The Lady Of Shalott Essay

Anne Sexton was a junior-college dropout who, inspired by emotional distress, became a poet. She won the Pulitzer Prize as well as three honorary doctorates. Her poems usually dealt with intensely personal, often feminist, subject matter due to her tortured relationships with gender roles and the place of women in society. The movies, women’s magazines and even some women’s schools supported the notion that decent women took naturally to homemaking and mothering (Schulman). Like others of her generation, Sexton was frustrated by this fixed feminine role society was encouraging. Her poem “Cinderella” is an example of her views, and it also introduces a new topic of how out of touch with reality fairy tales often are. In “Cinderella”, Anne Sexton uses tone and symbolism to portray her attitude towards traditional gender roles and the unrealistic life of fairy tales.

Elements of the medieval romance are evident in the movie First Knight. As such Chivalry is clearly evident through the action of Lancelot in the First Knight. This is shown when he goes out to rescue Lady Guinevere from the ambush in the forest and from Malagant castle where she is being held captive after being kidnaped in Camelot, Therefore, this is a clear depiction of chivalry in where the knight goes out to save the damsel in distress from danger. Another act of chivalry is when Lancelot embarks into the gauntlet which is a contraption that test one’s courage, bravery, and skill to be able to pass. Therefore, Lancelot goes through the gauntlet without any protection to display his skill and bravery to impress Guinevere. Consequently,

a song. It is a very much happier poem than Morte d' Arthur. The tone

“Lanval” by Marie de France and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” by Geoffrey Chaucer are both medieval romances that put a knight on trial by a queen’s court for his treatment of a lady. Throughout the course of this paper, readers will get the opportunity to travel back in time to the Middle Ages and that during the twelfth-century women were superior to men, specifically in their relationships and marriages; however, today men dominant individuals, especially in working world.

Marie is truly one of kind poet who displays a unique sense of awareness and ability in helping us understand what things were like in the twelfth century. Even though the heart of her poems is about courtly love, the way she depicts the characters is special in a sense that she can achieve a lot more than one would imagine. Examples of this can be seen in her poems, The Lay of the Honeysuckle and The Lay of the Nightingale, especially when we keen on the characters of these poems.

In the lais “Lanval” the Fairy Queen radiates prosperity and authority, but uses her beauty to captivate and draw in the attention of Lanval. Instead of seeking him out in the forest, she sends her messengers to summon him while she waits enticingly in a sexual pose wearing only sheer clothing. He is seduced by her; therefore she remains in control with all the power. The Fairy Queen tells Lanval,

Patriarchal culture has dominated society throughout history. Males have control in many aspects of life and women have continued to fight for equal rights in society. There are many ways women have contributed to the fight for equality; some more physical and other less abrasive. Education and Literature gave the voice to a few women in a male-centered world. Poet Lady Mary Wroth captures the injustices experienced by women in the feminine narrative of Sonnet 9 from her collection of sonnets, songs, and lyrics entitled 'Pamphilia to Amphilantus. In this poem, Wroth explores the thoughts of elite women in the 1700s and uses aspects of her own cultural and historic circumstance to convey the theme of a religious patriarchal society.

Robertson discusses the representation of women in the Lais of de France and how they were constructed around the feudal society and were meant to represent the female agency. Robertson goes on to explain the feudal society and how it is a social ladder where everyone gets their opinions from who is on the very top—this being the “Church and the aristocracy” (Robertson 68). Robertson makes the point that these are two facets that are least acquainted with women. Robertson notes that medieval people also elevated the status of women at the same time as decimating it. Women—ladies—were compared to the Virgin Mary, who represents all things a woman should be: chaste, delicate, beautiful, modest, and so on. Marie de France wrote her lais so they could be enjoyed by both men and women, but she did explore the gender inequalities that existed in her time and still exist today!

Marie tells of a knight from King Arthur’s court. His name is Lanval and he has great qualities which include beauty and valor. Marie uses the theme of great love with Lanval which cannot happen with the real world. Lanval is a well put together idea of a man who is distant from the world. His happiness and love also to exist apart. We are to notice how otherworldly the beloved lady and the ladies are. People should be able to tell that the lady should be identified as almost like a magical fairy from another realm that is greater. Lanval’s love is not meant to exists in society it is supposed to be separate. He leaves his horse behind to go see the lady which would make him an outcast since the horse is associated with a knight. He is very

"Drawing from many sources, Malory develops Lancelot's qualities of self-control, rectitude, and humaneness...the third tale (Lancelot du Lake) concentrates on Lancelot's chivalry inspired by a yet unconsummated passion. Undertaking his quest because of Gwenyver, he becomes the best knight in the world" (Walters xxix). One need not look far into the sixth book to find examples of Lancelot's character. In the beginning of the tale, we are introduced to Sir Lancelot very abruptly with "Of all his knights one was supreme, both in prowess at arms and in nobility of bearing, and this was Sir Lancelot, who was also the favorite of Queen Gwynevere, to whom he had sworn oaths of fidelity" (Malory 118). It is here we are introduced to Lancelot's two primary character traits: that of his being a great knight and that of being faithful to Guinevere. He is not yet the best knight, or the perfect lover, as he has not yet been tested. Lancelot soon feels bored with his life at court, and so searches out adventure. It is during these adventures that

At the end of Medieval literature a new literature was created. Women wanted stories where they could have a role. The women wanted to be treated like queens. This idea of courtly love-where a knight honored a married woman like he would “his liege lord” (Schwartz 1) can be found in Gardner’s translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Sir Gawain must honor such a lady. Because Sir Gawain honors a married woman, he struggles with being an honest and loyal knight.

The popular medieval romance, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” explores many aspects of the Arthurian legend, including chivalry, religion, and courtly love. Although the poem does feature many female characters, one aspect that the Gawain poet does not touch upon is the role and place of women in this feudal society; all of whom live under the objectification of a male driven culture. One might say that the women featured in this romance are focused on more heavily than that of other literature during this time period and that might be true; however, after a closer look the reader can see how it’s the little things that the Gawain poet does or doesn’t do that diminish the importance of the four main female characters in this poem.

"The Lady of Shallot," by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, acts as a voice for people struggling with materialism of the industrial age. Tennyson became famous for reflecting the "idealism of an industrious society that was nonetheless racked by deep doubts about its materialism" (The Longman Anthology Of British Literature p. 1908). The curse of the mysterious lady of the poem could be thought of  as the curse of the people subcombing to the dreaded materialism and giving up the Victorian innocent ideals. Furthermore, the lady represents Tennyson himself as he suffered from a personal battle between the desire for glamour's fame, and the need to stay an innocent poet. In Looking at the viewpoint of Tennyson

In the Middle Age literature, women are often presented or meant to come off as an unimportant character; which can also reflect on how the author wants the women character represent. Women are usually shunned, have no say or control in what they do; due to what men desire; like Ophelia and Gertrude did in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. But these female characters that I will discuss are women with power, control, and a voice. Majority of the female character’s appearances are made to represent wickedness, evil, or a seducer who challenges a man belief; and does not symbolize perfect women.

Tennyson portrays the isolation of women through the reoccurring theme of Romanticism, this is shown through the poet’s constant associations with nature being the centre of the poem. The poet focuses more on the surroundings of the main character as she lives “By the island in the river…And the silent isle embowers The Lady of Shalott.” Tennyson presents the speaker to hide the details of the actual lady, her imprisonment and the curse which leads us to believe she is a mystery as the nature around her seems overpowering and consuming her. Tennyson portrays the lady in the poem to be an embodiment of a typical woman of the contemporary culture as he describes ‘A charmed web’ which the woman is ‘weaving, either night or day’. The ‘web’ can be a symbol of slavery but also a symbol of creativity and possibility. When the woman tries to turn away from the web she refuses to be a slave and ultimately