“The Lady of Shallot” by Alfred Lord Tennyson is a narrative poem, which simply means it’s a poem that tells a story. It is made up of verses, which are single lines, and stanzas, which are groupings of lines.

Tennyson divided the entire poem into four parts that transition through the plot, beginning with the exposition, moving onto the inciting incident, up through the climax, and back down to its resolution.

Tennyson draws from Arthurian legend but builds on it at the same time. Indeed, his leading lady is unique to the poem. She is a symbolic representation of an artist, perhaps even Tennyson himself.

Literal Interpretation

PART I: EXPOSITION – THE BACKGROUND

Here Tennyson presents Camelot as the setting for his poem. In keeping with the traditions of Arthurian legend, it is an idyllic kingdom with a beautiful natural landscape divided in half by a flowing river. The mysterious Island of Shalott and its tall grey tower stand strong against the current, presenting an image that is at once part of, yet separate from everything else. It is believed that a fair damsel is imprisoned in the tower, but none have visited it to be sure. Only fieldworkers can attest to her existence because they have heard her singing in the early mornings.

PART II: INCITING INCIDENT – THE PROBLEM

In this section, Tennyson takes us inside the tower and reveals the Lady of Shalott. He tells us she is cursed to live there and weave a never-ending tapestry of everything going on in the world outside. As such, she cannot participate in what she sees. To make matters worse, she does not even get to look at the world directly through the window. Instead, she must look at it through a mirror. The images then, beautiful as they may be, are really no more than shadows. She delights in them nonetheless, only occasionally feeling left out when she watches happy couples in love.

PART III: CLIMAX – THE BREAKING POINT

The difficulty of being set apart from the world reaches a breaking point when the Lady of Shalott sees an image of the handsome Sir Lancelot riding across her mirror. She is so captivated by him that she notices every last detail of his person. In fact, Tennyson uses four whole stanzas to describe his appearance. In the fifth and final stanza of this section, the Lady of Shalott cannot take it anymore. She has to see him directly—not as a reflection or a shadow, but as a real-life person. No sooner does she turn away from the mirror and look at him through the window, then her tapestry disappears, and she is doomed to death. “The curse is come upon me,” she cries.

PART IV: RESOLUTION – THE “FIX” (OR LACK THEREOF)

Knowing her end is imminent, the Lady of Shalott descends the tower and finds a boat to serve as her funeral barge. She lies down, placing a name plate upon her chest, and floats down the river toward Camelot. All of nature is wrought with grief as she slowly dies. A storm rises up; the trees turn pale; and the banks complain with its crashing waves. All the while, the Lady of Shalott sings her last song, marked with sadness and grief. When her boat finally runs ashore, the people discover her dead body and learn her identity. Sir Lancelot, ever the heart-breaker, remarks how lovely she is and asks God to bestow a blessing upon her.

Figurative Interpretation

As if its literal meaning is not fascinating enough on its own, Tennyson has written much symbolism into his poem. He tells us (between the lines) that the Lady of Shalott symbolizes the artist.

Both are tasked with the special job of representing Goodness, Beauty, and Truth in the world. The Lady of Shalott does so through her tapestry, while other artists might do so through a variety of mediums like drawing, writing, and singing. Obviously, some artists are better than others, and the best ones are able to look at the world with objectivity. Put differently, the better an artist is able to see things through the eyes of God—our first artist and ultimate judge—the better he is able to represent it in his work.

Herein lies a central point. Goodness, Beauty, and Truth are not relative terms or values, nor are they subjective. Likewise, they do not change with the times like fashion trends. They are objective virtues, meant to be obtained in absolute perfection.

The Lady of Shalott knows this. Thus, to be a good artist and maintain her objectivity, she must be set apart from everyone and everything. The moment she engages the world directly by looking out the window, she forms her own subjective view, which is entirely focused on Sir Lancelot. She no longer notices the willows, or the aspens, or the little breezes. Nor does she see Sir Lancelot in his fullness, meaning what his soul looks like on the inside. Instead, she fixates on his handsome good looks, while failing to unmask his vices.

Though we may feel happy for her that she is free from the tower, she has become imprisoned anew with her own subjectivity. Tennyson tells us that as she floats down the river, “Her eyes were darkened wholly.” Thus, she loses her vision, both literally and figuratively, and dies.

One must wonder if Tennyson felt a little like the Lady of Shalott. Perhaps we all do at times. Indeed, my students often find similarities with their own lives. They note how music and movies and other realities of contemporary society can weaken their ability to see the difference between right and wrong, virtue and vice. The more they are exposed to certain things, the less they are able to judge them fairly.

Each of us, artists in our ways, continually struggle to reconcile the pressures of the world and the demands of our unique callings. Unlike the Lady of Shalott, however, we are not doomed, for we have the blessing of free will to navigate our way.