITERATURE: POEM—THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON: This is a pretty long poem, and a lot goes on, but Tennyson makes it easier to follow along by breaking the action up into four parts. We&...

POEM—THE LADY OF SHALOT—BY ALFRED TENNYSON

This is a pretty long poem, and a lot goes on, but Tennyson makes it easier to follow along by breaking the action up into four parts. We'll take you through them quickly, to give you an overview:

Part 1: The poem opens with a description of a field by a river. There's a road running through the field that apparently leads to Camelot, the legendary castle of King Arthur. From the road you can see an island in the middle of the river called the Island of Shalott. On that island there is a little castle, which is the home of the mysterious Lady of Shalott. People pass by the island all the time, on boats and barges and on foot, but they never see the Lady. Occasionally, people working in the fields around the island will hear her singing an eerie song.

Part 2: Now we actually move inside the castle on the island, and Tennyson describes the Lady herself. First we learn that she spends her days weaving a magic web, and that she has been cursed, forbidden to look outside. So instead she watches the world go by in a magic mirror. She sees shadows of the men and women who pass on the road, and she weaves the things she sees into her web. We also learn that she is "half sick" of this life of watching and weaving.

Part 3: Now the big event: One day the studly Sir Lancelot rides by the island, covered in jewels and shining armor. Most of this chunk of the poem is spent describing Lancelot. When his image appears in the mirror, the Lady is so completely captivated that she breaks the rule and looks out her window on the real world. When she does this and catches a glimpse of Lancelot and Camelot, the magic mirror cracks, and she knows she's in trouble.

Part 4: Knowing that it's game over, the Lady finds a boat by the side of the river and writes her name on it. After looking at Camelot for a while she lies down in the boat and lets it slip downstream. She drifts down the river, singing her final song, and dies before she gets to Camelot. The people of Camelot come out to see the body of the Lady and her boat, and are afraid. Lancelot also trots out, decides that she's pretty, and says a little prayer for her.

ENGLISH LITERATURE: POEM-ULYSSES-BY ALFRED TENNYSON -P-6

ENGLISH LITERATURE: POEM-ULYSSES-BY ALFRED TENNYSON -P-6: Tho' much is taken, much abides; and though We are not now that strength which in old days Moved earth and heaven; that which we a...

POEM-ULYSSES-BY ALFRED TENNYSON -P-6

Tho' much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

RTC--Ulysses yet again tells us that even though he and his sailors are old and don't have a lot of gas left in the tank, there's enough left to go a little farther.

"Abides" is a word that means "remains."

These guys are a team with one heartbeat. They're old and broken, but they still have the will to seek out and face challenges without giving up. They can't bench-press 200 pounds anymore, but that won't stop them from trying anyway.

The phrase "strong in will / To strive, to seek, to find, and not yield" means something like "we're strong because of our will to strive" or "our will to strive is strong."

ENGLISH LITERATURE: POEM-ULYSSES-BY ALFRED TENNYSON- P-5

ENGLISH LITERATURE: POEM-ULYSSES-BY ALFRED TENNYSON- P-5: Death closes all: but something ere the end, Some work of noble note, may yet be done, Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods. The   ...

POEM-ULYSSES-BY ALFRED TENNYSON- P-5

Death closes all: but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks:
The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep
Moans round with many voices. 

RTC--Ulysses knows that death will end everything, but he still believes he can do great things, things worthy of men who fought against the will of the gods during the Trojan War.

The Trojan War wasn't a war between men and gods, but occasionally the gods would come down and fight with either the Greeks or the Trojans.

"Ere" is an old poetic word that means "before," as in "I will come ere nightfall."

Ulysses observes the sunset and the arrival of night, but it seems like he's thinking about his own death as well. What's with the moaning? It reminds us of ghosts or people mourning a death.

"Lights begin to twinkle from the rocks" is an elegant way of saying the stars are coming out.

…Come, my friends,
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.

RTC--It turns out that Ulysses is addressing his friends, at least during this part of the poem. He tells them what he's been telling us all along: it's never too late to go in search of new lands.

Here a "furrow" refers to the track or mark made in the water by the ship. He tells his sailors to "smite" or strike it, most likely with oars.

"Purpose" can mean two different things; it can mean either "destiny," as in "sailing is my purpose in life," or it can mean "intention," as in "I intend to sail as far as I can."

The "baths / Of all the western stars" isn't a place where the stars go to bathe themselves. It refers to the outer ocean or river that the Greeks believed surrounded the (flat) earth; they thought the stars descended into it.

To sail beyond the "baths" means Ulysses wants to sail really, really far away – beyond the horizon of the known universe – until he dies.

The "happy isles" refers to the Islands of the Blessed, a place where big-time Greek heroes like Achilles enjoyed perpetual summer after they died. We might say Heaven.

Ulysses realizes that he and his companions might die, but he's OK with that. If they die, they might even get to go to the "Happy Isles" and visit their old pal Achilles.

ENGLISH LITERATURE: POEM-ULYSSES-BY ALFRED TENNYSON- P-4

ENGLISH LITERATURE: POEM-ULYSSES-BY ALFRED TENNYSON- P-4: Most blameless is   he, centred in the sphere Of common duties, decent not to fail In offices of tenderness, and pay Meet adoration to ...