Sara Valenti, Double Degree, Group B.

The Lady of Shalott

PART I

ON either side the river lie

Long fields of barley and of rye,
That clothe the wold 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 imbowers
          The Lady of Shalott.
By the margin, willow-veil'd,
Slide the heavy barges trail'd   20

By slow horses; and unhail'd

The shallop flitteth silken-sail'd
          Skimming down to Camelot:
But who hath seen her wave her hand?
Or at the casement seen her stand?   25

Or is she known in all the land,

          The Lady of Shalott?
Only reapers, 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 sheaves in uplands airy,
Listening, whispers ''Tis the fairy   35

          Lady of Shalott.'
PART II

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,

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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,
And the red cloaks of market girls,
          Pass onward from Shalott.
Sometimes a troop of damsels glad,   55

An abbot on an ambling pad,

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 III

A bow-shot from her bower-eaves,

He rode between the barley-sheaves,
The sun came dazzling thro' the leaves,   75

And flamed upon the brazen greaves

          Of bold Sir Lancelot.
A red-cross knight for ever kneel'd
To a lady in his shield,
That sparkled on the yellow field,   80

          Beside remote Shalott.

The gemmy 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 baldric slung
A mighty silver bugle hung,
And as he rode his armour rung,

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          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,' 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 IV

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 prow she wrote  125

          The Lady of Shalott.

And down the river's dim expanse—
Like some bold seer 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

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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,

Dead-pale between the houses high,
          Silent into Camelot.
Out upon the wharfs they came,
Knight and burgher, lord and dame,  160

And round the prow they read her name,

          The Lady of Shalott.
Who is this? and what is here?
And in the lighted palace near
Died the sound of royal cheer;  165

And they cross'd themselves for fear,

          All the knights at Camelot:
But Lancelot mused a little space;
He said, 'She has a lovely face;
God in His mercy lend her grace,  170

          The Lady of Shalott.'

1. Summarize:
 Lines 1-9 (70 words)
In that lines the author describes the other side of the river, where fields
of barley and rye lie and cover the earth, meeting the sky. Through this
fields run the pat that brings to Camelot, the town of the several towers,
and people go up and down, looking to an island below this scenario,
where lilies blow, that island is Shalott.

 Lines 10-18 (70 words)

A scenario of pale willows and quivering poplars. Through the wave that
always flow, come mild breeze and shiver at the dusk, that cross the

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island and come to the river that flow toward Camelot. Four grey walls
and four grey towers overlook a space of flowers and, was the spaces
where the Lady of Shalott isolated lived.

 Lines 28-36
Only the reapers, that are in the fields of bearded barley for the early
harvest, could hear a song that echoes cheerily and clearly, winding form
the river down to Camelot of the several towers. At the moonrise a tired
reaper, while piling sheaves in the airy uplands, listening to the melody,
whispers. “This is the fairy, the Lady of Shalott”.

 Lines 37-45
There she weaves day and night a magical canvas in bright colors.
She heard form a whisper that if she turns her sight in Camelot direction,
she’ll be cursed. The Lady of Shalott doesn’t know what the curse might
be and so she weaves constantly, and she has few other worries.

 Lines 64-72
But in her canvas she still enjoys to weave the magical visions that
comes through the mirror that she uses to gaze at Camelot. In quiet
nights, a funeral, for example, with plumes and lights, and the music that
comes from Camelot. Also in that time in which the moon was up in the
sky and two young lovers just married came, “I’m half sick of shadows”
said the Lady of Shalott.

 Lines 73-81
Sir Lancelot, at an arrow shot (not so far) from her sitting room, rode
through the barley bundles. The sun shone through the leaves and ignited
upon is brazen greaves. A knight of the red cross (a crusader) knelt to a
lady forever protected by her shield, shining in the golden field next to
the distant Shalott.

 Lines 82-90
The precious bridle shone free as those stars we see hanging in the
golden galaxy, bells rang merrily as Sir Lancelot rode down to Camelot,
shoulder-strap-on a powerful silver clarinet, his armor wavered in the
ride next to the distant Shalott.

 Lines 91-99
In the Sir Lancelot riding towards Camelot under the unfolding blue sky,
the saddle of gold and leather shone and the helmet and plume of it
shone like a single flame. Thus, in the purple night, it shone under the
starry sky, like a bright-tailed comet, under the still Shalott.

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 Lines 100-108
His high and clear forehead shone in the sun, trotting on the shiny
hooves of his horse, and as he rode fast toward Camelot, black culs
escaped from his helmet. So continued Sir Lancelot, with his reflection
on the crystal mirror, into the river, from the bank, singing “Tirra lira” to
the river

 Lines 109-117
 So the lady of Shalott left the web and the loom, and quickly, in just
three steps, she passed through her room and turned to Camelot, seeing
the lily pads, the helmet and the plume of Sir Lancelot. In doing this the
web flew out unfolding itself, the mirror shattered from side to side: "
The curse is come upon me!” cried the Lady of Shalott.

 Lines 118-126
In a stormy eat-wind that bent the pale yellow wood, the Lady of Shalott
struggled to stay straight. The wide stream complained in is bed and
heavy rain fell over Camelot of the many towers. Going down towards
the river, the lady found a boat, under a willow tree that was still afloat,
and picked it up and wrote "The Lady of Shalott" on the prow.

 Lines 127-135
So the Lady of Shalott, like a daring soothsayer ecstatic and in a trance,
through the narrow space of the river and seeing in front of her a tragic
destiny, but with her fearless face, looked far towards Camelot. Only
when the day was coming to the end she lied down and left the
handcuffs, letting the current drag her.

 Lines 136-144
Lying and dressed in a snow-like white, the lady of Shalott, as the leaves
fell on her, overflowing from the edges of the boat, so, in this way, she
flowed in the sound of the night towards Camelot. And as her bow
pierced fields and hills, was heard the last melody of the Lady of Shalott
singing.

 Lines 145-153
A song was heard, a sad and holy song, sung loudly and then very low,
that continued until her blood froze very slowly and her eyes was
completely closed, fixed in the towers of Camelot. Because until there
the Lady of Shalott came with the tide, from the first houses to the door,
and singing her song was dead.

 Lines 163-171

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Everyone was wondering, "Who is she?" "What is here?", the sound of

royal festivities died in the nearby illuminated palace, the knights of
Camelot made the sign of the cross out of fear. But Sir Lancelot made
himself a small space in the crowd and said "she has a so charming face,
God with his misremembrance has given us the grace of having the Lady
of Shalott here".

2. Describe the main themes of the poem (600 words)

The poem tells the story of the Lady of Shalott, locked in a tower on an island
near the famous site of the Arthurian cycle, the kingdom of Camelot. Thus
imprisoned in the tower, almost a myth or a legend for the other inhabitants (in
fact, only the reapers could hear her singing during the morning harvest), though
not knowing what might happen to her, a curse prevented her from looking
directly at Camelot. So, she admired the outside through the reflection of a
mirror, admiring shadows, and reproducing the images on coloured webs that
she wove all day. Until, one day, she saw in the mirror the reflection of a knight
glittering in the wheat, with is shining image reflected in the river: Sir Lancelot.
The image of the man was so overwhelming that she instinctively turned
towards the window, immediately the canvas unfolded outside the tower and the
mirror broke apart, the fear that the curse had been lifted convinced Lady Shalott
to run away from the tower. So, in a terrible wind that bent the trees, she found a
boat and she sailed along the river tenaciously towards Camelot, only at dusk,
after had sing the last melody, exhausted, she let her force flow out of her, and
her body, with leaves falling on it, be carried away by the river.
From the account of the events told in the poem it is evident how the main
themes of the poem are those canonically exposed in literature, in particular in
poetry, typical of medieval epic (as the previously mentioned cycle Arthurian,
but also that Carolingian). Themes such as love, magic and beauty; the
protagonists are the knights (in fact Sir Lancelot is described as a crusader), the
girls to be saved and, also, the divine mercy (this is evident in the conclusion of
the poem, through the words of Lancelot). But in this poem are added new
elements to the typical one already described, for example one big and important
theme of the poem is the freedom, the free will, the Lady of Shalott chose in first
person to look at Sir Lancelot, against her imprisonment both conceptual, by a
curse that she didn’t chose and neither know what can cost to her, and physical,
in a tower. Another thing connected with the theme of freedom and free will is
that she decided to run away herself, she is not saved by a knight, she chose
Lancelot and not vice-versa.
Also, we ca consider as a main theme, the death, the death of the soul that she
was living imprisoned in the tower (verse 71) living her life through the
reflection of a mirror, scared by a thing she neither knows, and the real death
that she, in the end, founded running away from her destiny (her death, with the
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boat lead to Camelot by the flow of the river, remembered me a lot about the
death of Ofelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet).

3. Describe the style of the poem (300 words)

The poem is structured in a ballad of 19 stanzas, each stanza has in it 9 verses

with a fixed rhyme scheme (A-A-A-A-B C-C-C-B). In many of the stanzas, the
last line reads, 'The Lady of Shalott.', this probaly for some different stilistical
reasons, to make the ballad more musical through the repetition, and, more, to
underline the importance of the protagonist and make te reader empatize with
her.