The Pursuit of Art

The Pursuit of Art

The Lady of Shallot was written by Lord Tennyson in the mid 1800's. 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 isn't 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 doesn't 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 one's better judgement may be carried out with strength of purpose and will. It is important to recognize just how often the actions of Tennyson's poems fit this description--how often they illustrate the poetic dilemma of deliberately pursuing the worse" (Campbell, 31). So art isn't 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