Tea Time and The Lady of Shalott

Poetry Books

(some "serious" and some not)

+ baked goods + tea or cocoa

+ readers = TEATIME

We had our first teatime this past week. We always start with the kids looking at poetry books and each pick a few to share or have me read. I usually try to highlight a more "serious" poet or poem. And we always finish with a choral reading of "The Crocodile's Toothache" by Shel Silverstein. This week I shared parts of an illustrated version of "The Lady of Shalotte" by Alfred Lord Tennyson. This poem is a Victorian ballad loosely based on the Arthurian legend of Elaine of Astolat. My only previous experience with "The Lady of Shalott" was the scene from Anne of Green Gables when Anne gets her self into trouble (again!) acting out the poem so I was interested to see what the poem is about. My brief synopsis: The Lady of Shalott lives in a tower next to a river that flows to Camelot. She spends her days in the tower weaving on a loom because she has been cursed and cannot directly look at the world but must view it through a mirror. However, she does look out and sees Sit Lancelot which prompts her to take a boat, write her name on it and float down the river towards Camelot where she dies along the way (of a broken heart?) Hmmmm. So much for uplifting content but it does certainly explain the scene from Anne of Green Gables. Below is the book we used and also "The Lady of Shalott" by John William Waterhouse.