“The lady of Shalott” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson and “Lady of Shalott” by Liz Lochhed Essay Example

diverges from the first two in its sentence structure and pace. The Lady expresses her elation upon seeing Lancelot through brief, rapid descriptions, heightening the anticipation. The Lady describes Lancelot as her chivalrous "knight in shining armour", using words such as "dazzling", "sparkled" and "flamed" to exemplify his grandiosity. In contrast to the troubled Lady, Lancelot is portrayed as carefree. The final verse's quickened tempo and abundant rhyming creates a sense of drama and impending action. "She left the web, she left the loom."

The Lady's death is the focus of the final part of the poem, and the emotions conveyed are melancholic. Though the verses maintain their fluidity, the overall mood is far more somber than before. Lancelot's discovery of the Lady at her deathbed is a disappointing end to their tragic love story. Though he was the object of her affection from the moment they met and her love for him contributed to her demise, all Lancelot can manage to say about her is that she possessed a pretty face. The Lady's existence was a lonely one, characterized by a penchant for fantasy that made her particularly drawn to Lancelot as the quintessential knight. In sum, the poem is a poignant reflection on her isolated life and tragic fate.

The second poem, "Lady of Shalott," uses free verse and lacks a consistent rhythm or rhyming pattern. The sparing use of rhyme effectively emphasizes key points, such as "The mirror is misted, every mirror-image twisted." The writer frequently employs repetition, as seen in the repetition of "She moons in the mirror" four times.

The author employs various techniques to convey the meaning of the poem.

The line about the girl looking in the mirror and living her life through it is particularly emphasized. Additionally, a type of chorus is used with the repeated lines "Maybe you'll find True Romance at the Youth Club dance Lady of Shalott". This effectively breaks up the poem.

Highlighting the girl's perspective, the repetition in these lines suggests her efforts to convince herself of finding "True Romance" at the youth club dance. Significantly, "True Romance" is capitalized thrice, including "Real Life" and "Knight on a Charger," emphasizing the poem's fantasy element and the protagonist's seclusion in a world of her own, much like "Lady of Shalott." Fairytale images further exemplify the writer's reference to this imaginary realm.

The writer utilizes fairy tale imagery to underscore their points. When expressing the girl's deep disappointment, the writer references "Like Alice through the looking glass," conveying the desire to escape overwhelming issues. Additionally, alliteration is implemented as a technique to accentuate specific phrases. The phrase "Bloody, boring" exemplifies this method; a mere use of "boring" would not sound as satisfying or be as descriptive. Despite different styles, the two poems possess noticeable resemblances.

Both poems share common elements. For example, they both reference the mirror: the Lady watches others through it in the first poem, while the writer describes her as "mooning" in it in the second. Additionally, both poems allude to Knights, and the first poem involves a fairytale curse. The second poem also contains multiple fairytale references.

Although "Cinders", "Rapunzel" and "Alice" share a commonality with the use of the phrase "Lady of Shalott" in both poems, there are notable variances between them. While the name "Shalott"

is given to the Lady after her island in the first poem, it is also used as her name in the second poem which serves as a rendition of the initial work.

The primary distinctions between the two poems stem from their writing styles. While the initial poem boasts a steady rhythm and rhyme structure, the second poem is formulated in free verse, lacking any pattern. Additionally, the two poems contrast in their respective language usage. The first poem employs various descriptive words that flow smoothly, while the second poem has a more abrupt tone with less descriptive language.

To sum up, despite sharing a common theme of love and romance, the two poems exhibit contrasting features. Personally, I favor the second poem which has a contemporary touch. The initial poem is lengthy, antiquated, and employs an outdated style of language. In contrast, the second poem is more recent, simpler to comprehend and thus more appealing to me.