The poem "The Lady of Shalott" is a beautiful story in its own right, but because of its simple and unrealistic plot, it lends itself to multiple interpretations as allegory or metaphor. Depending on which interpretation one considers, the Lady's death could represent unrequited love, the ostracism that follows breaking from societal expectations, or the failure of artistic genius.
One way to interpret the story that stays closest to the original legend on which it...
The poem "The Lady of Shalott" is a beautiful story in its own right, but because of its simple and unrealistic plot, it lends itself to multiple interpretations as allegory or metaphor. Depending on which interpretation one considers, the Lady's death could represent unrequited love, the ostracism that follows breaking from societal expectations, or the failure of artistic genius.
One way to interpret the story that stays closest to the original legend on which it is based is to consider the "curse" that rests upon the Lady of Shalott as the lack of fulfillment that results from unrequited love. The Lady of Shalott, in the source legend Tennyson drew on, is known as Elaine of Astolat, who nurses Sir Lancelot to health after he receives a wound. She falls in love with him, but he rejects her because he loves Guinevere. In the legends, Elaine dies from a sickness she contracts because of her grief over Lancelot, so one could interpret the Lady of Shalott's death as a metaphor for the death of a desired relationship, or unrequited love.
Another interpretation of the poem is to consider that the Lady is a metaphor for the Victorian woman. She is required to occupy herself with domestic pursuits, represented by weaving. Indeed, the Lady is not allowed to engage in the life beyond her "four gray walls and four gray towers," as the Victorian woman's sphere was considered to be the home, not the public square. In this allegorical representation, Sir Lancelot represents not love, but the opportunity to follow interests and talents that break from society's expectations. When the Lady leaves her loom and looks to Camelot, failing to be satisfied with the role defined for her, she activates the curse. For Victorian women who followed their own talents outside the home and trespassed against their society's norms--examples would include George Sand and George Eliot, two women authors who wrote under men's names and pursued their own preferred lifestyles--the death caused by the curse could be ostracism and rejection by friends, acquaintances, and society at large.
Another way many have viewed the poem is as a metaphor for the artist's life. The Lady is an artist, weaving the shadows she sees in her mirror into her tapestry. Artists, the theory goes, must work in seclusion to create their best work, isolating themselves from society and devoting themselves to their art. If they allow themselves to become distracted by the real things they represent in their art and to engage with the real world, they will lose the ability to create. The Lady's death, in this case, would represent the failure of the artist to perform to the full level of his or her artistic genius--it would be the loss of the artwork, music, or poetry that he or she would otherwise have produced.
These are three possible metaphorical interpretations of the Lady of Shalott's death.
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