I am not the biggest fan of reading poetry in order to analyze it and understand it's meaning. That being said, I find poetry to be really beautiful. This exactly how I felt the first time I read The Lady of Shalott and after it was read aloud in class I found it even more beautiful and I understood it much better as well. I think it is interesting how different the Mallory selection was from Tennyson's poem. I will freely admit that before I read both the poem and the story from Mallory I assumed they were the exact same story and that the Lady of Shalott's name was in fact Elaine when in reality we do not know if that is her name. I think of the two plots I really do prefer the Lady of Astolat because it actually gives her some contact with Lancelot and she spends time with him and cares for him. I also like how there is a mention of Arthur existing in Mallory's tale. I feel like The Lady of Shalott was more Arthurian though, it had more magic and I almost feel like in Arhturian legend it is better if the maiden does not know the man she falls in love with so the Lady of Shalott simply wanting to be with Lancelot was very much in accordance to Arthurian legend. I'm really looking forward to rereading The Lady of Shalott again and reading The Passing of Arthur.
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I agree with you that I thought The Lady of Shalott was also Elaine and that The Lady of Shalott was more Arthurian because of the magic portrayed in the poem. It has been very similar to most of the stories we have read.
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