The Lady Of Shalott -

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unknown to the reader whether the Lady of Shalott is forced to be in this situation or chose to live this life of isolation. Reasons for a self inflicted seclusion might be homophobia, the fear of rejection by the exterior world, or simply a lack of interest for it. However, the Lady of Shalott is quite content with what she has and what she does. Her life of art in front of the loom and the crystal mirror is all she needs singing her ”…song that echoes cheerly…” (30) throughout the land. She is as innocent as a careless child giving little thought about her future. The Lady of Shalott has no urge to leave her own interior world because she is not aware of any other options. Little is known about her outside “…many-towered Camelot.” (5) and apparently she intends to keep it that way:
But who hath seen her wave her hand ?
Or at the casement seen her stand ?
Or is she known in all the land,
The Lady of Shalott ? (24-27)
By now the ...

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question that now arises is: Why did she not leave the loom at this point of time? A solution to this problem might be that she simply had nowhere to go, no prospect or person she could turn to.


“She hath no loyal knight and true, The Lady of Shalott.” (62-63)
That is why “I am half sick of shadows, …” (71) clearly marks the turning point of the poem.
Prior to this incident another interesting topic comes up. For the first time in the poem the curse of unknown origin and consequence is mentioned.
“She has heard a whisper say, A curse is on her if she stay To look down to Camelot.” (39-41)
This vary vague and mysterious description ...

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