The Lady Of Shalott

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1842

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Poem Analysis

Themes

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Further Reading & Resources

Related Poems

"Sir Galahad" by Alfred Lord Tennyson (1842)

“Sir Galahad,” like the revised version of “The Lady of Shalott,” was published in Tennyson’s 1842 volume of poetry. It shares several other traits with “The Lady of “Shalott.” Both are centered around iambic tetrameter, though “The Lady of Shalott” features more variation, while “Sir Galahad” alternates regularly between iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter. Both poems draw from Arthurian legends and use this subject matter as allegorical commentary on Victorian society. Tennyson also uses Arthurian characters and themes to explore his conception of the supernatural, and both poems incorporate magical elements that are never directly explained. The subject matter of “Sir Galahad” is more violent than that of “The Lady of Shalott,” but, ironically, its rhyme scheme and meter are more playful, lending the poem a powerful juxtaposition between theme and form.

"In Memoriam A. H. H." by Alfred Lord Tennyson (1850)

“In Memoriam” is another of Tennyson’s most renowned poems; it contains the often-quoted lines “’Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all.” The poem is an elegy for Tennyson’s close friend Arthur Henry Hallam, who died at age 22 of a cerebral hemorrhage. Like “The Lady of Shalott,” “In Memoriam” features iambic tetrameter, though “In Memoriam” is composed in four line “ABBA” stanzas. Read in contrast with “The Lady of Shalott,” “In Memoriam” is an example of Tennyson at the height of his lyrical prowess. He incorporates subject matter from romantic, spiritual, philosophical, and historical sources into a profound meditation on love and loss.

"Stanzas from the Grande Chartreuse" by Matthew Arnold (1855)

Matthew Arnold was a contemporary of Tennyson and another stalwart of Victorian poetry. “Stanzas from the Grande Chartreuse” was inspired by Arnold’s trip to a monastery in the French Alps. Like Tennyson, Arnold combines narrative landscape description, philosophical contemplation, and dramatic monologue to wrestle with popular Victorian themes. “Stanzas from the Grande Chartreuse” is also written in iambic tetrameter, with six-line stanzas and an “ABABCC” rhyme scheme. While Arnold is typically classified as a Victorian poet and “Stanzas from the Grande Chartreuse” is an example of his earlier work, it also exhibits a proto-Modernist sense of personal self-doubt, in contrast with Tennyson’s more classical Victorian style.

Further Literary Resources

"Death and the Maiden: The Lady of Shalott and the Pre-Raphaelites" by Christine Poulson (1996)

In her essay “Death and the Maiden,” Poulson discusses “The Lady of Shalott” through the lens of feminist literary theory. She traces the Lady of Shalott’s condition and actions as symbols for Victorian feminine isolation, vulnerability, and sexual liberation. Poulson compares the Lady of Shalott with similar literary figures, saying “for in death [she] has become a Sleeping Beauty who can never be wakened, symbols of perfect feminine passivity.” Poulson’s essay, along with others in its collection, Reframing the Pre-Raphaelites: Historical and Theoretical Essays, also contextualizes Tennyson’s poem in a tradition of Victorian artwork focused around Arthurian subject material.

"Nice Threads: Tennyson’s Lady of Shalott as Artist" by Thomas L. Jeffers (2008)

Jeffers’ essay is an exploration of the theme of artistic isolation and poetic language in “The Lady of Shalott.” It examines Tennyson’s attitudes toward genius and sublime works of art in their historical context, and analyzes his expression of these attitudes in “The Lady of Shalott.” Jeffers’ work is particularly useful in understanding Tennyson’s themes in their historical context, as the social role and conception of artists has changed dramatically over time.

"The Source of Tennyson’s the Lady of Shalott" by L. S. Potwin (1902)

Potwin’s article, published in 1902 in Modern Language Notes, examines Tennyson’s specific sources for “The Lady of Shalott.” Tennyson’s version of Sir Lancelot in the poem differs from common contemporary British portrayals of the same character, and Potwin therefore contends that Tennyson’s story is based on the Italian novella Donna di Scalotta. He also contemplates the poem’s meaning and context as a romance.