1a. How does the Lady of Shalott see what is going on in the outside world? What art does the Lady practice? What does she portray in her art?
2a. Whom does the Lady see just before going to the window and "looking down to Camelot"?
3a. What happens to the Lady when she leaves the tower?
4a. Compare and contrast the worlds of the Lady of Shalott and of the people outside her window.
5a. Judge whether the Lady of Shalott was ever content with her life.
1b. How do the arts the Lady practices show her distance from the world?
2b. What might have motivated the Lady to look toward Camelot despite the curse that is upon her?
3b. How do the people respond when they see her in the boat?
4b. Do you think the Lady of Shalott was really cursed? Explain.
5b. Why is isolation hard to bear? Why is human interaction important?
Symbol. One interpretation of this poem views the Lady as representative of the artist who is removed from the world, viewing it in the mirror of his or her imagination. Following this interpretation, what might the Lady's web symbolize? What might the poem be saying about the world of imagination versus the world of reality?
Foil. Explain why the Lady and Sir Lancelot are foils for one another. What does Tennyson suggest about the differences between artists and "public people"?
1a. With what specific aspects of his life does Ulysses express displeasure in lines 1–5?
2a. For what has Ulysses become famous?
3a. What does Ulysses think of his fellow mariners in their old age?
4a. Analyze the character of Ulysses's son Telemachus.
5a. Judge whether Ulysses is still a hero or just an old man reluctant to give up the pleasures of his youth.
1b. What does this dissatisfaction suggest about his earlier life?
2b. Why isn't Ulysses satisfied with his adventures?
3b. What might prompt Ulysses to be so sure in these beliefs?
4b. Based on your analysis, explain whether Telemachus will make a good king.
5b. How do you define heroism?
Dramatic Monologue.What crisis is Ulysses facing in this poem? What has he resolved to do?
Character and Motivation.Why might Ulysses see staying in Ithaca as a defeat? What does he refuse to accept?
From In Memorium
1a. In canto 4, how does the speaker feel at night and in the morning?
2a. According to canto 26, what do "fickle tongues" say about love?
3a. Contrast the speaker's feelings at Christmas in canto 28 with those in canto 78.
4a. Summarize the development of the speaker's feelings throughout the excerpts.
5a. Evaluate the speaker's claim that it is "better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."
1b. Based on the poem as a whole, explain whether the speaker became "the fool of loss."
2b. Based on the speaker's experience, are "fickle tongues" right?
3b. Why have the speaker's feelings changed?
4b. How do you think the speaker would react if he lost another very close friend?
5b. Do you think the Lady of Shalott would agree with this statement? Would Ulysses? Why, or why not?
Elegiac Lyric. Based on the poem, what kind of person do you think Arthur Hallam was? Why is it particularly tragic for someone to die so young?
Imagery. What images are evoked in lines 9–12 of canto 75? How has the poet's imagery been affected by death? What does a still, dusty place bring to mind? Because the poet is grieving, is he in any sense eternally in a vault or mausoleum of his own creation?
1. Write a note from the Lady of Shalott to explain why she gave up her life in the tower.
2. Choose someone you admire who died within the last twenty years. Gather some information about the person and write an obituary for him or her.
3. Imagine Ulysses has one last adventure. Write an adventure story about his last exploits.
Cliches and Euphemism. Rewrite the following sentences, replacing the cliches and euphemisms.
1. Arthur Hallam must have been a fine young man.
2. When Hallam passed away, it broke Tennyson's heart.
3. Tennyson spent seventeen years composing a poem eulogizing the dearly departed.
4. Writing In Memoriam helped Tennyson to look on the sunny side of things.
5. Tennyson came to recognize that every cloud has a silver lining and that the passing on of the young Arthur Hallam had deepened his own life, making it more meaningful.
Research Report. Tennyson memorialized his friend Arthur Hallam by writing In Memoriam. With two or three other classmates, prepare a research report on ways in which people around the world memorialize others who have died. You may wish to choose two cultures, such as yours and that of one foreign country, and concentrate on comparing and contrasting memorial rituals in those countries.
Research Findings on Memorial Rituals:
Sources Used:
Media Death Watch. Some people think that death is so commonplace on television, in movies, and in the news that people have become desensitized to it. For one week, monitor what you see. Take notes on how often death is shown, whether it is shown realistically, and what you see after the death has taken place. Do you agree that death has become commonplace and that people just don't care much any more? Use your findings to support your response.
