The Lady of Shalott lives in a castle tower on an island surrounded by a river that flows toward Camelot.

Local reapers hear the Lady of Shalott singing during the harvest but know nothing about who she is.

A mysterious curse binds the Lady of Shalott to constant weaving and forbids her from looking directly at Camelot.

The Lady of Shalott watches the outside world only through a mirror hanging in her tower room.

She weaves the reflected images seen in her mirror into a tapestry — her only permitted creative work.

Two newlywed lovers pass beneath the tower in the moonlight, and the Lady declares she is half sick of shadows.

Sir Lancelot rides through the barley fields in gleaming armor, singing freely as he travels toward Camelot.

The Lady of Shalott sees Lancelot's reflection in her mirror and is overcome with love for him.

Lancelot's singing voice, combined with his brilliant image in the mirror, finally compels the Lady to abandon her loom.

The Lady of Shalott looks directly out her tower window toward Camelot, breaking the terms of the curse.

The tapestry flies apart and the mirror cracks from side to side as the curse is immediately enacted.

A storm breaks out as the Lady of Shalott leaves the castle and walks alone to the riverbank.

She finds a shallow boat, writes her name on the stern, and sets out floating down the river toward Camelot.

The Lady of Shalott dies on the water before her boat reaches Camelot.

The townspeople of Camelot crowd around the boat and discover a parchment that identifies her as the Lady of Shalott.

The Lady of Shalott lives sealed inside a castle tower on an island surrounded by a river flowing toward Camelot, bound by a mysterious curse she cannot escape. The curse forces her to weave constantly and forbids her from looking directly out her window at the world below, leaving her to observe life only through a mirror. When Sir Lancelot rides singing through the barley fields, his combined image and voice overwhelm her, and she abandons her loom to look directly at Camelot — breaking the curse instantly. Her tapestry flies apart and her mirror shatters as she accepts her fate, leaves the castle in a storm, and boards a shallow boat she has inscribed with her own name. She floats down the river toward Camelot singing a final deathsong, and dies before reaching her destination. The townspeople who discover her boat find a parchment identifying the woman none of them had ever truly known.

The Lady of Shalott's curse, her fatal choice, and her journey to Camelot.

A river adorned with water lilies and daffodils flows around the island of Shalott on its way to Camelot.

The castle of Shalott stands with four gray walls and four gray towers rising above the island.

Small sailboats pass the island of Shalott along the river, heading toward Camelot.

The Lady of Shalott lives in fine clothing and rests on a velvet bed inside her tower.

The Lady of Shalott's tapestry is described as a charmed and magical web that grows with every scene she weaves.

She observes market girls, pilgrims, shepherds, and armored knights passing on the road reflected in her mirror.

The Lady of Shalott hears music and sees lights from Camelot drifting toward her tower during the night.

Lancelot's gems, bridle, and armor catch and scatter sunlight as he rides freely between the barley sheaves.

Lancelot carries a mighty silver bugle and a shield as he travels openly through the open countryside.

Lancelot's broad clear brow and coal-black curls are visible in the mirror as he rides past the island.

The Lady of Shalott stands at the riverbank in flowing white robes clasped with a single blinding diamond.

The Lady displays a steady, stony, glassy expression as she prepares to board the boat in the storm.

The river current carries the boat slowly toward Camelot as the Lady of Shalott sings her deathsong.

Knights, minstrels, abbots, squires, and guests crowd around the Lady's boat when it arrives in Camelot's harbor.

In the 1842 version, Lancelot pushes through the frightened crowd and offers a short, detached prayer over her body.

The poem's world is established through rich details: a flower-lined river flowing past a four-towered castle, with sailboats passing by and the Lady living in royal comfort inside. She watches a parade of figures in her mirror — pilgrims, market girls, and knights — and hears Camelot's distant music at night, all while weaving her charmed tapestry. Lancelot's arrival is rendered in extraordinary detail, with his glittering bridle and gems, his silver bugle, his broad brow and coal-black curls catching the sunlight as he rides freely through the open countryside. After the curse breaks, the Lady stands pale and stony at the riverbank in white robes before boarding the boat and drifting toward Camelot on the current, singing her final song. The boat lands in Camelot's harbor surrounded by knights, minstrels, abbots, and squires who cannot explain what they have found. In the 1842 version, Lancelot alone steps forward to offer a brief and detached prayer — the only acknowledgment the Lady of Shalott ever receives from the man who undid her.

The setting, Lancelot's vivid description, and the aftermath in Camelot's harbor.

The local people are aware only of a singing voice from the island — the Lady of Shalott is entirely unknown to the outside world.

The roses surrounding the castle and the Lady's royal clothing suggest her confinement is deliberate and enchanted.

The curse's origin is never explained to the Lady of Shalott or the reader — it is presented simply as an existing supernatural fact.

The Lady of Shalott understands that the mirror's indirect reflections are her only permitted connection to life outside the tower.

A growing restlessness builds in the Lady of Shalott as she watches others move freely through a world she cannot enter.

Lancelot emerges as the most vivid and dazzling figure the Lady of Shalott has yet seen reflected in her mirror.

The Lady of Shalott makes a deliberate and knowing choice to defy the curse, fully aware of the consequences she will face.

The Lady of Shalott immediately cries out that the curse is upon her, confirming she always knew the penalty for looking.

The once-beautiful pastoral landscape transforms into a stormy, waning scene the moment the curse is broken.

The Lady moves through the storm with eerie trance-like calm, her demeanor completely transformed from her life in the tower.

The Lady of Shalott unties the boat's chain — an act that simultaneously claims her freedom and seals her fate.

The Lady of Shalott experiences the living outside world for the first and only time as she floats down the river.

The Lady of Shalott dies alone on the water, never having spoken to or been seen by Lancelot.

In the 1832 version, her written parchment proclaims draw near and fear not, suggesting she accepted her fate without regret.

In the 1842 version, the townspeople are paralyzed with fear and cannot bring themselves to approach the Lady's boat.

The Lady of Shalott is entirely unknown to the outside world — the local people register only a disembodied singing voice and ask no questions about the woman behind it. The curse that governs her life is presented without origin or explanation, leaving both the Lady and the reader to accept it as an unexplained supernatural fact. Her discontent builds slowly as she watches others move freely through a world she can only observe indirectly through her mirror's shadowy reflections. Lancelot's arrival marks her breaking point: the most vivid and compelling figure she has ever seen, his voice and image together drive her to make a deliberate and knowing choice to defy the curse — and she immediately cries out that its penalty has come upon her. The landscape itself transforms as she walks out into the storm with an eerie, trance-like calm, unties the boat's chain in an act that simultaneously achieves freedom and condemns her to death, and floats out into the world for the first and only time. In the 1832 version, her final written message — declaring draw near and fear not — suggests she embraced her choice without regret, while the 1842 version leaves the crowd paralyzed with fear, unable to approach the woman they never knew existed.