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Theme Of Isolation In The Lady Of Shallot

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Isolation is omnipresent: in the world and among literature, as it is a component of human nature. Although, sometimes, societal standards create outcasts, isolation can be of one’s own making. Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shallot is epitomizes isolation. “Four gray walls, and four gray towers, / Overlook a space of flowers, / And the silent isle imbowers / The Lady of Shallot” (line 15-18). The Lady of Shallot is physically isolated in a tower, but upon her own accord for she fears to interact with the outside world due to a “whisper” (line 39) that said she would be cursed if she paused her weaving to look outside at Camelot. So, she observes the town indirectly through a mirror only seeing shadows. Her weaving makes her happy but soon enough, she becomes, “half sick of shadows,” (line 72). Once she hears Sir Lancelot sing, “Tirra lirra,” (line 107) she leaves her art of weaving and breaks her isolation and the curse bestows her. She had isolated herself and diligently worked on her art: it is once Sir Lancelot comes that she risks the truth of the curse. The Lady of Shallot can be interpreted as a symbol of artists and their commitment to their work, in this poem represented by weaving, but also paralleling Tennyson and his poetry. She sacrificed herself to her passion and ironically Sir Lancelot made her into nothing more than a piece of art, he said, “She has a lovely face; / God in his mercy lend her grace” (line 169) she can no longer weave “A magic web with colors gay,” (line 38) rather, just be objectified into a dead-pale beauty not able to offer anymore creativity. The death of her artistic isolation led to the death of her creativity and ultimately herself. Isolation is seemingly always negative, but The Lady of Shallot offers a silver lining of the beauty of isolation when it comes to the work of artists, by separating herself from the industrial society she was able to weave beautifully. The double wedged sword has the down side of a dark loneliness, which is at the heart of all isolations and caused her demise. J. Alfred Prufrock is another individual who chooses isolation but rather than be due to a curse he is damned with cognitive fallacies of self. The fragile insecure

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