Alfred Lord Tennyson, “The Lady of Shalott”

The Lady of Shalott, 1832

“I am half sick of shadows, said the Lady of Shalott.” (71–72)

“Lady of Shalott” questions the role of the artist in society. As the Lady weaves beautiful tapestry in a tower she is only able to view the outside world through a small mirror. Soon enough she declares she is “half sick of shadows” and looks out the window for herself, ultimately condemning her to a “curse” that befalls her and she enters the outside world and dies.

Note that the lady didn’t say she was completely over her art world, she’s “half sick” of shadows. Half-sick, not completely sick. This really conveys the torn aspect of the artist, between wanting to live a full life, and knowing that if you give in to the full life, the art will suffer. It is notable to think that even though she completely abandons her art for the world after this moment, she signs her name on her death-canoe, ultimately returning to art in her final moments.

As a previous conservatory-trained musician, I have seen artists struggle with this exact problem time and time again. Those who marry struggle to make it. You don’t date. You practice, for as long as you can and then practice some more. James Rhodes, a highly respected classical pianist from the UK, composed a wonderful essay which does a fantastic job cataloging this phenomenon. Among the things he cites that he gave up for art include:

“No income for five years, six hours a day of intense practice, monthly four-day long lessons with a brilliant and psychopathic teacher in Verona, a hunger for something that was so necessary it cost me my marriage, nine months in a mental hospital, most of my dignity and about 35lbs in weight.”

Ultimately, the questions posed by “Lady of Shalott,” that of “how much if any, should the artist necessarily give up of life?” and “do artists need to live in society in order to create quality art?” are still relevant. In “Lady of Shalott” at least, Tennyson clearly believes that artists are condemned if they are outside their own artistic world. Whether that is true or not of today’s society, remains to be seen.

Rhodes, James. “James Rhodes: ‘Find What You Love and Let It Kill You’” Web log post. The Guardian. N.p., 23 Apr. 2013. Web

Waterhouse, John William. ‘I Am Half Sick of Shadows’, Said the Lady of Shalott. 1915. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada. I Am Half Sick of Shadows’, Said the Lady of Shalott. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.