The Lady of Shalott Assignment
In the poem “The Lady of Shalott” by Alfred Lord Tennyson, many contradictions are introduced to force the reader to think further into the meaning behind the poem. There are times in life when to get others to truly understand what is being said one must contradict what has been previously told to the reader. This action in and of itself is a contradiction; for to achieve perfect clarity one must confuse. Tennyson uses this technique multiple times throughout the poem. “Contradiction is not a sign of falsity, nor the lack of contradiction a sign of truth.” (Blaise Pascal)
First, there is the contradiction of where she is versus what she sees. When its first heard the description of camelot Tennyson describes it is as lively and vibrant,“...And up and down the people go…”(Tennyson 6). Then, when describing the residence of the Lady of Shalott he describes it as tomblike,”...Four gray walls, and four ray towers…”(15). These two worlds are a such amazing odds with each other that it makes it
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The author is describing that which is seen through The Lady of Shalott’s mirror before she decides that it is time for a change. In order to see the big picture, one must see both the light,”...Came two young lovers lately wed…”(70) and the dark,”...A funeral, with plumes and lights…”(67). As The Lady of Shalott sees this bigger picture she realizes that where she is is not where she wants to be and what she has is not what she wants. Many people go through this process, we call it a wake up call; it usually occurs when someone has come close to death and then felt the sweet relief of life. They often feel the need to reevaluate what they have done and want to do with their lives. The Lady of Shalott does not experience near death, but in witnessing the end of one person's life and the start of another it is drawn to her attention what she is lacking in
A woman during the 16th century did not have the freedoms that a woman today enjoys. During Shakespeare’s life wives were not allowed the independence they take pleasure in today. Therefore, the role of the mother for Juliet in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is not commanding or authoritative because of the time period Shakespeare lived.
That this moment may be the most important one in her day is hinted at later in the poem where it says, "that night when Thomas rolled over and / lurched into her," she thought of "the place that was hers." I don't know if that line means that he wanted to have sex with her, or that he just bumped her and it woke her up. But either way, the poem uses the word "lurched," which has a negative conation. Whatever Thomas did bothered her, and this bothersome thing made her think of her special place. This shows that reflecting on the time she spends building her "palace" is a source of comfort for her.
The Book of the City of Ladies During the renaissance many different views of leadership surfaced. Christine de Pizan’s The Book of the City of Ladies, Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince, and William Shakespeare’s Richard III each present distinct views of what would make a good leader during the renaissance period. Shakespeare and Christine de Pizan’s views align most closely with Plato’s.
Imagine you are popular and you didn’t know you were someone that is rising again from medieval time. There were people that is protecting you from evil people. In the beginning of each chapter there is quote and it tells a little detail of the chapter like, “She knows not what the curse may be, And so she weaveth steadily, And little other care hath she, The lady of Shallot.” In chapter nine it is about when Ellie went to this party and she discover something, but she need’s to keep quiet because it may ruin someone's relationship. The Order of the Bears once predicted that King Arthur will rise again. There is also a movie about Avalon High, but it is totally different. Each character in the book is a person in medieval history. I recommend
a song. It is a very much happier poem than Morte d' Arthur. The tone
An unlikely candidate to dispute the unfair, misogynistic treatment of women by men and society, Christine de Pizan successfully challenged the accepted negative views that were being expressed about women by the all-male literary world of her era. Part of Christine’s uniqueness stems from the time in which she lived, the middle to late 1300’s. The lack of a positive female role model to pattern herself after made Christine a true visionary in the fight for the equal rights of women. Her original ideas and insight provided a new and more intelligent way to view females. Pizan’s work, The Book of the City of Ladies, provided women much needed guidance in how to survive without the support of a man.
Prior to and throughout the late middle ages, women have been portrayed in literature as vile and corrupt. During this time, Christine de Pizan became a well educated woman and counteracted the previous notions of men’s slander against women. With her literary works, Pizan illustrated to her readers and women that though education they can aspire to be something greater than what is written in history. Through the use of real historical examples, Christine de Pizan’s, The Book of the City of Ladies, acts as a defense against the commonly perceived notions of women as immoral.
Tennyson's repetition of "dreary" in association with various aspects of the poem, such as her life, the night, and the day, all build up to Mariana's claim, "I am very dreary" (81). This makes obvious to the reader the extent of Mariana's loneliness so has no mended her state of mind. As in The Lady of Shalott, the fluctuations of the general repetitions play an important role in demonstrating the major theme of loneliness in the poems. In this sense, repetition in poetry is a form of torture. In Mariana's case, her repetition of "dreary" and "aweary" is perhaps Tennyson's way of brainwashing the reader into relating to the loneliness of the artist. Similarly, in the Lady's case, the repetition of "Shalott" and "Camelot" show distinct barriers between the artist's world and the real world, in order to infect the reader's mind with feelings of loneliness from isolation. That said, repetition in these two poems acts as a self-fulfilling prophecy which causes the reader to believe anything that is extensively repeated.
She started to see beautiful things from her window that represented her new life. She wasn’t used to seen those things like this when her husband was around, because she was submissive to her husband and trapped. Another part of the story that i found ironic was when Kate Chopin started to describe the scene outside the window. She described the outside as “The delicious breathe of rain, the notes of a distant song, countless sparrows were twittering and patches of blue sky”. At this point is when i realized that she wasn’t sad for her husband and this was a sign of a new life.
The Taming of the Shrew, written by William Shakespeare, is historical proof that flirting and temptation, relating to the opposite sex, has been around since the earliest of times. Because males and females continue to interact, the complications in this play remain as relevant and humorous today as they did to Elizabethan audiences. This is a very fun play, full of comedy and sexual remarks. It's lasting impression imprints itself into the minds of its readers, for it is an unforgettable story of sex, flirting, and happiness. The Taming of the Shrew remains as relevant today because of its relation to the age-old story of the battle of the sexes and dynamics of marriage, as well as the woman's struggle with both of these.
When the narrator first encounters the girl, his friend's older sister, he can only see her silhouette in the “light from the half-opened door”. This is the beginning of his infatuation with the girl. After his discovery, he is plagued by thoughts of the girl which make his daily obligations seem like “ugly, monotonous, child's play”. He has become blinded by the light. The narrator not only fails to learn the name of his “girl”, he does not realize that his infatuation with a woman considerably older than himself is not appropriate. He relishes in his infatuation, feeling “thankful [he] could see so little” while he thinks of the distant “lamp or lighted window” that represents his girl. The narrator is engulfed by the false light that is his futile love.
One of the most notorious topics of interest in the works of Shakespeare is the role women receive in his plays. The way Shakespeare wrote his plays, women were very submissive to men and had no will and choice of their own. Women were extremely reliant upon the men in their lives, believing that they were inferior and thus following their desire for the women’s lives. This included that marriages were usually arranged by a powerful male, instead of giving the woman the opportunity of choosing marriage for love. It is not surprising that Shakespeare portrayed women in a way that was familiar to him and the time era in which he lived. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Taming of the Shrew, both focus on the development of love and not, with
Much of the same rapport between spouses has been carried on in one form or another from Shakespeare’s time into the modern day. Although the domestication of women has been altered to now include both sexes the concept itself is still in practice. Common in the time of Shakespeare, men performed the labor outside of the home to support the wife and their children. This led to the woman’s role of subservience to her spouse as well as her role as caretaker not only for her children but for her spouse as well, striking a type of balance between the two. Modern-day domestication includes similar roles between spouses, but not necessarily tasks performed solely by one or the other. Today it has become a requirement due to financial restrictions
William Shakespeare’s comprehensive imagery and details contribute to a perfect representation of Elizabethan court life. Strangely, little is known about the true identity of the prolific writer. Through countless conspiracy theories and historians digging through records and examining every word used, Shakespeare is simply invisible. Historians believe identifying Shakespeare’s characters in his masterpieces will bring them a step closer to his true identity. Trouble is, Shakespeare’s characters also are conflicting and this creates a never-ending cycle of theories. Since most sonnets, which were read in sequence, have been thought to be autobiographical, Shakespeare’s Sonnets create a bit of hope. In Shakespeare’s Sonnets, the Dark Lady
The use of imagery is displayed heavily throughout the story to reflect the feelings of Mrs. Mallard following the news of her husband’s abrupt death. The setting outside her window is very descriptive and allows the audience to connect this imagery to the future that Mrs. Mallard is now seeing opening for her. As she is looking out of the window in her bedroom, she sees “trees that were all aquiver with new spring life” as well as sparrows “twittering in the eaves” (Chopin). This represents the joy and realization of a new life for Mrs. Mallard. She can now start over as a free woman instead of living as a man’s property trapped inside the house; this is where the woman’s place was during this period while only