Seminar 2:

Through Rose-Tinted Glasses: Victorians and Medievalism Seminar Instructor Drd. Fabian Ivanovici

Alfred Tennyson, “The Lady The sheepbell tinkles in her ear. As often thro' the purple night,
of Shalott” (1833) Before her hangs a mirror clear, Below the starry clusters bright,
Reflecting tower'd Camelot. Some bearded meteor, trailing
And as the mazy web she whirls, light,
Part I
She sees the surly village churls, Moves over green Shalott.
On either side the river lie
And the red cloaks of market girls
Long fields of barley and of rye,
Pass onward from Shalott. His broad clear brow in sunlight
That clothe the wold and meet the
sky; glow'd;
Sometimes a troop of damsels glad, On burnish'd hooves his war-horse
And thro' the field the road runs by
An abbot on an ambling pad, trode;
To many-tower'd Camelot;
Sometimes a curly shepherd lad, From underneath his helmet flow'd
The yellow-leaved waterlily
Or long-hair'd page in crimson His coal-black curls as on he rode,
The green-sheathed daffodilly
Tremble in the water chilly clad, As he rode down from Camelot.
Goes by to tower'd Camelot: From the bank and from the river
Round about Shalott.
And sometimes thro' the mirror He flash'd into the crystal mirror,
blue 'Tirra lirra, tirra lirra:'
Willows whiten, aspens shiver.
The knights come riding two and Sang Sir Lancelot.
The sunbeam showers break and
two:
quiver
She hath no loyal knight and true, She left the web, she left the loom
In the stream that runneth ever
The Lady of Shalott. She made three paces thro' the
By the island in the river
room
Flowing down to Camelot.
Four gray walls, and four gray But in her web she still delights She saw the water-flower bloom,
To weave the mirror's magic sights, She saw the helmet and the plume,
towers
For often thro' the silent nights She look'd down to Camelot.
Overlook a space of flowers,
A funeral, with plumes and lights Out flew the web and floated wide;
And the silent isle imbowers
And music, came from The mirror crack'd from side to
The Lady of Shalott.
Camelot: side;
Or when the moon was overhead 'The curse is come upon me,' cried
Underneath the bearded barley,
Came two young lovers lately wed; The Lady of Shalott.
The reaper, reaping late and early,
'I am half sick of shadows,' said
Hears her ever chanting cheerly,
Like an angel, singing clearly, The Lady of Shalott. Part IV
In the stormy east-wind straining,
O'er the stream of Camelot.
Part III The pale yellow woods were
Piling the sheaves in furrows airy,
A bow-shot from her bower-eaves, waning,
Beneath the moon, the reaper
He rode between the barley- The broad stream in his banks
weary
Listening whispers, ' 'Tis the fairy, sheaves, complaining,
The sun came dazzling thro' the Heavily the low sky raining
Lady of Shalott.'
leaves, Over tower'd Camelot;
And flam'd upon the brazen Outside the isle a shallow boat
The little isle is all inrail'd
greaves Beneath a willow lay afloat,
With a rose-fence, and overtrail'd
Of bold Sir Lancelot. Below the carven stern she wrote,
With roses: by the marge unhail'd
A red-cross knight for ever kneel'd The Lady of Shalott.
The shallop flitteth silken sail'd,
To a lady in his shield,
Skimming down to Camelot.
That sparkled on the yellow field, A cloudwhite crown of pearl she
A pearl garland winds her head:
She leaneth on a velvet bed, Beside remote Shalott. dight,
All raimented in snowy white
Full royally apparelled,
The gemmy bridle glitter'd free, That loosely flew (her zone in sight
The Lady of Shalott.
Like to some branch of stars we see Clasp'd with one blinding diamond
Hung in the golden Galaxy. bright)
Part II
The bridle bells rang merrily Her wide eyes fix'd on Camelot,
No time hath she to sport and play:
As he rode down from Camelot: Though the squally east-wind
A charmed web she weaves alway.
And from his blazon'd baldric slung keenly
A curse is on her, if she stay
A mighty silver bugle hung, Blew, with folded arms serenely
Her weaving, either night or day,
To look down to Camelot. And as he rode his armour rung, By the water stood the queenly
Beside remote Shalott. Lady of Shalott.
She knows not what the curse may
be;
All in the blue unclouded weather With a steady stony glance—
Therefore she weaveth steadily,
Thick-jewell'd shone the saddle- Like some bold seer in a trance,
Therefore no other care hath she,
The Lady of Shalott. leather, Beholding all his own mischance,
The helmet and the helmet-feather Mute, with a glassy countenance—
Burn'd like one burning flame She look'd down to Camelot.
She lives with little joy or fear.
together, It was the closing of the day:
Over the water, running near,
As he rode down from Camelot.
 Seminar 2:
Through Rose-Tinted Glasses: Victorians and Medievalism Seminar Instructor Drd. Fabian Ivanovici

She loos'd the chain, and down she
lay;
The broad stream bore her far
away,
The Lady of Shalott.
As when to sailors while they roam,
By creeks and outfalls far from
home,
Rising and dropping with the foam,
From dying swans wild warblings
come,
Blown shoreward; so to
Camelot
Still as the boathead wound along
The willowy hills and fields among,
They heard her chanting her
deathsong,
The Lady of Shalott.
A longdrawn carol, mournful, holy,
She chanted loudly, chanted lowly,
Till her eyes were darken'd wholly,
And her smooth face sharpen'd Knight, minstrel, abbot, squire, and
slowly, guest.
Turn'd to tower'd Camelot: There lay a parchment on her
For ere she reach'd upon the tide breast,
The first house by the water-side, That puzzled more than all the rest,
Singing in her song she died, The wellfed wits at Camelot.
The Lady of Shalott. 'The web was woven curiously,
The charm is broken utterly,
Under tower and balcony, Draw near and fear not,—this is I,
By garden wall and gallery, The Lady of Shalott.'
A pale, pale corpse she floated by,
Deadcold, between the houses
high,
Dead into tower'd Camelot.
Knight and burgher, lord and
dame,
To the planked wharfage came:
Below the stern they read her
name,
The Lady of Shalott.
They cross'd themselves, their stars
they blest,

Venues for discussion:

1. Elements of medievalism. Characters, settings, language.

2. Knights and ladies. Unfulfilled love and womanly obedience.
3. (Magical) imagery of life and death.

Essay writing hints:

1. Who is the story about? Who are the characters and what are they
doing? What happens in the text? When might the story take place,
and where? What style is the poem written in? What kind of
atmosphere does the poem have? How does the poem’s language
contribute to the theme?
2. Why does the poet discuss these themes? Why did he choose these
characters and this way of writing? Why did he choose medieval
myths and a medieval setting?

Exercise: Extract keywords, quotes, fragments relevant to the subject you

want to discuss in your essay. Group them in line with the questions above
(1), and motivate your choice (2).