The Lady of Shalott

AO3 Exploration and analysis of key language

features and structural devices. Perceptive evaluation of how author’s techniques

shape meanings. AO4 Perceptive consideration of different

interpretations of the text with evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses.

Clear and detailed evidence of confident personal response with excellent selection of supportive references.

Like many other famous poems, this one deals (on one level) about writing poetry. Tennyson's son Hallam quoted his father as saying it's about:

‘the new-born love for something, for some one in the wide world for which she had been so long excluded, takes her out of the region of shadows into that of realities. ‘

Hallam also said:

The key to this tale of magic symbolism is of deep human significance and is to be found in the lines

Or when the Moon was overhead,Came two young lovers lately wed;"I am half sick of shadows," said    The Lady of Shalott.

This poem employs metaphors of weaving, singing, and reflection (the "mirror" and "shadows") -- what significance do those metaphors have in establishing the poem's meaning?

Discussion

Everyone will be given a discussion cards

You will have time to prepare your response

You will then share the question on your card with others, along with your response. The people in your group will also give their response- record all thoughts and intepretations for whole class discussion

Discussion Questions What is important about the title? What are the conflicts in "The Lady of Shalott"? What types of conflict

(physical, moral, intellectual, or emotional) do you see in this poem? How does Lordy Tennyson reveal character in "The Lady of Shalott"? What are some themes in the poem? How do they relate to the

development of the poem and characters? What are some symbols in "The Lady of Shalott"? Is the Lady consistent in her actions? Is she a fully developed

character? How? Why? What is the central/primary purpose of the poem? Is the purpose

important or meaningful? How essential is the setting to the poem? Could the poem have taken

place anywhere else? What is the role of women in the poem? What effect do the poem's rhyme scheme, metre, and presentation of

imagery have on the themes it pursues? How do these elements help move the plot forward?

What else do we need to know?

How can we find out?