Throughout part one, stanza one to four, there were many imagery used to help create a clear vision for all the readers. For example, a metaphor, such as, "Long fields of barley and of rye, that clothe the wold and meet the sky" suggested that the fields cover their world. It creates a wonderful image.
This section of the poem also dealt with what the Lady of Shalott appears to the outer world. It showed that the Lady was isolated with the rest of the world by "four grey walls, and four grey towers".
The part two of the poem started to portray the Lady's world. It introduced the image of the Lady waiting for someone to rescue her from the curse that was upon her, “She has heard a whisper say, a curse is on her if she stay, to look down to Camelot”, she was probably waiting for Camelot to save her from the misery of loneliness. The Lady, who was not to intermingle with the society, yet, she waited for Camelot. Camelot was not some person but the society itself as whole, which remained in the Lady’s mind as the only hope of freedom but turns out that the only hope for her freedom was nothing but death itself.
Was the Lady in her senses? Was she not aware of her reality? In the poem, the Lady’s inner thoughts were not stated. The image of imprisonment was there, as she was not allowed to go out or meet other people, as she remained cursed. During her imprisonment, she kept herself busy with weaving which seemed unending until she passed away.
The Lady had no choice and she was not aware of that, she still fantasized about being rescued from isolation. The image of her life being violated was another cruel part of the poem. “She loosed the chain, and down she lay; the broad stream bore her far away, The Lady of Shalott,” this quote suggested the image of the ‘acceptance of death’. So, paradoxically, absolute freedom was death in the poem.
