Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott" and the Theme of Artist Isolationism
Riham Hagona and Adrienne Parrish
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The
theme of artist isolationism offers a different view of the life of a creative
artist. In this world, a true artist must keep their creative world separate
from the materialistic realm they inhabit. This could refer to Tennyson himself
as an artist who believes his interactions with the outside world hinder his
creativity and can eventually lead to his artistic downfall. In Tennyson’s
poem, the Lady of Shalott acts as a symbol of an artist. The underlying message
of the poem which highlights this theme of artist isolationism is that typical
human wants and needs potentially destroy an artist.
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Lord Alfred Tennyson
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Tennyson uses an
Arthurian figure of his own creation, the Lady, to represent the artist.
When
the Lady stops her work to interact with the outside world her web is
destroyed. This critical scene outlines another
angle of artist isolationism by describing the tension between artistic
dedication and social responsibility.@Alaya, Flavia M. "Tennyson's
'The Lady of Shalott': The Triumph of Art." Victorian
Poetry 8.4 (1970): 273-289. JSTOR. Web. 7 Feb. 2011. 276 The Lady’s attention is drawn away from her loom when she hears Sir
Lancelot singing and she desires to see and perhaps interact with him.
By
surrendering to social pressures, she loses focus and her art is ruined.
Therefore in the world Tennyson has created, the Lady must choose
between living in art
or outside it, it is impossible for her to have both.@Alaya, Flavia M.
278
Tennyson’s poem could
also be interpreted as a critique on popular poetry. Perhaps Tennyson is suggesting that an
artist's desire for fame and recognition could be the source of their artistic
undoing.@Alaya, Flavia M.
273The Lady creates her
web using a mirrored image of the outside world as her guide. However once she
seeks to view the world in its ‘true’ form, her art leaves her and she is
cursed. This could then suggest that once the artist loses sight of their
artistic intention and starts’ adhering to what is popular, their art loses its
vitality. The Lady’s loss of focus on her craft leads to her loss of
perspective (the mirror shattering) and eventually causes the loss of her work entirely
(her web flying out of the window). Therefore the Lady is literally cursed for
seeking recognition from the outside world.
On the
contrary, this critique of creating art to please the masses, rather than for
art's sake, is completely inverted by the ending of poem. The Lady of Shalott
is eventually acknowledged by her beloved Lancelot (and the people of Camelot),
even though she abandons her artistic dedication for love. However it is important to note that although
the Lady is recognized, she is not accredited for art, but for her beauty. Regardless, she still leaves an impression on
the people of Camelot and gains the attention of her love, Sir Lancelot.@Alaya, Flavia M.
276
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