Lady of Shalott is warned of a curse, as Oedipus Rex (among other tragic heroes) are given hints or warnings as to their fates;She has heard a whisper say,A curse is on her if she stayTo look down to Camelot.She knows not what the curse may be... (L.S., 39-42)At one point, the Lady is likened to Tierseias, a famously mythological Greek prophet, or an oracle, when Tennyson says Like some bold ser in a trance,Seeing all his own mischance--With a glassy countenance... (L.S., 128-130)In these lines, the Lady of Shalott is compared to the mirror in which she sees the world, again affirming Carlye's image of Hero as Poet. Yet like all tragic heroes, the Lady of Shalott disregards the warning, cannot escape her fate, looks down upon Camelot and leaves her castle to join society and be recognized for who she is. Yet, she is sadly unrecognized. As the Lady of Shalott winds her way closer to society, "as the boat-head wound along/The willowy hills and fields..." (L.S., 141-142) she begins to die. She sings, hoping to be recognized, but only a "carol, mournful, holy,/Chanted loudly, chanted lowly..." (L.S., 145-146) was heard Till her blood was frozen slowly,And her eyes were darken'd wholly,Turned to tower'd Camelot.For ere she reach'd upon the tide The first house by the water-side,Singing in her song she died,The Lady of Shalott. (L.S., 147-153)Tennyson in these lines reaffirms his belief that the Hero as Poet has no place in Victorian society and cannot exist. As the Lady of Shalott edges closer and closer to society, she too ceases to exist. Like Ulysses, the Lady of Shalott is recognized only as a name, "And round the prow they read her name..." (L.S., 161) and she came "silent into Camelot" (L.S., 158) which means that society cannot recognize the Lady of Shalott as the singer, as the voice in the forest, because she is no longer singing. Lancelot, the alternate portrayal of a hero Tennyson introduces in The Lady of Shalott, also fails to ...
