Essay Sample on How is The Lady of Shalott Presented

Part I

In Part I of The Lady of Shalott, the Lady is presented as a cheerful, mysterious and magical creature. The list of rhetorical questions, ‘But who hath seen her wave her hand? Or at the casement seen her stand? Or is she known in all the land, The Lady of Shalott?’ are questioning the existence of the Lady. This therefore implies that she’s never been seen, or heard of, before.

The quote in Stanza 4, ‘Only reapers, reaping early, In among the bearded barley, Hear a song that echoes cheerly’ indicates that the reapers can hear the Lady singing. Her singing is described as ‘cheerly’ which suggests she is content, cheerful.

In addition, the quotation ‘Listen, whispers ‘Tis the fairy Lady of Shalott’, which is spoken by the reapers, implies that she is beautiful, pure, dainty and even magical. However, being described as a fairy would also connote a sense of mystery, suggesting that she may not even exist.

Part II

In the 1st Stanza of Part II of The Lady of Shalott, the Lady is presented as a content character. 

The quote ‘There she weaves by night and say, A magic web with colours gay.’ indicates that she is happy, due to the fact she is using ‘colours gay’, meaning cheerful and bright. 

Furthermore, the quote ‘She knows not what the curse may be, And so she weatheth steadily, And little other care hath she, The Lady of Shalott’ brings two thoughts to mind. The first, referring to how the Lady is ‘weaveth steadily’. The adverb ‘steadily’ implies that she is confident, steady in her ways. The second, referring to the phrase ‘And little other care hath she’. This suggests that the Lady isn’t bothered by the cure, that she is untroubled.

However, in the Stanzas 3 & 4, the Lady is presented as quite the opposite: miserable, isolated and imprisoned. 

Tennyson describes the Lady’s view out of the mirror. He repeatedly refers to ‘the surly village churls’, ‘the red cloaks of market girls’, ‘a group of damsels glad’, ‘an abbot on an ambling pad’, ‘a curly shepherd lad’, ‘a long-haired page in crimson clad’ and (In Stanza 4) ‘two young lovers lately wed’, which implies that everyone else is together and life is leaving the Lady behind. This accentuates the Lady’s loneliness, making her feel excluded and isolated. Not only saddening her further, but this conveys a sense of envy within the Lady. She is jealous of others’ content, carefree lives and wishes she could experience it for herself.

The phrase ‘mirror blue’, from Stanza 3, hints at the intense misery that the Lady is experiencing. The mirror, which used to be a positive, significant, object in her life, now has a negative effect on her. 

The quote ‘The knights come riding two and two: She hath no loyal knight and true, The Lady of Shalott’ emphasises the Lady’s feelings of loneliness and isolation. The Lady longs for a lover, however she is imprisoned and unable to go outside.

In Stanza 4, the quote ‘And in her web she still delights, To weave the mirror’s magic sights, For often thro’ the silent nights, A funeral, with plumes and lights’ indicates two things. One, the verb ‘delights’ indicates that the Lady still feels some happiness, but only when weaving what she sees in the mirror. Two, the ‘funeral, with plumes and lights’ highlights the fact that death is inevitable, which leaves her yearning to escape.

Finally, the quote ‘‘I am half sick of shadows’, said The Lady of Shalott’ suggests that the Lady is imprisoned, and so dearly desires to be free.

Part III mainly focuses upon Sir Lancelot, therefore, it doesn’t have much to contribute towards my impression of how the Lady of Shalott is presented.

Part VI

In Part IV of The Lady of Shalott, the Lady is presented as a ghostly, eerie yet graceful figure.

The quotations ‘Like some bold seer in a trance’ and ‘With a glassy countenance’ indicate that the Lady is barely alive, on the verge of death. It also indicates that the Lady’s facial expression is one of emptiness and lifelessness, almost predicting her inescapable death.

In Stanza 5, the Lady is described as ‘Dead-pale between the horses high, Silent into Camelot’, which suggests that she is pale and ghostly, lying silently in her boat.

In Stanza 3, the Lady is described as ‘Lying, robed in snowy white, That loosely flew to left and right’ which also suggests that she is pale and ghostly. However, the adjective ‘snowy’ promotes a sense of purity and gracefulness. 

Lastly, the quote ‘They heard her singing her last song’ implies that, indeed, she will die. Despite this, she is singing. In my opinion, this implies that the Lady is at peace, almost as if she’s prepared to pass away.

Conclusion:

Overall, the Lady of Shalott is presented as an enigmatic, elegant woman, before she meets her tragic end.