The Lady of Shalott

Tennyson tells a tragic tale of disappointment in The Lady of Shalott. This near-mythical woman is cursed to a very minimalist, monotonous life, but "she knows not what the curse may be" (42) should she leave. Tennyson shows through the poem that the Lady is waiting for true love, evidenced when he mentions that she "hath no loyal knight and true" (62), and again when she sees the newlywed lovers and proclaims "'I am half sick of shadows'" (71). So, did Lancelot inspire her to leave the island (and potentially ruin/lose her life), or was she just waiting for someone to give her that nudge? Lancelot says in Malory's text "God knows that I did not intentionally lead her to this....alas! she loved too much" (471), but I'm not sure if the same can be said for the Lady in Tennyson's poem.