Wednesday, March 01, 2006

The Lady of Shallot
Tennyson


His broad clear brow in sunlight glow'd;
On burnish'd hooves his war-horse trode;
From underneath his helmet flow'd
His coal-black curls as on he rode,
As he rode down to Camelot.
From the bank and from the river
He flashed into the crystal mirror,
"Tirra lirra," by the river
Sang Sir Lancelot.

She left the web, she left the loom,
She made three paces through the room,
She saw the water-lily bloom,
She saw the helmet and the plume,
She look'd down to Camelot.
Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror crack'd from side to side;
"The curse is come upon me," cried
The Lady of Shalott.

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 around about the prow she wrote
The Lady of Shalott.

And down the river's dim expanse
Like some bold seer 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 darkened 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 around 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 crossed 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."

This is just 8 verses of the original 20. There was a later version written by Tennyson with 19 verses.

9 Comments:

At 3/01/2006 1:27 PM, Blogger Janelle said...

lovelyyy. ha whenever i read that poem i always think of anne of green gables cause she was so infatuated with it :D hurray
um i was gonna call u today, but i don't know if you're home. meh i'll just try calling u anways.

 
At 3/01/2006 2:49 PM, Blogger Elysha said...

same here, janelle!!
I love it.

 
At 3/01/2006 6:10 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

ahh yeah anne of green gables, when i was little id go around just saying " the lady of shalot" because saying shalot under my breath made me feel pretty.

 
At 3/01/2006 7:37 PM, Blogger Lara said...

haha. yes, anne of green gables. oh the funny girl...
drowning is one of the most terrible deaths I'd think.
when I read the whole poem it was twilightzone-like.
lol brittni. you didnt/dont need to. :)
janeller, you didn't call. but I guess its just as well because I'm swamped with work. :\
swamped. brilliant adjective.
xo to all.

 
At 3/01/2006 8:54 PM, Blogger Elysha said...

aww brittni that's adorable :D you're the cutest thing ever

 
At 3/02/2006 10:07 AM, Blogger Joel f said...

Lara, you should listen to Loreena McKennitt sing that poem--she's uniquely suited for the atmosphere and tragedy. Whenever I read or hear the poem I think of her singing it, because it's just so.

 
At 3/02/2006 10:47 AM, Blogger Janelle said...

yea i know i didn't call. thats what i figured that u were wayy busy anyways and stuff. but thats ok maybe i'll call today sometime i dunno. today is such a horrible day. i'm so bored and i feel like crap. i haven't seen chels in two weeks and just thinking about that makes me sad.

 
At 3/02/2006 2:28 PM, Blogger Tala Azar said...

its so prettttyyy :)

 
At 3/02/2006 6:27 PM, Blogger Lara said...

Loreena McKennitt...thanks joel, I'll check her out sometime.
yep, pretty :)

 

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