Poetry Wednesday - Lady of Shalott

The above picture is taken from the wikipedia- Painting by John William Waterhouse's The Lady of Shalott, 1888 (Tate Gallery, London)

Lady of Shalott- PART IV- by Lord Tennyson

In the stormy east-wind straining,
The pale yellow woods were waning,
The broad stream in his banks complaining,
Heavily the low sky raining
       Over tower’d Camelot;
Down she came and found a boat
Beneath a willow left afloat,
And round about the prow she wrote
       The Lady of Shalott.

And down the river’s dim expanse
Like some bold seër in a trance,
Seeing all his own mischance–
With a glassy countenance
       Did she look to Camelot.
And at the closing of the day
She loosed the chain, and down she lay;
The broad stream bore her far away,
       The Lady of Shalott.

Lying, robed in snowy white
That loosely flew to left and right–
The leaves upon her falling light–
Thro’ the noises of the night
       She floated down to Camelot:
And as the boat-head wound along
The willowy hills and fields among,
They heard her singing her last song,
       The Lady of Shalott.

Heard a carol, mournful, holy,
Chanted loudly, chanted lowly,
Till her blood was frozen slowly,
And her eyes were darken’d wholly,
       Turn’d to tower’d Camelot.
For ere she reach’d upon the tide
The first house by the water-side,
Singing in her song she died,
       The Lady of Shalott.

Under tower and balcony,
By garden-wall and gallery,
A gleaming shape she floated by,
Dead-pale between the houses high,
       Silent into Camelot.
Out upon the wharfs they came,
Knight and burgher, lord and dame,
And round the prow they read her name,
       The Lady of Shalott.

Who is this? and what is here?
And in the lighted palace near
Died the sound of royal cheer;
And they cross’d themselves for fear,
       All the knights at Camelot:
But Lancelot mused a little space;
He said, ‘She has a lovely face;
God in his mercy lend her grace,
       The Lady of Shalott.’

For the first three parts of this Poem and for a Biography of Lord Alfred Tennyson Go here

This poem made me cry the first time I read it.  I think Lord Tennyson wrote beautiful poetry. 

I realize not everyone is as fascinated as I am for Arthurian Legends. Sir Lancelot, was my crush when I read the Story of Arthur.   So anything and everything to do with Lancelot I would read. I am glad he isn’t alive, it would be very embarrassing for me(giggling) if he were.   So here is the story of the Lady of Shalott, that I found on the Net. There are two versions to the story.  I am presenting it so that those reading this poem enjoy the story behind the Poem.  It was loosely based on the Arthurian legend of Elaine of Astolat.  She was also known as Elaine the White and Elaine the Fair, she is the daughter of Bernard of Astolat.

 

 In Malory's 15th century Le Morte d'Arthur, Elaine's story begins when her father Bernard of Astolat organizes a jousting tournament, attended by King Arthur and his knights. While Lancelot was not originally planning to attend, he is convinced otherwise and visits Bernard and his two sons before the tournament.

 

While Lancelot is in her family's household, Elaine becomes enamoured of him and begs him to wear her token at the coming tournament. Explaining that Guinevere would be at the tournament, he consents to wear the token but says that he will have to fight in disguise so as not to be recognised. He then asks Bernard if he can leave his recognizable shield with him and borrow another. Bernard agrees and lends him the plain-white shield of Torre, Elaine's brother.

 

Lancelot goes on to win the jousting tournament, still in disguise, fighting against King Arthur's party and beating forty of them in the tournament. He does, however, receive an injury to his side from Bors's lance, and is carried off the field by Lavaine to the hermit Sir Baudwin's (an ex-Round Table knight) cave. Elaine then urges her father to let her bring the wounded Lancelot to her chambers, where she nurses him. When Lancelot is well, he makes ready to leave, and offers to pay Elaine for her services; insulted, Elaine brings him his shield, which she had been guarding, and a wary Lancelot leaves the castle, never to return but now aware of her feelings for him.

 

Ten days later, Elaine dies of heartbreak. Per her instructions, her body is placed in a small boat, clutching a lily in one hand, and her final letter in the other. She then floats down the Thames to Camelot, where she is discovered by King Arthur's court. Lancelot is summoned and hears the contents of the letter, after which he explains what had happened. Lancelot proceeds to pay for a rich funeral and Elaine's mass-penny, at her request.

 

The other story talks of a curse. Elaine was cursed to never look at the world directly but to weave a tapestry of all that she views via a reflection on the Mirror.   So she sits by her castle window weaving the tapestry while singing songs with her beautiful yet haunting voice.  Everyone in the village knew who she was but no one really saw her.

 

One day she spies Sir Lancelot riding alone into the town. She is so enamoured by his Handsomeness and Grace, that she steels a Direct view of him through her window.  The mirror shatters, the tapestry flies off on the wind,  a sudden storm arise and the Lady feels the power of her curse.

 

The lady leaves her castle, finds a boat, writes her name on it, gets into the boat, sets it adrift, and sings her death song as she drifts down the river to Camelot. The locals find the boat and the body, realize who she is, and are saddened. Lancelot prays that God will have mercy on her soul.

 

 Source : wikipedia and a few other websites.

Sans Souci's Poetry Wednesday Tour starts here