The Lady of Shalott

--Alfred Lord Tennyson

02 Marks

1. Describe the landscape at the outset of the poem.

There was a river. There were long fields of barley and rye on the both sides of the river.

There was a road. The road runs through the fields to the city of Camelot. There are

many-towers. There is an island in the river where lilies grow. This is the landscape,

described at the first stanza of the poem.

2. Mention the names of two trees in the poem.

Willow, Aspen

3. "That clothe the 'wold'." - What clothed the 'wold'? What is the meaning of the word

- 'wold'?

Barley and rye had clothed the wold. Here the word - 'wold' - means the open fields on the

both sides of the river flowing down to Camelot.

4. "...Hear a song that echoes cheerly" - Who hear a song? Who used to sing the song?

The reapers in the fields by the river hear a song. The fairy lady of Shalott used to sing the

song.

5. How is the life of the reapers?

The reapers used to come in the field to do their work. They reap barley in the field. They

pile sheaves in the land. After working the whole day they go back home being weary. They

used to hear the song of the Lady of Shalott. This is how the reapers lead their life.

6. "There she weaves by night and day" - What does she do by night and day?

The Lady of Shalott weaved a magic by night and day. She weaved her magic web with

colours gay before a transparent mirror.

7. "A curse is on her...." - What is the curse?

An inscrutable whisper has informed the Lady of Shalott about the curse. It says that if the

lady looks down to Camelot, a malison (curse) will corrupt her. This is the mysterious curse.

The Lady of Shalott has no clear knowledge about the curse but she knows it well that if she

does not follow the condition, she will have to tolerate the consequence of the curse.

8. "shadows of the world appear" - Where did the shadows appear? What is meant by

the word-shadows'?

The shadows appeared in the mirror of the Lady of Shalott. Here the word 'shadows' - mean

the activities of the outer world. The activities of the real world were reflected in the mirror.

This reflection of the real world is called "shadows'.

9. What did the Lady of Shalott see in the mirror?

The Lady of Shalott saw the highway that goes down to Camelot, the river, the peasants, the

market girls, a troop of beautiful girls, an abbot on a horse, a long-haired servant, the knights,

funeral procession, married young lovers.

10. "I am half-sick of shadows" - Who said this and Why?

The Lady of Shalott said this. She said this because she became impatient on watching the

reflection of the real world but not the real, colourful things of the world. She did not accept

her lonely existence denied of all the things of reality.

11. "He rode between the barley-sheaves" - who is 'he' here?

Here he' refers to Sir Lancelot. Sir Lancelot was a brave knight. According to folk mythology

he was a swordsman and jouster in the kingdom of King Arthur,

12. Describe the appearance of Sir Lancelot.

Bold Sir Lancelot rides on a horse. The bridle bells of the horse ring. He is armed with a

shield, a blazoned belt, a silver bungle, a feathered helmet. His body is well-built. The conl-

black curls of his hair are also found. His movement seems as if a star moves across the sky.

He sings – 'Tirralirra'. This is how Tennyson describes the appearance of Sir Lancelot,
13. "The curse is come upon me" - Who uttered the words? When did the incident

happen?

The Lady of Shalott uttered the words. On watching the reflection of Sir Lancelot in the

mirror, the Lady of Shalott moves to watch the brave knight physically leaving the

mysterious web and the mirror in her chamber, She looked down to Camelot. At this time the

mirror cracked from side to side and the web flew out. At this very moment she understood

that the curse has fallen on her.

14. "She look'd down to Camelot" - What happened after this activity?

The Lady of Shalott looked down to Camelot. Then she felt that the anticipated curse had

fallen on her because the magical web had vanished and the mirror had cracked from side to

side. After that she came down and caught a boat. She wrote - "The Lady of Shalott' - on the

prow. Then she died on the boat singing a song.

15. What is carol?

Generally.carol means a kind of song having religious value. It is sung during Christmas

season. Again carol also refers to ballad. Here carol means a song.

16. How did the Lady of Shalott die?

The Lady of Shalott wrote her name on the prow of a boat. The countenance of the Lady

became hard. She looks as if she is a seer. She seems to be in a magical trance. She

understood that horrible outcome will come upon her. At this moment she looks the chain of

the boat and she starts singing a carol. Her blood slowly loses its warmth. Her eyes become

dark. Then she died on the boat.

17. "And round the prow they read her name" - Who are 'they' here?

The boat on which there was dead the body of the Lady of Shalott came near a tower. At that

time people gathered to watch the body. These people are referred to as 'they'. There were
knight, burgher, lord, and dame. They all came to watch the situation. They were the residents

of the city of Camelot.

18. "But Lancelot mused a little space" – What did Lancelot muse? What is the irony

here?

Sir Lancelot mused that the dead lady had a lovely face. God has given her gracefulness out

of His mercy. The irony lies in the fact that the lady of Shalott has broken the condition of her

life for watching Sir Lancelot but Sir Lancelot had no knowledge of this fact. Her body has

come near Sir Lancelot but she does not touch Sir Lancelot.

19. What type of poem is "The Lady of Shalott"?

A lyrical ballad

20. How many versions of the poem have?

The poem has two versions. The first version was published in 1832 but the last version was

published in 1842. Whereas the first version consists of 20 stanzas, the 1842 version has 19

stanzas. The ending is different in 1842 version. Such is made to match the Victorian morals.

21. Name two poems of Tennyson where he has dealt with Arthurian legend.

"Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere" and "Galahad"

22. What is the source of "The Lady of Shalott?

It is said that the cycle of Arthurian legend will influence the world till the doomsday.

Tennyson was also influenced by the legend of Arthur. The poet has gone through the

Arthurian legend of Elaine of Astolat. But he has changed the plot to some extent.