Student Question

How is the tower room described in "The Lady of Shalott"?

Quick answer:

The tower room is described as part of a castle with "four grey walls" and "four grey towers." It has a window with a possible balcony, and the roof may overhang the walls. Inside, there is a loom for weaving images from a mirror that reflects the outside world, as she cannot look directly out due to a curse. The room is small, as indicated by the lady taking only three paces to reach the window.

Expert Answers

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The lady lives in a tower in a castle on an island which flows toward Camelot. The castle has "four grey walls" and "four grey towers." There is a window in her room which may open on a hinge ("casement" - line 25). The roof of her tower may overhang the walls. The speaker mentions how Lancelot is a bow shot's distance away from her bower eaves. It may be that her window is located just below the eaves. The window might also have some type of balcony branching out; this is mentioned in line 154. 

In her room, she has a loom with which she weaves the images she sees in the mirror. She can not look directly out the window because of the curse. So, with her back to the window, she looks into the mirror which reflects what would be seen through the window. The mirror is probably raised, facing the window, and tilted some degree downward so that she can see what is on the ground below. In line 110, the speaker notes that the lady "made three paces thro' the room." This is when she decides to turn around and walk to finally look out of the window. With only three paces, this illustrates how close to the window she had always been. This highlights how tempting it must have been to simply turn and look. 

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