Power Pyramid This pyramid shows the people in power in historical medieval England.

1. Draw a pyramid like the one above using the same headings.
2. In your groups, find examples of each group of people in the poem and write
them on your pyramid under the correct headings.
Example: Peasants village churls, damsels …
 Background to the poem – The Lady of Shalott

King Arthur

The story of King Arthur has grown and changed over the years. One of the first books to mention
Arthur was written in the year 830 by a monk named Nennius. Nennius wrote a book called the
History of the Britons (Historia Brittonum), and in it, he mentions that a king named Arthur
commanded a number of battles. Nennius even lists these battles that he claimed were led by
Arthur.

Another author in the 11th century, Geoffrey of Monmouth, wrote a book called The History of the Kings
of Britain. In this book, Monmouth described Arthur’s whole life from his birth right up to his death.
One of the most famous books about King Arthur was published in 1485 and is called Le Morte D’Arthur
(The Death of Arthur). It is a collection of Arthur stories that were translated and combined by Thomas
Malory. Malory took a number of French stories from the thirteenth century (1201–1300) as well some
English stories and reworked them into one big story which covers Arthur’s birth, his life, and his death.
Most of the stories you hear about Arthur are based on this book.

Arthur’s Birth

Arthur’s father was Uther Pendragon, the king of Britain. He was a good king and for most of his reign,
the country was at peace, but Uther was worried because he didn’t have a child to take over his reign.
But Uther has a child with Igraine. To keep a promise Uther made to Merlin earlier, Uther and Igraine
gave Arthur to Merlin and they never saw him again. Merlin gave Arthur to a man named Sir Ector to
raise but Merlin never told Ector (or Arthur) that the baby was Uther’s son. Uther died shortly after giving
up his son, and since Uther did not have an heir (that anyone knew about), fighting broke out in the
country as everyone tried to become the new king.
The New King

Arthur was not treated well at Sir Ector’s, particularly by Sir Ector’s son, Sir Kay, who teased him
constantly. When Arthur was older, Merlin began to visit Arthur and teach him. The main thing Merlin
tried to teach Arthur was that knowledge was more important than force. Merlin hoped that Arthur would
become a wise king who would bring together all the various groups fighting for the crown.
With all the fighting that was going on, the English nobles went to Merlin to ask for help. Merlin placed a
sword in an anvil and then placed them on a rock. Merlin told everyone that whoever could pull the sword
out of the anvil would be the new king. Many people tried to pull the sword from the stone, but no one
could do it.
When Arthur was fifteen years old, Merlin took him to visit the sword in the stone. There was a large
crowd gathered around the sword and after many people (including Sir Kay) had tried to remove the
sword, Arthur took his turn. He easily removed the sword and was pronounced the new king.

Guinevere
After one of Arthur’s battles, he wanted to rest. Even though Merlin tried to stop him, Arthur stopped for
the night at a local castle. While he was sleeping, he heard the sound of a harp being played. He followed
the music and found Guinevere. Arthur thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and
he was determined to marry her. Merlin warned the king that Guinevere would cause Arthur a lot of
problems but he didn’t care. Arthur asked Guinevere’s father if Arthur could marry Guinevere and was
told yes.

Excalibur
Merlin was worried about Arthur and since he had broken his old sword during the previous battle,
Merlin decided to help Arthur get a new sword, Merlin took him to a magical lake with an island called
Avalon in the middle. The Lady of the Lake lived on this island (there were actually two women with the
title Lady of the Lake according to Malory) and she gave Arthur a magical sword. The sword could cut
through steel and iron and the scabbard (the place you put the sword when you weren’t using it) would
protect Arthur from wounds. Merlin warned Arthur to always keep the scabbard by his side.

The Round Table

As a wedding present, Guinevere’s father, Lodegreance, gave Arthur a round table. The table had actually
been a gift to Lodegreance from Arthur’s father, Uther. Arthur was pleased with the gift because it had
enough space for all of his knights and it allowed them to discuss things as equals. Each seat had the
name of one of Arthur’s knights on it except for one seat which was nameless. This seat became known
as the Siege Perilous. This seat was for the greatest knight in the world and if anyone who was unworthy
sat there, that knight would die.

The Disappearance of Merlin

Merlin came to love Nenive, another Lady of the Lake, and he constantly followed her around. Nenive
did not appreciate Merlin’s attention so she made a plan to get rid of him. She pretended to be in love
with Merlin so that he would teach her his magic. Once she learned his magic, she took him for a walk in
the forest where they came to a cave. Nenive convinced Merlin to enter the cave first and as soon as he
did, she placed a magic spell on the cave entrance so that Merlin could never leave.

Lancelot
With Merlin gone, Nenive became Arthur’s main advisor. Nenive asked Arthur to do her a favour. She
wanted Arthur to train a young man by the name of Lancelot. Arthur was impressed with Lancelot and
immediately agreed. Lancelot became the Queen’s Champion and it was now his job to protect Guinevere
and defend her honour. Lancelot’s was very good at fighting and he soon became not only Arthur’s best
knight but also his best friend.
One day, Lancelot disappeared and was gone for a number of years

Elaine
Elaine, the Lady of Shalott, is in love with Lancelot, hence the references to light and heat. When she
first sees him, it is the reflection of her magic mirror through which the Lady of Shalott is able to view the
world. She has been cursed to stay in her tower, only able to view life through this mirror and to live
vicariously by weaving the sights she sees. The sight of Lancelot is so dazzling that he takes her breath
away like "a bow-shot from her bower-eaves" as "He rode between the barley sheaves" into view. The
sun shining on his armor reflects just how dazzling his beauty is. The plume of his helmet looks "like one
burning flame", perhaps mirroring the flame within her heart. To her, he is like "some bearded meteor,
burning bright". Sadly, the curse laid on her will not allow her to leave her castle without dying, but she
so longs to have Lancelot recognize her that she "came and found a boat" to have "The broad stream
[bear] her far away...down to Camelot". When the boat arrives, she is dead. Lancelot notices that "she
has a lovely face" and prays that "God in his mercy [may] lend her grace", but will never know that
Elaine loved him.

Sir Lancelot in the poem ‘The Lady of Shalott’

In section 3 of the poem ‘The Lady of Shallot’ the ‘Lady’ sees Sir Lancelot riding on the road beside the
river towards Camelot. His appearance is the first thing that has ever made the ‘Lady’ look directly out of
the window, instead of through the mirror like she usually did. In the verse Tennyson creates a strong
impression of Sir Lancelot. At the beginning of the verse, Sir Lancelot is seen to be a warm and positive
character who brings hope. The impression of joy is expressed by Tennyson’s use of ‘sunny’ adjectives.
The sentence beginning ‘The sun came dazzling’ is one example of this.
The sun coming out is seen to be a good sign that can bring hope, as Sir Lancelot does. The sun is a
symbol of warmth and when something dazzles it can stun and amaze people, as Sir Lancelot seems to
amaze the ‘Lady’. Although Tennyson is not necessarily describing Sir Lancelot, the fact that the sun
comes dazzling out as Sir Lancelot rides past implies that the sun could be a metaphor for Sir Lancelot.
Later on in the verse the words ‘jewell’d shone’, and ‘sunlight glow’d’ are used by Tennyson. These
again give a sparkling, warm impression of Sir Lancelot.
The word ‘jewell’d’ can also give an attractive impression of Sir Lancelot, as sparkling and jewels
describe objects which are pleasant to look at. They are associated with valuable objects, such as
jewellery or diamonds. Towards the end of the verse Sir Lancelot ‘flashed’ into the crystal mirror. This
shows the attractiveness and the fact that Sir Lancelot could be a special character. When something
flashes it produces light suddenly. This could be referring to the fact that Sir Lancelot has suddenly
appeared into the ‘Lady’s’ life but has created such a strong, unforgettable impression.
Tennyson also implies that Sir Lancelot is a brave, soldierly character. He is described as ‘bold Sir
Lancelot’. Bold is a term used for somebody who is willing to face danger with an impression of
fearlessness. This suggests that Sir Lancelot is daring and has confidence when facing danger. He is also
described as ‘a redcross knight’. A red cross knight is ultimately a knight who has achieved something
during his time as a knight, in some quest. This means that Sir Lancelot has accomplished tasks, which
could again prove his soldierly characteristics.
Another method Tennyson uses to portray Sir Lancelot’s bold character is through appearance. The
phrases ‘broad-clear brow’ and ‘coal black curls’ give a sense of confidence and apparentness. Sir
Lancelot can easily be seen and noticed, and the adjectives show the boldness. ‘Coal black’ is often used
to describe a black which has a slight gleam, as Sir Lancelot appears to. Another impression Tennyson
gives of Lancelot is a mystical, shining impression. Tennyson’s use of mystical, astronomy-related words
portray a magical side to Sir Lancelot.
The phrase ‘stars we see’ is describing Sir Lancelot’s horse’s bridle, but can still be connected to Sir
Lancelot. Stars are a point of light in the night sky, and can be seen as something you should follow if you
come across. This can refer back to the ‘lady’, and be suggesting that Sir Lancelot could be her ‘star’. In
addition the phrases ‘starry clusters’ and ‘bearded meteor’, refer to the sky that Sir Lancelot is riding
beneath, also show a magical side to the poem. Starry clusters are stars that appear to look near to each
other, and can represent a magical night, where something special could happen.
Tennyson compares Sir Lancelot’s passing through the night with a bearded meteor moving through the
‘still night’ He makes this comparison as meteors are also known as shooting stars, which appear to have
a long flowing tail and ‘beard’. They can be seen as magical and lucky, and Tennyson is using the
atmosphere around Sir Lancelot to create an impression of Sir Lancelot. The sounds described in the
verse also help to create the strong impression of Sir Lancelot. Tennyson uses merry and happy sounds to
create a sense of celebration and joy. The bells rang merrily’ is something that can be connected to
weddings, Christmas, and other joyous occasions. ‘A mighty silver bugle hung’ describes a brass
instrument, which was hanging from Sir Lancelot’s baldric. Bugles are used for military signals, and are
very simple instruments. However the fact that the bugle is ‘mighty’, describes it as grand and impressive.
Later in the verse, Sir Lancelot sings “Tirra lirra”. This is a merry tune, which is something that people
could sing at a happy moment in their lives.
The ‘Lady’ finds this tune attractive as it is the final thing that persuades her to look out of the window. In
conclusion Tennyson used lots of strong adjectives and different metaphors to create the strong
impression of Sir Lancelot. Although not all of the adjectives directly described Sir Lancelot they
described the atmosphere and environment around him which could be one way that Tennyson created his
strong impression of him. Sir Lancelot is portrayed to be a magical, bold, unforgettable, joyous, warm and
special character, through many different methods.