The Magic "Lady of Shalott"

Contents

Introduction………………………………………………………….3

Chapter 1. A Glance on Tennyson’s Biography and Literary Works..3

Chapter 2…………………………………………………………..…4

2.1. The Plot of the Poem…………………………………………….4

2.2. The Meaning of the Poem………………………………………..4  

2.3. The Role of Woman in Victorian Society………………………..5

Chapter 3. The Composition, Meter and Rhyme………………...……5

Chapter 4. Symbolism………………………………………………..7

4.1. The River…………………………………………………….…..7

4.2. The Lady of Shalott………………………………………….…...8

4.3. Sir Lancelot ………………………………………………..……. 9

4.4. The Road…………………………………………………….…... 9

4.5. The Island …………………………………………………….... 10

4.6. Camelot ………………………………………………………....10

4.7. The Loom and the Web ……………………………..…………..11

4.8. The Mirror ………………………………………………………11

4.9. The Boat …………………………………………………………12

4.10. The Chain ………………………………………...…………….12

Conclusion ……………………………………………………………13

Bibliography ……………………………………………………….…13

Appendix ………………………………………………………….….14

Introduction

Sometimes ideas for projects come in a very unusual way. This year we have a new teacher of English. Introducing herself she mentioned her interests and hobbies, gardening is being one of them. She told about her passion for growing flowers and beautiful shrubs. The David Austen rose “Lady of Shalott” is among her favorites. This rose was introduced in 2009, the year when England celebrated the 200th anniversary of Alfred Lord the Tennyson’s birthday. The teacher also emphasized the fact that Alfred Tennyson experienced the greatest honour a poet can have in his lifetime. Unfortunately he is practically unknown to the Russian reader except for a poem “The Lady of Shalott” which was first translated by K. Balmont in 1910.

I was extremely interested in the poem and decided to read it both in Russian and English. The poem impressed me greatly by its plot and I was charmed by its melody and rhyme in the English version.

The aim of the work is to analyze symbols of the poem “The Lady of Shalott” written be Alfred Tennyson and understand its meaning.

The tasks of the work are

• to have a brief  look at Tennyson’s biography and literary works
• to pick out and analyze various symbols in the poem
• to learn about the society rules in Victorian England

The object of the work is the poem ‘The Lady of Shalott” by Alfred Tennyson

The subject of the work is symbols used by Tennyson in the poem.

Chapter 1.  A Glance on Tennyson’s biography and literary works

Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) is often regarded as the predominant poet of the Victorian Era. He was honoured serving as a Poet Laureate of Great Britain from 1850 until his death.

Alfred Tennyson was born in 1809 in Somersby, Lincolnshire, England. He was one of twelve children and wrote his first epic poem at the age of twelve.  From his childhood Tennyson was charmed by the Arthurian theme.

In 1827 Tennyson left his home to study at Trinity College in Cambridge.  There he and his brother Charles co-published a book of poems named Poems by Two Brothers. This book gave Tennyson an opportunity to meet other college writers.

From 1830 to 1832, Tennyson published two more books of poetry (which contained The Lady of Shalott). They were not met with favourable reviews and the poet was greatly disappointed. His shyness kept him from publishing more poems for the following nine years. Tennyson had some success in 1842 after the publication of this book, Poems in two volumes. It contained the second revised version of The Lady of Shalott. When Tennyson published In Memoriam, in which one of the pieces was dedicated to his college friend Hallam, his reputation grew throughout Britain. Tennyson wrote some more poems concerning the Arthurian theme – Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere, Sir Galahad, The Idylls of the King. He wrote such classics as Morte d’Arthur, Ulysses, The Lotos-Eaters and The Charge of the Light Brigade.

Alfred Tennyson was the favourite poet of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert. In 1950 he was appointed to the position of Poet Laureate in succession to W. Wordsworth. He married Emily Sellwood, with whom he had two sons. Tennyson’s popularity and success allowed him to continue writing full time and buy a home for his family in the country. In 1883 he accepted peerage, in 1884 Queen Victoria made him Baron Tennyson and he took seat in the House of Lords. Tennyson died in 1892 and remains one of the most popular Victorian poets. He is one of the most widely read of all English poets.

Chapter 2

2.1. The Plot of the Poem

The atmosphere of mystery prevails in The Lady of Shalott. The poem tells the story of a mysterious Lady who is imprisoned in the tower in the days of King Arthur. She stays on the island of Shalott by the fear of a curse, the origin and the effect of which is unknown to her. The Lady is forbidden to glance out of her window and see the world around. She sits in her tower daily weaving a web. It illustrates the outside world which she may observe only through the reflections in her mirror. One day, however, the Lady hears the voice of Sir Lancelot as he rides by, and catches sight of his reflection in her mirror. Charmed by the sight of the knight the lady steps away from her loom and looks out the window to see Lancelot. The curse is in motion and doomed by love the Lady decides to leave the island in a boat for Camelot.  For the first time she can choose what to do with the rest of her life. Now she joins the real world but the boat reaches Camelot with the dead Lady in it. There she is treated as an anonymous lady from a place called Shalott.  

2.2 The Meaning of the Poem

The meaning of the poem depends on how one interprets it. There are different ideas to understand the meaning. The two most popular are 1) the role of a woman in Victorian society 2) the interaction of an artist and the society. Some people think that ‘The Lady of Shalott’ is about love. Love may be dangerous and may destroy us, but it is better to take risk than to hide oneself from the world. Others believe that ‘The Lady of Shalott’ is about growing up and exchanging the world of illusion for the potentially damaging world of reality.

We think that the poem The Lady of Shallott represents the conditions and the rules that existed in Victorian society which controlled the lives of women.

2.3 The Role of a Woman in Victorian England

At that time sons in upper class families had more freedom. Daughters and wives were guarded and controlled by the family which was ruled by men. They made all decisions for young and even married women. Women in the Victorian era were unable to make decisions for themselves or move freely in public places. They lived according to a strict code of conduct and needed protection. The imprisonment of the Lady of Shalott in the tower could be looked at as a metaphor for saving the young woman's purity, by keeping her out of the real world of temptations.

The tower where the Lady is imprisoned could be metaphorically viewed as a “family home” of a Victorian woman. She is bound by a curse which is also symbolic of the control that the male family member imposes on her.  She is kept from getting into unwanted romances because purity, modesty and virginity were the main characteristics of a Victorian woman.  They gave any woman potential marital opportunities. So daughters were held in their homes, protected and guarded until a suitable marriage arrangement could be made by the father or a male relative.  

The Lady in the tower leaves the safety of her home to seek romance, looking for her knight in shining armour. She runs away from home longing for love. She breaks the rules of her family and society. Thus she reduces her opportunity of a “good marriage”. Figuratively the upper class Victorian young woman who escapes from her family home could be considered dead in this society, dead to her family. She has betrayed their trust and ruined their reputation.  In the poem the lady dies after she leaves the tower to seek adventure and romance with a dazzling knight.

3.1. Composition, rhyme and meter

Tennyson first wrote a version of this poem in 20 stanzas, which he published in his volume Poems in 1832. After receiving negative reviews, he revised and shortened the poem, publishing it again in 1842. This analysis deals with the 1842 version of the poem.

The poem is written in 19 stanzas clearly divided into four parts; each of them consisting of stanzas. The number of stanzas is not equal, both the first and the second parts have four, the third part has five and the fourth part has six stanzas. The larger number of stanzas in the last part makes it the most important and meaningful. The stanzas have much in common:

1. Each stanza consists of 9 lines.

2. End rhymes are used in this poem.  

3.The poem has a steady rhyme scheme for them is: A  A  A  A  B  C  C  C  B.

Sometimes internal rhyme also occurs in the poem, for example:

On either side the river lie (line 1)

That clothe the wold and meet the sky (line 3)

 And moving thro' a mirror clear (line 46)
4. Every stanza (but one) repeats the names of two locations of the poem, Camelot and Shalott.  The word Camelot is at the end of the fifth line and the word Shalott is at the end of the last line of nearly every stanza. So the contrast between Camelot and Shalott is constantly repeated. 

Meter. This narrative poem has an incantatory feeling because of its very regular rhyme and meter. The longer lines in the poem change from iambic tetrameter to trochaic tetrameter with catalexis. For example, the first two lines in the poem are in iambic tetrameter. 

...1..............2...............3............4
on EI-| ther SIDE | the RIV-|er LIE  (line 1)

.........1.................2..............3.............4
long FIELDS | of BAR-| ley AND | of RYE (line 2)

A bit further, on the other hand, we find trochaic tetrameter with catalexis (an incomplete foot). The fourth foot in line 7 and the fourth foot in line 8 each contain only one syllable and so they are incomplete (catalexical). 

.....1.................2.................3.............4
GAZ- ing | WHERE the | LIL- ies | BLOW (line 7)

......1.................2...............3...............4
ROUND an | IS land | THERE be-| LOW (line 8)

We can also find lines of six syllables (three feet) in which iambic trimeter is used.

....1..............2...............3
The IS-| land OF | Shal OTT (line 9)

......1..................2...............3
Pass ON- | ward FROM | Sha- LOTT. (line 54)

.......1...............2..............3
Of BOLD | Sir LANC-| e LOT (line 77)

4. Symbolism

Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities, by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense. Symbolism is using an object, a color, a person or even a situation to give a deeper meaning than the literal meaning of the text. Sometimes an action, an event or a word spoken by someone may have a symbolic value.

Symbolism gives a writer freedom to add double levels of meanings to his work: a literal one that lies on the surface and the symbolic one whose meaning is deeper than the literal. Symbolism evokes interest in readers as they find an opportunity to get an insight into how the writer views the world and how he thinks of common objects and actions, having broader meanings.

‘The Lady of Shalott’ is full of unforgettable and impressive symbols which help to feel the deeper meaning of the poem, to understand its everlasting contrast between the inner and the outer.

4.1. The River

This is the first symbol in the poem, and it comes up repeatedly after the first line.

On either side the river lie (line 1)

The river is the central image of the poem and everything is in relation to it. The fields are on either side of the river, the island is in the middle of the river, Camelot is down the river. At the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the poem we keep coming back to the river. It is almost like the backbone of the poem, running through it and holding it up. The river is considered a symbol of a person’s life road, of looking for one’s way, of movement and progress. The reader can also feel that the river pulls the plot along. So the movement of the river, its flow and its strength, is the key to this poem.

The river behaves differently. At the beginning the river is mostly peaceful and calm. It winds cheerily and flows down to Camelot.

From the river winding clearly, (line 31)

We also feel its strength and hard work: it moves heavy barges and boats with people. The river is also denoted as the ‘wave’ and the ‘stream’. We are given the idea of an endless wave, a current that can’t be stopped.  But the reader can feel something frightening about this eternal wave. Finally, it is going to pull the Lady to her death.

Thro’ the wave that runs for ever (line 13)

The movement of the river makes us feel that a person’s life is not smooth.

 There the river eddy whirls, (line 51)

Everyone’s life has turns and bumps. Everyone in the outer world has the road of life with its winds and whirls except for the Lady.

As the situation with the Lady gets more serious, the river seems to notice her distress.

The broad stream in its banks complaining (line 120)

In this line, we are told that the river is complaining. The author uses personification to emphasize the Lady’s fate, which is so tragic that it can even make a river sad.

In the end of the poem it is the river that brings the Lady to the dream world. Unfortunately the Lady can enter this world as a dead body. She is dead to this society because she didn’t keep to its rules.

So, the river, its flow and strength is the symbol of outer masculine world that is not open to the Lady.  The river is the backbone of the poem, everything – nature, landscape, people and the main characters – are viewed in relation to it.

4.2. The Lady of Shalott

The Lady of Shalott is the title character of this poem. It is a dynamic character; she grows as a person over the course of the poem.  The Lady symbolizes the inner, feminine world. We hear this name for the first time in the closing line of the second stanza.

And the silent isle imbowers

The Lady of Shalott (lines 17-18)

The Lady’s name is a refrain that is used repeatedly in the last line of nearly every stanza. The repetition of the name sounds like a magic spell to the reader. The repetition enhances the sense of monotony, imprisonment and stagnation.

We hear almost nothing about the Lady while other people are colourful and Sir Lancelot is described in detail. We know nothing about her appearance (hair colour, eyes, height) so we cannot build a picture of her.  The author seems to hold back an image of the Lady, to make her deliberately hard to imagine.

At first the Lady seems to be content with her life on the remote island. She weaves her web in gay, happy colours. The reapers hear her sing like a fairy. She sings happily, she doesn’t cry, moan or groan.  However the Lady is afraid of the curse which falls on her if she stops weaving the web.

When the Lady says that she is “half-sick of shadows” we still don’t get an image of her face, but we can feel the strength of her personality at this moment. The end of the Lady’s transformation is the moment of her death. Now we learn that she is ‘robed in snowy white’, has a pale face, a gleaming shape, that she is silent and dead. She has moved from imprisonment to freedom, but it has cost her everything. She sang cheerily at the beginning, she is quiet in the end; she was warm, but became frozen. These powerful images of loss and change make the Lady a symbol of her ruined reputation and ruined life. She is surely dead for the society she wanted to live in.

4.3. Lancelot

The symbol contrasting that of the Lady is the image of Sir Lancelot. He symbolizes the outer, masculine world. Sir Lancelot is one of the most famous knights from Arthurian legends. The replacement of the refrain ‘Camelot’ with ‘Sir Lancelot’ symbolically emphasizes Lancelot’s importance to the poem. Lancelot’s coming marks his intrusion into the quiet, steady life of the Lady and puts him between the Lady and the outside world.

The chivalric code was familiar and traditional for literature describing medieval times. It was usual to read about a knight rescuing a fair lady in distress.  As a rule a knight is described as an object of desire for a lady. But in Tennyson’s poem Sir Lancelot is not only the object of desire for the Lady of Shalott, it symbolically becomes a catalyst or a trigger of her downfall.

Sir Lancelot is described in detail being rather attractive and bold, feeling at ease in the outer world. When the Lady catches the sight of him in her ‘crystal mirror’ she is distracted from her chore inside the tower. Sir Lancelot exists in the public sphere but the Lady does not. This contrast suggests that the private space is feminine and the public space is masculine. When the Lady crosses the room to the window and leaves her loom and the web, she leaves the feminine space. Then the Lady makes an attempt to move into the masculine space and loses her life. The author shows that the masculine world refuses to accept and support her. The Lady’s actions lead to spoiling the web and cracking the mirror, the reader feels that it breaks the barrier between feminine and masculine worlds.

4.4. The Road

The road is also one of the most important symbols in the poem. It represents the journey through life. It also represents movement, development and progress, involvement in human life. The road runs through the fields just near the river and it is a symbol which is much alike the river.

And thro’ the field the road runs by

To many-towered Camelot (lines 4-5)

The road is also named as the ‘highway’ which means it important and busy. The road is full of people, going to and from the many-towered Camelot. We see people of all ages and of different jobs. It is interesting to note that nearly all the people are mentioned in plural (village-churls, market girls, damsels, a newly-wed couple and knights ‘riding two by two’). All of them are busy, they either work or relax, they interact and communicate and they live their life to the full. The image of the busy road is the symbol of the outer world contrasting with that of the island of Shalott.

4.5. The Island

The island is situated in the river, cut off from the land and the outside world. It is one of the major symbols in the poem. It is also the symbol of the Lady’s isolation and loneliness, a kind of shelter.

Round the island there below

The island of Shalott (line 9)

When we first hear about the island in the middle of the countryside, it seems to be a nice spot, surrounded by flowers. The island is a little isolated, it is out of the way, off the beaten path but it is peaceful. Later on we learn about the terrible curse.

After the second stanza, the author doesn’t use the word “island” again.  In part III the author talks about the “remote Shalott” (line 80). This phrase shows how much the image of Shalott has changed. Now the place seems isolated and lonely, and we understand that Lady will be separated from the big world, from Lancelot as long as the stays there.

Keeping the Lady in whispers, stillness and silence the island is a vivid symbol of isolation and imprisonment.

4.6. Camelot

The word Camelot is used as a refrain in the fifth line of almost every stanza.

To many-towered Camelot (line 5)

This repetition draws the reader’s attention to Camelot, makes it seem more like a far off dream than a real place. It is like Heaven, a place the Lady can dream about but cannot actually see. The name of Camelot calls up images of amazing castles, kings and knights, and people living in peace and justice. Life is related to this place: people, boats, loads go to and from Camelot. In the poem it is a place of great opportunities, a place where people live their life to the fullest. But to the Lady it seems to be far away, untouchable and unreachable till the very end.

The Lady finally gets to Camelot which we have heard so much about. When we see Camelot, it is described as a place of joy and beauty. It is a place of happy people but for the Lady it is fatal. She is not allowed to enter the world of knights and ladies alive. She enters it dead, pale and silent in a boat which looks like a coffin.

Singing in her song she died, (line 152)

The Lady of Shalott.

When the Lady arrives, she brings sadness with her, and the appearance of her body kills the “sound of royal cheer” in Camelot. It is a powerful image with which Tennyson makes two worlds crashing together.

4.7 The Loom and the Web

These are fascinating symbols in the poem. The loom is often seen a symbol of cosmic creation and the thing with the help of which an individual destiny is woven. A loom gives the idea of creating our own lives.  The word ‘web’ in the poem literally means something like a tapestry.

And there she weaves by night and day

A magic web with colours gay (lines 37-38)

At first the Lady enjoys her weaving and the web seems more like an expression of her talent and creativity than a terrible curse. Weaving can be interpreted as a metaphor for female creativity. When the reader hears the word ‘web’ it is hard not to think of the Lady as a kind of a spider. She weaves the beautiful web herself but the reader feels that she is in control, is caught in someone else’s web. She should be the web-weaving predator, but instead she turns out to be the prey of some unseen, mysterious force.  

Further on the loom and the web can be seen as symbols of a boring and endless chore, symbols of imprisonment. The first thing the lady does to break away from her prison in the tower is to step away from the loom. She makes just a few steps but they have great consequences. The turn away from the web represents her refusal to be imprisoned, her decision to pursue love and interact with the outside world, even if it means her death.

The web is one of the symbols of the Lady’s weird life on the island. This symbol is used by the author to show the atmosphere of loneliness and the feeling that the Lady is only wanted as a passive figure. So when the web is damaged, we know that her island life is over and something else is starting.

Out flew the web and floated wide (line 114)

The author uses inversion to show sudden, abrupt action to draw our attention to the important lines in the stanza. The web becomes a symbol of destruction, and we get a hint of the approaching doom.

4.8. The Mirror

The mirror is one of the Lady’s magical things.  It is the symbol of the Lady’s pseudo-life on the island.

And moving thro’ the mirror clear

That hangs before her all the year

Shadows of the world appear (lines 46-48)

The speaker is introduced to the mirror which is called a ‘mirror clear’. Two lines later, however, the author says that the mirror shows the ‘shadows of the world’. This idea of a clear mirror full of shadows is an oxymoron. The mirror brings the world to her, which seems to show real life outside, but it does not. The Lady of Shalott sees images, shadows, and a sort of half-world. More than that the Lady sees the world but she can’t interact with it. In that way the mirror becomes another symbol of her terrible isolation from the world.

Ironically the mirror shows the Lady of Shalott the person that will push her to activate the curse. When she catches the image of Lancelot in the mirror everything changes for her. Even a shadow of him is enough to let her know that she is determined to change her life.

The mirror cracks, the cracking mirror can be the sign of the Lady’s ‘cracking’ purity.

4.9. The Boat

A boat is an easily understood symbol. A boat usually represents a journey, a crossing, adventure, travel and exploration.  Floating down the river can be viewed as of making the journey across life. A boat is a thing which enables us to make such a journey, whether we seek love, faith, honour or have any other motivation.

Down she came and found a boat

Beneath a willow left afloat (lines 125-126)

Leaving the tower the Lady gets into a boat and floats towards Camelot, robed in ‘snowy white’. The boat has neither a sail nor oars, it loosely moves left and right. That means that the Lady does not try to resist the doom.

The reader feels as though the Lady is actually being transported from the feminine space to the masculine space in a boat. The Lady’s boat is associated with the boat of Charon carrying people from the world of living people to the world of the dead. The boat in the poem is the symbol of the Lady’s attempt to communicate with the world.

4.10. The Chain

Chains are not only the symbols of unity but also the symbols of physical bondage and slavery. It is not surprising that the author uses the chain to symbolize the Lady’s imprisonment.

She loosed the chain and down she lay (line 133)

When the Lady leaves her tower she breaks the ties with her life on the island. We feel that there is no way back for her. Broken or loosened chains symbolize freedom and the Lady’s liberation from her imprisonment.

Conclusion

• Symbolism used by the poet in The Lady of Shalott gives the reader an opportunity to feel the deeper, the inner meaning of the poem.

• Symbolism is an important aspect of the poem.  The Lady of Shalott is full of elaborate and impressive symbols which help to understand the contrast between the inner feminine world and the outer masculine world.

• The author uses symbolism not only to paint the picture but also to tie the poem together. Some of the symbols are more significant to the poem than other, minor symbols.

All the symbols help to focus the conflict between the Lady’s world of shadows

and the real world of human concern and passion.

Bibliography

1. Альфред Теннисон «Волшебница Шалотт и другие стихотворения». Перевод  английского. Составление и предисловие Г.М. Кружкова М.: «Текст» 2007

2. Лосев А.Ф. Проблема символа и реалистическое искусство.— 2-е изд., испр.— М.: Искусство, 1995.—320 с. ISBN 5-210-02247-1.

3. Толковый словарь под ред. C.И. Ожегова и Н.Ю.Шведовой М. АЗЪ 1995г. С. 928

4. Словарь символов Библиотека учебной и научной литературы http://sbiblio.com/biblio/content.aspx?dictid=115 (режим доступа 25.10.2019)

4. A Short Analysis of Tennyson’s ‘The Lady of Shalott’ https://interestingliterature.com/2018/04/a-short-analysis-of-tennysons-the-lady-of-shalott/ (режим доступа 11.10.2019)
5. Gender Roles in the 19th century. British Library

https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/gender-roles-in-the-19th-century (режим доступа 12.10.2019)

6. The Lady of Shalott by Alfred Lord Tennyson https://poemanalysis.com/alfred-tennyson/the-lady-of-shalott (режим доступа 10.09.2019)
7. The Lady of Shalott Alfred Tennyson  портал Poets.org электронный ресурс  https://poets.org/poem/lady-shalott (режим доступа 11.10.2019) 
8. Women in the Victorian Era Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_Victorian_era (режим доступа 21.10.2019)

Appendix

The Lady of Shalott

Part 1
On either side the river lie
Long fields of barley and of rye,
That clothe the wold1 and meet the sky;
And thro' the field the road runs by
   To many-tower'd Camelot;............................5
And up and down the people go,
Gazing where the lilies blow
Round an island there below,
   The island of Shalott.

Willows whiten, aspens quiver,...........................10
Little breezes dusk and shiver
Thro' the wave that runs for ever
By the island in the river
   Flowing down to Camelot.
Four gray walls, and four gray towers,..................15
Overlook a space of flowers,
And the silent isle imbowers2
   The Lady of Shalott.

By the margin, willow-veil'd
Slide the heavy barges trail'd.............................20
By slow horses; and unhail'd
The shallop3 flitteth silken-sail'd
   Skimming down to Camelot:
But who hath seen her wave her hand?
Or at the casement4 seen her stand?...................25
Or is she known in all the land,
   The Lady of Shalott?

Only reapers,5 reaping early
In among the bearded barley,
Hear a song that echoes cheerly..........................30
From the river winding clearly,
   Down to tower'd Camelot:
And by the moon the reaper weary,
Piling sheaves6 in uplands airy,
Listening, whispers "'Tis the fairy.......................35
   The Lady of Shalott."

Part 2
There she weaves by night and day
A magic web with colours gay.
She has heard a whisper say,
A curse is on her if she stay.................................40
   To look down to Camelot.
She knows not what the curse may be,
And so she weaveth steadily,
And little other care hath she,
   The Lady of Shalott...........................................45

And moving thro' 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:.................................50
There the river eddy whirls,
And there the surly village-churls,7
And the red cloaks of market girls,
   Pass onward from Shalott.

Sometimes a troop of damsels glad,......................55
An abbot8 on an ambling pad,9
Sometimes a curly shepherd-lad,
Or long-hair'd page in crimson clad,
   Goes by to tower'd Camelot;
And sometimes thro' the mirror blue.......................60
The knights come riding two and two:
She hath no loyal knight and true,
   The Lady of Shalott.

But in her web she still delights
To weave the mirror's magic sights,........................65
For often thro' 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;.........................70
"I am half-sick of shadows," said
   The Lady of Shalott.

Part 3
A bow-shot from her bower-eaves,10
He rode between the barley-sheaves,
The sun came dazzling thro' the leaves,...................75
And flamed upon the brazen greaves11
   Of bold Sir Lancelot.
A redcross knight12 for ever kneel'd
To a lady in his shield,
That sparkled on the yellow field,.............................80
   Beside remote Shalott.

The gemmy13 bridle glitter'd free,
Like to some branch of stars we see
Hung in the golden Galaxy.
The bridle-bells rang merrily.....................................85
   As he rode down to Camelot:
And from his blazon'd baldric14 slung
A mighty silver bugle hung,
And as he rode his armour rung,
   Beside remote Shalott..........................................90

All in the blue unclouded weather
Thick-jewell'd shone the saddle-leather,
The helmet and the helmet-feather
Burn'd like one burning flame together,
   As he rode down to Camelot..................................95
As often thro' the purple night,
Below the starry clusters bright,
Some bearded meteor, trailing light,
   Moves over still Shalott.

His broad clear brow in sunlight glow'd;.......................100
On burnish'd hooves his war-horse trode;
From underneath his helmet flow'd
His coal-black curls as on he rode,
   As he rode down to Camelot.
From the bank and from the river.................................105
He flash'd into the crystal mirror,
"Tirra lirra,"15 by the river
   Sang Sir Lancelot.

She left the web, she left the loom,
She made three paces thro' the room,..........................110
She saw the water-lily bloom,
She saw the helmet and the plume,
   She look'd down to Camelot.
Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror crack'd from side to side;.............................115
"The curse is come upon me," cried
   The Lady of Shalott.

Part 4
In the stormy east-wind straining,
The pale-yellow woods were waning,
The broad stream in his banks complaining,...................120
Heavily the low sky raining
   Over tower'd Camelot;
Down she came and found a boat
Beneath a willow left afloat,
And round about the prow16 she wrote............................125
   The Lady of Shalott.

And down the river's dim expanse—
Like some bold seër in a trance,
Seeing all his own mischance—
With a glassy countenance............................................130
   Did she look to Camelot.
And at the closing of the day
She loosed the chain, and down she lay;
The broad stream bore her far away,
   The Lady of Shalott.....................................................135

Lying, robed in snowy white
That loosely flew to left and right—
The leaves upon her falling light—
Thro' the noises of the night
   She floated down to Camelot:.......................................140
And as the boat-head wound along
The willowy hills and fields among,
They heard her singing her last song,
   The Lady of Shalott.

Heard a carol, mournful, holy,..........................................145
Chanted loudly, chanted lowly,
Till her blood was frozen slowly,
And her eyes were darken'd wholly,
   Turn'd to tower'd Camelot;
For ere she reach'd upon the tide.....................................150
The first house by the water-side,
Singing in her song she died,
   The Lady of Shalott.

Under tower and balcony,
By garden-wall and gallery,..............................................155
A gleaming shape she floated by,
A corse between the houses high,
   Silent into Camelot.
Out upon the wharfs they came,
Knight and burgher,17 lord and dame,
And round the prow they read her name,............................160
   The Lady of Shalott.

Notes

1....wold: Elevated tract of land without trees. 
2....imbowers: Confines to a building or bedroom.
3....shallop: Small boat with sail and/or oars. 
4....casement: Window with a frame that opens on hinges.
5....reapers: Harvesters, farmers.
6....sheaves: Cut grain stalks that are bundled and bound.
7....churls: peasants, farm workers; rude, ill-bred persons.
8....abbot: Roman Catholic priest who oversees an abbey of monks.
9....pad: path, walkway; footfall.
10..bow shot . . .bower-eaves: Distance a shot arrow travels from the edge of the roof over the lady's bedroom.
11..brazen greaves: Brass or brass-like armor pieces covering the shins.
12..redcross knight: Reference to Saint George, a Roman soldier and Christian martyr during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. After his death in AD 303, he lived on in legends as a warrior and dragonslayer and became the patron saint of England. Paintings depict him as a mounted knight. His symbol is a white flag with a red cross.
13..gemmy: Decorated with gems.
14..blazon'd baldric: Belt displaying a coat of arms (blazon). The belt is worn across the chest from a shoulder down to the opposite side and around the back.
15..Tirra lirra: Part of a song in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. Autolycus sings the song (line 9 of which says, "The lark, that tirra-lirra chants") in the opening scene of Act 4. 
16. prow: Front of a boat.
17: burgher: Merchant in a medieval town.