In Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem "The Lady of Shalott," the title character lives secluded in a tower and spends all her time weaving. If she stops weaving, a curse will fall on her, so she "weaveth steadily." She often sings as she weaves, and she has placed a mirror behind her loom that shows her what is happening through her window, which is behind her. She "delights" to weave what she sees in the mirror, suggesting that she does not particularly chafe at her bondage. Lines 66 - 68 describe a funeral procession with music that proceeds to Camelot, and that doesn't seem to have any unusual effect on her. But in lines 69 - 70, by moonlight, she observes "two young lovers lately wed." No doubt seeing the doting couple drives home to the lady her solitude and stirs in her a desire to have a romantic relationship with a man. Although she has seen many sights of social interaction, this is the "final straw" that allows her to recognize her dissatisfaction with her lot. In the previous stanza, line 62, we learned that "she hath no loyal knight and true," and that fact added to her awakening desire for love from a man foreshadows the arrival of Sir Lancelot in line 74. Knowing that she is "half sick of shadows," that she is ready to live life to the fullest, including falling in love and getting married, we are prepared for her response to Sir Lancelot. "Half sick" is an understatement; she is more than ready to risk everything for a chance at love. When she hears Lancelot singing and sees his beautiful reflection in her mirror, "she left the web, she left the loom/ She made three paces thro' the room." This activates the curse that is upon her, and later that day, she dies just as she floats into Camelot, where she is viewed sympathetically by Sir Lancelot, who has no way of knowing that he was the catalyst to her demise.
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