Thye Lady Of Shalott: A Comparison Of Editions
"The Lady of Shalott" by Lord Alfred Tennyson has long been subject to criticism from many sources
. Scholars have often debated on the meaning behind the poem, suggesting it deals with everything from the concept of the artist's need for isolation, to the fair maiden principle of entrapment. No matter how the poem is dissected and interpreted, it still stands that it offers many ideas and ideals for women and their rules in society.To help investigate and understand this part of the poem, the poem must be thoroughly explored from every possible angle. To do this, one must look at the edition changes between 1833 and 1842. In Lord Alfred Tennyson's famous poem, "The Lady of Shalott," the actual Lady is dehumanized during the nine years between the two editions, thus showing how women were viewed during this particular time period.
The differences between the two poems starts in part one. As the poem progresses into the third stanza Tennyson begins to make many drastic changes that start the dehumanization process. In the original version of 1833 the Lady is given human characteristics such as the ability to sing a song. Singing may not seem like an important thing to take out of a poem but it must be remembered that singing is a human ability. By greatly downplaying this human characteristic in the final version, Tennyson makes the Lady appear less human. This suggests that women are not human as men are but are instead mystical or unnatural.
The third stanza is further changed, by giving the Lady more unnatural qualities. Like most mystical beings she is not seen by anyone, as is indicated by the narrator saying, "But who hath seen her wave her hand? Or at the casement seen her stand? Or is she known in all the land, The Lady of Shalott?" As a result of downplaying the actuality of the Lady being real, the narrator shows us that she could be just a figment of the imagination, which limits her overall importance. By taking away the actual visualization of the Lady Tennyson shows how women were viewed: they were shadows meant to be unseen and have limited importance.
In both versions of the poem the Lady is referred to as a fairy, "Tis the fairy, the Lady of Shalott." In the 1842 version of the poem, however, the line takes on much more importance. By giving the Lady many unnatural qualities in the beginning the line helps further the belief that the Lady of Shalott is abnormal. In other words, she is given even more of a mystical quality that turns her into something separate from humanity, it dehumanizes her and in effect it dehumanizes women as well. This carries on in the fourth stanza of part one. In the original version of the poem the Lady is given human qualities such as lying on a bed, "She leaneth on a velvet bed," and wearing cloths, "Fully royally appareled." By describing her in this way the reader is given the ability to really imagine her and thus make her real, whereas, in the 1842 version these qualities are cut and replaced with the previously mentioned mystical or unnatural qualities. Through these changes Tennyson continues to dehumanize the Lady with inhuman qualities, thus making her reflect how actual women were viewed, inhuman.
Throughout the first portion of the poem Tennyson's creates a totally different vision of the Lady in the second version. Instead of being a woman who is inflicted with a curse, she is a mystical and unnatural entity. This gives the reader a sense of how women were viewed during this time period. Much like the Lady women were abnormal and had very few so called masculine or human qualities. Therefore, they were given the witch complex of evil through being feminine. Although the Lady is not shown as evil, she is still given qualities that suggest a lack of humanity. Thus, the poem brings about the old opinion that women were less human than men.
As the poem progresses into the second part the changes become even more apparent. The Lady, the poem indulges in both versions, is under a curse that causes her to weave a web or picture of Camelot forever. In the first version the poem says, "She hath no time to sport or play," which indicates that women have the right to play and enjoy themselves, a very masculine quality at the time. Upon the revision, however, these lines are replaced with, "There she weaves by night and day," showing that she does it with no other options, it is her job and place. This shows that women were meant to not have the enjoyment of playing or entertaining themselves, instead they have to work. At the same time it also shows the reader that women are cursed. As we see in many fairy tales women are subject to curses like Sleeping Beauty who pricked her finger or Repunzel who was forced to live in the tower. The only way these women can get out of the world of their curse is to have a man help them as the princes in both stories do and which will happen in this one as well. This further exerts the power of the masculine in this story, a man is the only way she will break the curse.
In the next stanza of the poem Tennyson continues to take all of her natural abilities away from her, replacing them with unnatural and mystical abilities instead. First, he takes away her ability to have emotions. Where the original version gives her "joy" and "fear" the new version eradicates these feelings, replacing them with more magic like qualities about the mirror. By taking away these emotions he takes away her humanity and gives into the more mystical aspect of the poem, which is weaving the scene of Camelot through looking at the mirror. At the same time, forcing the Lady to look through a mirror instead of directly at Camelot destroys any connection she is allowed to have with the outside world. Thus showing, she, and all women, are removed from the world as if they have been cursed.
For the rest part two there are limited changes consisting of mainly grammar and minor word changes. Still the poem carries on with the lack of female power as it describes the sights of Camelot. In both versions the Lady is given a human quality of wanting to go to Camelot and be with the people she sees in the mirror as is seen when she says, "I am half-sick of shadows." Still, the 1842 version, because of previous changes, gives off a bit more of a mystical feel when she says she is "half-sick of shadows." The reader knows, that she is like a shadow of the world. The Lady is not a part of Camelot, so she is a shadow. In the original version she is given more human qualities, which can lead the reader to see her as less of a shadow and more of a human. By making her a shadow in the second piece both literally and metaphorically, the other promotes the fact that women are kept in shadows. In this time period women were hide from the world, by the Lady admitting that she wants to become part of the world, the poem shows the emerging humanity or the woman trying to become human. As the poem progresses, however, the Lady will not be given that chance.
The third part of poem opens with little to no changes but still shows how the lady was made to be a unnatural occurrence in the poem instead of a character. This section of the poem introduces Sir Lancelot. He is made out to be the perfect person in the story, and he draws the Lady from her tower. The fact that the reason she finally escape is because of a pretty man suggest a very stereotypical rendition of women. As is seen in most fairy tales, the woman will only budge for a man, not for the benefit of herself. By doing this the author shows that she is less than a man, reinforcing the brash stereotype. The part ends with the mirror cracking and the curse coming upon her. It is ironic that the curse is caused by a man and not by her own desire to escape the place she is in. This further demonstrates the stereotype being used in the poem.
Copyright (c) 2010 James Holan
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