Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Tennyson had to overcome a lot of downfalls in her life. His father was disowned by his father and could not inherit the title that he was supposed to. His family was also cursed with problems with addiction. One of his brothers was an alcoholic, one addicted to opium, and he had a serious problem with depression. Then more problems came when his friend and mentor, Arthur Henry Hallam, died. Since he was a very quite man, his emotion had to come out through his poetry.

The poem that intrigued me the most by Tennyson was “The Lady of Shalott.” I could feel the emotion of Tennyson coming through while I was reading this poem. I really felt for the lady when she was pining over Sir Lancelot.

The first part introduces the lady and her circumstances. She watches people walking to Camelot from her tower where she is a weaver. No one really even knows that she is in this tower and I could feel a sense of longing for the outside world through the writing even though the lady did not long to leave yet. It seems like the outside area is being put up on a pedestal like through the lines “Willows whiten, aspens quiver,/ Little breezes dusk and shiver/ Thro’ the wave that runs for ever/ By the island in the river.”

The second part starts with her weaving and hearing “A curse is on her if she stay”. At this point she is unaware of what is about to happen to her because she does not know any better. Since she has never had to feel the emotions of the outside world she does not know what this means. She always sees different types of people, but the first time she is affected is when she sees two lovers that have just been married. This is the first time that she speaks in the poem, “I am half sick of the shadows”. I think this is the first time that she begins to realize that she does not have a good life and wants to be free of this tower.

She sees Sir Lancelot for the first time in the third part. This is when she finally realizes that she really is cursed and she knows exactly what this curse is. This is the first time she experiences some kind of lust. I think she believes that she is in love with him which I do not believe. I think that she has never felt sexually attracted to anyone before and the feeling of lust was overwhelming for her.

The final part of the poem shows the lady’s demise. After seeing Sir Lancelot, she could no longer work and she had to lie down. While she was lying there, I felt like she was dreaming of the way she wanted her life to be and at that moment all she wanted to do was be one of those people who walked to Camelot. This was the only thing she knew because the only thing she would see was people walking there from her tower. The poem ends by Lancelot saying “She has a lovely face;/ God in his mercy lend her grace,/ The Lady of Shalott”. This is very ironic because he is the one trying to save her for eternity but he was also the reason for her death. This poem shows that no one can be saved from love and pain. It is natural for all people to feel lust for others and want to be loved.