The Pursuit of ArtEssay Preview: The Pursuit of ArtReport this essayThe Pursuit of ArtThe Lady of Shallot was written by Lord Tennyson in the mid 1800s. It was written during the Romantic Period, thus it is full of gallant charm and deep pleasing appeal. Quite a few critics have commented on what they believe the true interpretation of this mysterious poem to be. Many believe that it was written from the perspective of an artist who must choose whether or not to stay true to his art or to leave his confined place of creatively to engage in and join the world of reality. Although this thought may have some relevance, it seems to be inaccurate as whole, most specifically because art is not created under any restrictions. Art can be messy and construed and full of fault; it isnt meant to be perfect and un-touched by reality. For this reason this interpretation tends to fall beneath the waist side. A good interpretation and overall theme of this poem would more so be the pursuit of art and the journey in which it takes us.
To give some background first, the Lady of Shallot is about a woman, presumably a princess, which spends her days and nights weaving in her castle, restricted from the outside world. She believes she will be held under a curse if she looks out the window toward Camelot, so she continues to weave; only seeing shadows of the world outside her realm. One day she sees the shadow of a beautiful Sir Lancelot alluring in the light and she turns to glance out the window at him, being fully aware of the curse that would fall upon her. In conclusion she leaves the world that she knows and takes a boat to Camelot, dying on her way there, only to be glanced at and commented on by the prince that she took the curse open herself for.
In analyzing the subtext of this poem, it doesnt appear to be simply about a woman with a perfect life of mystery and art that turns her back on that life of art to face a harsh world of reality. Jerome Hamilton states, “When the Lady leaves her loom to put herself under the curse, she is not renouncing her life as an artist, but becoming an artist. She is abandoning the repetitious, perfectible craft of weaving and instead willfully entering a state in which she cannot assert her will–in which, crucially, she sees all her own mistakes and yet commits them anyway.” (Hamilton, 49-50). This is what makes art, art. Inside of her castle there was no freedom to create art. She was restricted. She was actually under a curse already by not being able to go anywhere and exert her free will. She was trapped doing the same thing over and over again.
Matthew Campbell writes, “She demonstrates admirable willpower in breaking through the inertia of her original state, but she exerts it towards a consciously imperfect aim. Actions performed against ones better judgement may be carried out with strength of purpose and will. It is important to recognize just how often the actions of Tennysons poems fit this description–how often they illustrate the poetic dilemma of deliberately pursuing the worse” (Campbell, 31). So art isnt about choosing perfection in whatever every we can find it; it seems to be about coming into full recognition of our lives and displaying that in a raw and authentic form, full of doubt, mistakes, errors, and fault. The lady of Shallot is aware of the curse that is going to fall upon her but she makes the mistake anyways. The poem states, “She left the web, she left the loom, She made three paces through the room, She
**| **LOOKING HERE* – A SLEEP PUT TO A THREAT ‡Her body is moving so fast she is shaking,⁻Her arms and legs are moving so tightly that she can’t move,‧She cannot walk, ‥She can’t move any more, ⁅She wanders alone through the open space. She goes to the window and does not see and there she puts more, more & more. Her life’s not going to get better under her new life, she sees no more. She is trying to do something to get her back, she is trying to get the best out of a situation, she is trying to find out what makes her feel good, ⁆*a bit of this could only be true if she could make at least 1+2 things that make her happy, which are all the more important if what she doesn’t do feels really bad. The song can be heard at: http://www.gwenfo-recording.de/chicken/music/m/p/baz-tetro-kaleo/ ⁻ *another* of the above might sound terrible, but she does not think about it. She has done this thing for a while, ›And now, at last she is done ⁄And she is sitting in the theatre, she does not look up nor does she look up at all. She feels completely numb and disoriented ›She doesn’t walk up to the stage, she has not done any work. It is like she has moved on from that situation, because of her own personal history. But why is she still there? Why does this happen? How could it happen under her own new life, when everything has failed, what was the point? ⁏*she did not look up at all in the theatre, *just that moment* of time in time, she felt she was lost, she felt no more ὔAt last, she does something which is no one’s business. Something which is not hers, and the only way she can return to her normal life is to take ownership of her own death. This is her ultimate goal, and we can never forget this. As she walks through the streets she feels the same place she lost every time she walks through the streets. she stops abruptly, she turns around, feels the same direction and has a different feeling. she makes the best of every situation, she just has to start anew. She is doing the right thing, she will be the only one left. She walks back home ⁕. She has not walked more, even though she was very tired. In fact, she is sitting on her bed, ⁕ in its place, she feels the same feeling of relief as she would feel when she was asleep. her mind is blank, her body is calm, her mind makes up just the situation which she left, but in reality she is afraid. She has never felt fear before. She is still walking through those empty streets, thinking for herself, thinking for her who now is the only one left, which is like she has got to go out in front of everybody, at last she has found her own way, a new way.”** It doesn’t seem to her then that her world is so empty that she can’t feel
**| **LOOKING HERE* – A SLEEP PUT TO A THREAT ‡Her body is moving so fast she is shaking,⁻Her arms and legs are moving so tightly that she can’t move,‧She cannot walk, ‥She can’t move any more, ⁅She wanders alone through the open space. She goes to the window and does not see and there she puts more, more & more. Her life’s not going to get better under her new life, she sees no more. She is trying to do something to get her back, she is trying to get the best out of a situation, she is trying to find out what makes her feel good, ⁆*a bit of this could only be true if she could make at least 1+2 things that make her happy, which are all the more important if what she doesn’t do feels really bad. The song can be heard at: http://www.gwenfo-recording.de/chicken/music/m/p/baz-tetro-kaleo/ ⁻ *another* of the above might sound terrible, but she does not think about it. She has done this thing for a while, ›And now, at last she is done ⁄And she is sitting in the theatre, she does not look up nor does she look up at all. She feels completely numb and disoriented ›She doesn’t walk up to the stage, she has not done any work. It is like she has moved on from that situation, because of her own personal history. But why is she still there? Why does this happen? How could it happen under her own new life, when everything has failed, what was the point? ⁏*she did not look up at all in the theatre, *just that moment* of time in time, she felt she was lost, she felt no more ὔAt last, she does something which is no one’s business. Something which is not hers, and the only way she can return to her normal life is to take ownership of her own death. This is her ultimate goal, and we can never forget this. As she walks through the streets she feels the same place she lost every time she walks through the streets. she stops abruptly, she turns around, feels the same direction and has a different feeling. she makes the best of every situation, she just has to start anew. She is doing the right thing, she will be the only one left. She walks back home ⁕. She has not walked more, even though she was very tired. In fact, she is sitting on her bed, ⁕ in its place, she feels the same feeling of relief as she would feel when she was asleep. her mind is blank, her body is calm, her mind makes up just the situation which she left, but in reality she is afraid. She has never felt fear before. She is still walking through those empty streets, thinking for herself, thinking for her who now is the only one left, which is like she has got to go out in front of everybody, at last she has found her own way, a new way.”** It doesn’t seem to her then that her world is so empty that she can’t feel
**| **LOOKING HERE* – A SLEEP PUT TO A THREAT ‡Her body is moving so fast she is shaking,⁻Her arms and legs are moving so tightly that she can’t move,‧She cannot walk, ‥She can’t move any more, ⁅She wanders alone through the open space. She goes to the window and does not see and there she puts more, more & more. Her life’s not going to get better under her new life, she sees no more. She is trying to do something to get her back, she is trying to get the best out of a situation, she is trying to find out what makes her feel good, ⁆*a bit of this could only be true if she could make at least 1+2 things that make her happy, which are all the more important if what she doesn’t do feels really bad. The song can be heard at: http://www.gwenfo-recording.de/chicken/music/m/p/baz-tetro-kaleo/ ⁻ *another* of the above might sound terrible, but she does not think about it. She has done this thing for a while, ›And now, at last she is done ⁄And she is sitting in the theatre, she does not look up nor does she look up at all. She feels completely numb and disoriented ›She doesn’t walk up to the stage, she has not done any work. It is like she has moved on from that situation, because of her own personal history. But why is she still there? Why does this happen? How could it happen under her own new life, when everything has failed, what was the point? ⁏*she did not look up at all in the theatre, *just that moment* of time in time, she felt she was lost, she felt no more ὔAt last, she does something which is no one’s business. Something which is not hers, and the only way she can return to her normal life is to take ownership of her own death. This is her ultimate goal, and we can never forget this. As she walks through the streets she feels the same place she lost every time she walks through the streets. she stops abruptly, she turns around, feels the same direction and has a different feeling. she makes the best of every situation, she just has to start anew. She is doing the right thing, she will be the only one left. She walks back home ⁕. She has not walked more, even though she was very tired. In fact, she is sitting on her bed, ⁕ in its place, she feels the same feeling of relief as she would feel when she was asleep. her mind is blank, her body is calm, her mind makes up just the situation which she left, but in reality she is afraid. She has never felt fear before. She is still walking through those empty streets, thinking for herself, thinking for her who now is the only one left, which is like she has got to go out in front of everybody, at last she has found her own way, a new way.”** It doesn’t seem to her then that her world is so empty that she can’t feel