The quote contains very strong imagery. The reader can almost hear the ringing of the glass as the mirror shatters and splinters. This makes the reader feel like they are present at the scene and makes the poem seem spookier, as popular superstition says that if a mirror cracks then it is bad luck.
Tennyson uses other effects in the Lady of Shallot. For example in this quote, ‘Heard a carol, mournful, holy, Chanted loudly, chanted slowly’, he uses both onomatopoeia and assonance. The word ‘chanted’ is the example of onomatopoeia because it is a word similar to a sound. Tennyson uses this as it creates imagery again making the reader feel like they are present at the scene. Also the word chanted sounds quite sad and holy because it is often linked to praying or medieval singing in churches. The sad atmosphere that is created means the reader prepares for something bad such as dead or disaster. By repeating the word the reader pays more attention because they realise that it must be important if it is said twice. Also assonance is used; this is the ‘ou’ sound in the words ‘mournful’, ‘loudly’ and ‘slowly’. It is said in quite a deep tone and is a long sound, both of these mean that again a sad atmosphere is created.
The religious atmosphere is added to by the words carol and holy. You automatically think of religion and worship when you hear the word carol and the reader will probably realise that it is Christianity because in Victorian Britain (the era in which the Lady of Shallot was written), the UK was very much a Christian country. Tennyson uses the word mournful to give a clear hint that the Lady of Shallot is going to die. It is a very important word in the poem because without it the meaning may not be as clear. Even though he uses the word when talking about the song she was singing the reader will associate the word with death. This makes you think that she knew she was dying however if he had not used this word this effect may not be so. When thinking about whether Tennyson chose this word especially the reader may also wonder whether the Lady of Shallot meant to be mournful or whether it was just a coincidence.
The whole quote makes the reader assume the Lady of shallot is singing to herself. He does this by using the word ‘loudly’. The word is connected to things that somebody does when they are on their own, for example if someone is alone in a house they might turn the radio or television on because it is keeping them company and they don’t feel alone. However there could be a different interpretation and it is about the word ‘heard’. It makes the reader think that somebody was listening to her singing. It makes the reader think that maybe the Lady of Shallot wants somebody to hear her or perhaps just somebody overheard. Tennyson could have meant the person to be himself because he is writing the poem so it is like he is with her the whole time. However Tennyson could also be talking about the reader because, as I have already mentioned, the quote makes the reader feel like they can actually hear the song, Tennyson could have picked up on this and used the word ‘heard’. The reader might think Tennyson was talking about another character, possibly Lancelot, because Tennyson has not really interacted with or talked about the reader anywhere else in the poem.
Another quote from the poem is ‘Four grey walls and four grey towers, Overlook a space of flowers’. The main thing the reader thinks of is that the Lady of Shallot is unhappy in her tower. The reader thinks this for many reasons, one being that word grey is often associated with boring or dull. This means the reader assumes the place in which the Lady of Shallot lives is boring. The boring theme is continued by using the phrase ‘four walls’, because it sound quite regular and not daring or interesting. The second part of the quote, ‘Overlook a space of flowers’ makes her room sound dreary because if you compare the grey room or an outside space with flowers, then the outside space sounds much more appealing. This is because the word ‘space’ makes the room seem cramped and poky, without this word the room wouldn't have been compared and therefore you would have no idea of its size. Also the fact that there are flowers makes you think it is sunny and bright, because plants need sunlight and this makes the room, again, seem dull.
However this quote could also be positive. It may be implying that the tower had a nice view and even though the inside was boring, the Lady of Shallot could look in her mirror and see the lovely sight. This interpretation is possible but it is unlikely and it is more likely that Tennyson is describing how the curse has affected the Lady of Shallot’s accommodation. The negative image is likely to be caused by the curse because it sounds like the outside space and castle are close together because the word ‘overlook’ is used and if the castle overlooks the area then they must be near. If they are near each other then if is not going to be something natural, such as the weather, because they will be the same. That means there is another reason; if the poem had been written recently then one explanation could be that there was a block of high rise flats blocking the light to the tower. However as it was written in Victorian times, high rise flats didn’t exist at the time and so that is an impossible possibility. So the most likely explanation is the curse. This makes the reader wonder what the effects of the curse were on the Lady of Shallot’s life. They may think about whether the curse followed her everywhere and everywhere she went she turned miserable or whether it was just in the particular tower and the space below had just been put there to tease her.
In the poem Tennyson uses rhyme to add to the atmosphere and aid the performance. Rhyme improves the reader’s recital of the poem because rhyme adds to the poem’s rhythm and means the performer can predict the flow. They flow can be predicted because the rhyme pattern is regular which means it is the same in all the verses. If they know what is going to happen next it will improve the presentation and mean any embarrassing stumbles over words are avoided. Also rhyme keeps each line catchy and simple. The poem will flow better and could increase understanding because certain words are stressed and emphasised more than others. In the Lady of Shallot the rhyme scheme is A, A, A, A, B, C, C, C, B.
Rhythm is used to keep the poem flowing and sometimes to support or boost understanding. It improves understanding because sometimes the feelings in a poem are portrayed by the way it is performed. For example if a poem is read slowly in a sad tone then the poem is likely to have a sad subject, like death or illness. The Lady of Shallot has many emotions but I think it should be read at a slow pace because it is quite complex and has quite a lot of miserable and gloomy parts. Also if you say a poem at a slower speed it creates more tension because the person listening wants to find out what is going to happen next and wants to find out more.
The Lady of Shallot is a ballad so the structure is partly like a story and partly like a poem. It is in stanzas (verses), which are a property of a poem, which separates the text making it easier to process rather than having long pieces of text. The poem is separated into parts which are similar to chapters; they rise to a climax before they end. Each one develops the story further and separated the different subjects. For example, part 2 is about what she can see through her mirror, where as part 3 is about Sir Lancelot and the beginning of her escape. This could be confusing if it was one part because the action would be constant. However as it is in parts it makes more sense because the reader is almost encouraged to stop after each part and reflect of the work that they have just read. This gives the reader time to process what they have read and make sure they understand, before continuing. It may also be confusing because some parts may be similar and easy to mistake. Plus it keeps the reader interested.
The Lady of Shallot has quite an individual style. It is like a story but yet it is a poem. It has chapter like sections that follow the journey of one woman. It was written in 1842 so it is quite old fashioned, not only the language, but also the general opinions of people of the time are portrayed in the poem. What I mean by this is because it was written in Victorian times; it reflects some of the common views from those times. For example some parts of it could be thought of as sexist. The points are
- The Lady of Shallot was expected to stay in the tower, which is similar to the expectation that a woman should stay at home.
- She was expected to sew a web, similar to the expectation that women should be housewives.
- She was the one that died for a man, maybe a subtle way of showing that a man is better and more important that a woman.
I think Tennyson uses poetic devices well in the poem, the Lady of Shallot. He uses them to imply many things and from analysing different quotes I have realised he uses many more subtle ones than first recognisable
Targets:
Use key vocabulary
Try to explore how text informed by time and place.
