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What Is The Mood Of The Lady Of Shalott

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What Is The Mood Of The Lady Of Shalott
Lord Alfred Tennyson was a Victorian poet that concerned himself with humans more than nature. Consequentially, his poems focused on his actual experiences, social roles, and attitudes within society. One of his most famous poems, “The Lady of Shalott”, deals with Keatsian Romantic heritage and even inspired many Pre-Raphaelite artists because of its tragic characteristics and medieval setting. The poem itself provides a parallel with Tennyson’s own life and the life of many Romantic poets in an abstract manner.
The poem begins by explaining specifically the scenic views of the island of Shalott with “yellow-leaved waterlily” and “green-sheathed daffodilly.” The vibrant details and imagery of the outside world strongly contrast the “Four gray …show more content…
Bountiful imagery of Sir Lancelot such as his “coal-black curls” supply the reader with an exact image in their head of the knight. Not only is there imagery surrounding the knight himself, but nature also seems to show positive signs as he rides in with the “sunlight glow[ing].” As he rides toward Camelot, “He flashe[s] into the crystal mirror” allowing the Lady of Shalott to catch a glimpse of him in front of her. Immediately, she leaves the web and loom simply to look at him causing the curse to unfold. She finally sees the beautiful Camelot and begins to experience the real world as the mirror cracks from side to side. Part three is mainly focused on the description of Sir Lancelot in a buildup of her eventual releasing of the curse that has been in place the entire beginning of the …show more content…
When she finds the boat she begins to carve her name into it in an attempt to be remembered by the outside world. All she ever longed for was a connection to the world she had only experienced through a mirror for so long. This seemed in a way ironic because she was a “fairy” wanting to become like everyone else around her, and typically it is mortal humans that are wanting to become like other beings. She knew her fate as “down she lay” and even embraced her death after all that she had experienced and gone
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