Alfred, Lord Tennyson's 'The Lady of Shalott': understanding the ballad | English

Starter quiz

In 'Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’, we read poems. Sometimes we annotate these poems. What does it mean to annotate?
- to write analytical paragraphs
- to make short notes about important words and phrases ✓
- to write your own poem inspired by the one you have read
- to answer questions in full sentences
Match these words, all important to 'The Lady of Shallot' ('Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’), to their meaning.
- isle
  
  ⇔
  
  small island ✓
- curse
  
  ⇔
  
  a spell put on someone meaning something bad will happen to them ✓
- weave
  
  ⇔
  
  to form fabric by interlacing different threads together ✓
- web
  
  ⇔
  
  a network of threads ✓
- Camelot
  
  ⇔
  
  a legendary place (that is, not real) ✓
In 'Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’, we come across different types of poems. Indeed, there are so many different forms of poetry. Match just a few examples to their definitions.
- ekphrastic
  
  ⇔
  
  a poem that is inspired by a piece of art and describes it ✓
- ballad
  
  ⇔
  
  a poem that tells a story ✓
- sonnet
  
  ⇔
  
  a 14 line poem, often about love ✓
- haiku
  
  ⇔
  
  a 3 line poem, its origins are Japanese ✓
In 'Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’, we come across different types of poems. Match each poetic term to its definition.
- stanza
  
  ⇔
  
  a group of lines forming a verse of a poem ✓
- rhyme
  
  ⇔
  
  when two or more words have the same sound as each other ✓
- repetition
  
  ⇔
  
  when a word or phrase is used more than once ✓
- enjambment
  
  ⇔
  
  when there is no punctuation at the end of a line of poetry ✓
In 'Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’, we will read a poem written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson who was born in 1809 and died in 1892. Who was the British monarch for most of Tennyson's adult life?
- Queen Elizabeth I
- Queen Victoria ✓
- King James I
- Queen Elizabeth II
- King Arthur
In 'Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’, we will read a poem written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson who was an important poet in the Victorian era. When was the Victorian era?
- 1564-1616
- 1837-1901 ✓
- 1914-1918
- 1939-1945

Exit quiz

In 'Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’, we read a poem called ‘The Lady of Shalott’. Who wrote ‘The Lady of Shalott’?
- King Arthur
- Sir Lancelot
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson ✓
- Williams Carlos Williams
- W.H. Auden
Starting with the first, put these plot points narrating the story of ‘The Lady of Shalott’ ('Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’) in chronological order.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  We learn the Lady of Shalott is cursed and must constantly weave at her loom.
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  We learn the Lady of Shalott sees people via a mirror.
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  The Lady of Shalott says she is “sick” of “shadows”.
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  The Lady of Shalott gets up from her weaving to see Sir Lancelot.
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  The mirror cracks.
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  The Lady of Shalott realises the curse is upon her and will kill her.
- 7
  
  ⇔
  
  The Lady of Shalott’s body is found in a boat floating towards Camelot.
In ‘The Lady of Shalott’ ('Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’), who does the Lady of Shalott get up to see out of the tower window?
- King Arthur
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson
- Sir Lancelot ✓
- Camelot
- a fairy
In ‘The Lady of Shalott’ ('Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’), what is true of the curse?
- Sir Lancelot cursed the Lady of Shalott.
- The Lady of Shalott must constantly look out of the tower’s window.
- The Lady of Shalott is not certain what the curse is. ✓
- The Lady of Shalott chooses to take her own life.
- The Lady of Shalott must weave the images she sees in a mirror facing a window. ✓
‘The Lady of Shalott’ ('Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’) is a ______ which means it is a poem that tells a story.
- 'ballad' ✓
In stanza eight of ‘The Lady of Shalott’ ('Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’), we hear the first piece of dialogue from the Lady of Shalott herself. She says, “I am half sick of ...”.
- 'shadows' ✓

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

The Lady of Shalott is a cursed woman who is confined to a tower on an island just outside Camelot.
The Lady of Shalott isn't allowed to look out of the tower's window, but sees the outside through a mirror's reflection.
The Lady of Shalott must weave these reflections into a cloth; if she stops weaving, something terrible will happen.
One day she looks out of the window in order to see Sir Lancelot.
The curse comes upon her and she dies, found in a boat drifting toward Camelot.

Common misconception

The Lady of Shalott chooses to take her own life on the way to Camelot.

The Lady of Shalott realises that, because she got up from her loom, she is now cursed. Knowing she will die from this curse, she gets into the boat to sail to Camelot. She realises she will not make it there alive.

Keywords

Isle - a small island
Curse - a spell put on someone meaning something bad will happen to them
Weave - to form fabric by interlacing different threads together
Web - a network of threads e.g. a spider's web
Camelot - a legendary place (that is, not real) where King Arthur (a legendary King) was said to hold court.