Que suene la música!

Hoy: Poets of the Fall - Everything Fades
*Ains*

viernes, enero 15, 2010

"I am Half-sick of Shadows" she said; The Lady of Shalott

Hoy les voy a hablar sobre mi poema preferido: La Dama de Shalott (Si oigo un solo 'boo' alguien se lleva una azotaina ¬.¬)

"The Lady of Shalott" es una balada victoriana del poeta inglés Lord Alfred Tennyson(1809–1892). Al igual que en sus poemas "Sir Lancelot y la reina Ginebra" y "Galahad", el pojema (pojema? XDDD) reforma la materia Arturiana flojamente basado en las fuentes medievales.

En resumido resúmen, el poema trata, tal como indica su nombre, de la Dama de Shalott; una bella doncella que vivía en una torre en la isla de Shalott, donde a causa de una maldición, no podía mirar al mundo exterior, salvo a través de un espejo en el cual podía ver imagenes de Camelot. En su torre, la dama tejía constantemente en un telar mágico lo que veía a través del espejo. No nos es extraño pensar que no solo estaría harta de nada más que ver reflejos y estar allí todo el día tejiendo y tejiendo sin parar, sin poder salir al mundo exterior sabiendo que la aguardaba una maldición. Sin embargo, la visión del amor le pudo y, enamorada de Sir Lancelot, de quien había tejido ciertas piezas en el telar, terminó dándose la vuelta hacia la ventana para contemplarlo directamente con sus propios ojos, momento en el que el espejo se rompería y la haría darse cuenta del peso de la maldición, que drenaría su vida. Saliendo de su torre junto con sus telares, cogió una barca en la que escribió 'Lady of Shalott' y dejó que la corriente del río la llevara hasta Camelot, el único viaje de su vida.

La historia aunque ciertamente triste, siempre me ha resultado hermosamente narrada en el poema y fascinante a la vez.

La dama de Shalott ha sido gran fuente de inspiración artística, tanto pictórica


John William Waterhouse (The Lady of Shalott)


John William Waterhouse "I Am Half-Sick of Shadows"


William Holman Hunt


Como inspiración para canciones:

Emilie Autumn - Shalott

Loreena McKennitt - Lady of Shalott


Y bueno, creo que es un poema que merece la pena leerlo; yo sinceramente me gusta más leerlo en inglés que en españo, así que en inglés lo pego; y el que lo quiera leer que lo lea XD el que no, se lea una de Neil Gaiman o una de Tom Sharpe ;P


The Lady of Shalott - Alfred Tennyson

On either side the river lie
Long fields of barley and of rye,
That clothe the wold and meet the sky;
And thro' the field the road runs by
To many-tower'd Camelot;
And up and down the people go,
Gazing where the lilies blow
Round an island there below,
The island of Shalott.

Willows whiten, aspens quiver,
Little breezes dusk and shiver
Through the wave that runs for ever
By the island in the river
Flowing down to Camelot.
Four grey walls, and four grey towers,
Overlook a space of flowers,
And the silent isle imbowers
The Lady of Shalott.

By the margin, willow veil'd,
Slide the heavy barges trail'd
By slow horses; and unhail'd
The shallop flitteth silken-sail'd
Skimming down to Camelot:
But who hath seen her wave her hand?
Or at the casement seen her stand?
Or is she known in all the land,
The Lady of Shalott?

Only reapers, reaping early,
In among the bearded barley
Hear a song that echoes cheerly
From the river winding clearly;
Down to tower'd Camelot;
And by the moon the reaper weary,
Piling sheaves in uplands airy,
Listening, whispers, " 'Tis the fairy
Lady of Shalott."

There she weaves by night and day
A magic web with colours gay.
She has heard a whisper say,
A curse is on her if she stay
To look down to Camelot.
She knows not what the curse may be,
And so she weaveth steadily,
And little other care hath she,
The Lady of Shalott.

And moving through a mirror clear
That hangs before her all the year,
Shadows of the world appear.
There she sees the highway near
Winding down to Camelot;
There the river eddy whirls,
And there the surly village churls,
And the red cloaks of market girls
Pass onward from Shalott.

Sometimes a troop of damsels glad,
An abbot on an ambling pad,
Sometimes a curly shepherd lad,
Or long-hair'd page in crimson clad
Goes by to tower'd Camelot;
And sometimes through the mirror blue
The knights come riding two and two.
She hath no loyal Knight and true,
The Lady of Shalott.

But in her web she still delights
To weave the mirror's magic sights,
For often through the silent nights
A funeral, with plumes and lights
And music, went to Camelot;
Or when the Moon was overhead,
Came two young lovers lately wed.
"I am half sick of shadows," said
The Lady of Shalott.

A bow-shot from her bower-eaves,
He rode between the barley sheaves,
The sun came dazzling thro' the leaves,
And flamed upon the brazen greaves
Of bold Sir Lancelot.
A red-cross knight for ever kneel'd
To a lady in his shield,
That sparkled on the yellow field,
Beside remote Shalott.

The gemmy bridle glitter'd free,
Like to some branch of stars we see
Hung in the golden Galaxy.
The bridle bells rang merrily
As he rode down to Camelot:
And from his blazon'd baldric slung
A mighty silver bugle hung,
And as he rode his armor rung
Beside remote Shalott.

All in the blue unclouded weather
Thick-jewell'd shone the saddle-leather,
The helmet and the helmet-feather
Burn'd like one burning flame together,
As he rode down to Camelot.
As often thro' the purple night,
Below the starry clusters bright,
Some bearded meteor, burning bright,
Moves over still Shalott.

His broad clear brow in sunlight glow'd;
On burnish'd hooves his war-horse trode;
From underneath his helmet flow'd
His coal-black curls as on he rode,
As he rode down to Camelot.
From the bank and from the river
He flashed into the crystal mirror,
"Tirra lirra," by the river
Sang Sir Lancelot.

She left the web, she left the loom,
She made three paces through the room,
She saw the water-lily bloom,
She saw the helmet and the plume,
She look'd down to Camelot.
Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror crack'd from side to side;
"The curse is come upon me," cried
The Lady of Shalott.

In the stormy east-wind straining,
The pale yellow woods were waning,
The broad stream in his banks complaining.
Heavily the low sky raining
Over tower'd Camelot;
Down she came and found a boat
Beneath a willow left afloat,
And around about the prow she wrote
The Lady of Shalott.

And down the river's dim expanse
Like some bold seer in a trance,
Seeing all his own mischance --
With a glassy countenance
Did she look to Camelot.
And at the closing of the day
She loosed the chain, and down she lay;
The broad stream bore her far away,
The Lady of Shalott.

Lying, robed in snowy white
That loosely flew to left and right --
The leaves upon her falling light --
Thro' the noises of the night,
She floated down to Camelot:
And as the boat-head wound along
The willowy hills and fields among,
They heard her singing her last song,
The Lady of Shalott.

Heard a carol, mournful, holy,
Chanted loudly, chanted lowly,
Till her blood was frozen slowly,
And her eyes were darkened wholly,
Turn'd to tower'd Camelot.
For ere she reach'd upon the tide
The first house by the water-side,
Singing in her song she died,
The Lady of Shalott.

Under tower and balcony,
By garden-wall and gallery,
A gleaming shape she floated by,
Dead-pale between the houses high,
Silent into Camelot.
Out upon the wharfs they came,
Knight and Burgher, Lord and Dame,
And around the prow they read her name,
The Lady of Shalott.

Who is this? And what is here?
And in the lighted palace near
Died the sound of royal cheer;
And they crossed themselves for fear,
All the Knights at Camelot;
But Lancelot mused a little space
He said, "She has a lovely face;
God in his mercy lend her grace,
The Lady of Shalott."

8 comentarios:

Anael MarsW dijo...

Oooh cuanta info, el poema está bonito pero muy triste, como comentas, ya lo había leído en otra ocasión ^^

Zanthia Khalá dijo...

gracias cari!! :D

LobaDeArena dijo...

¿De qué me suena? Sip, de darlo en la carrera XD.

Es muy bonito a la par que triste, como muchos de los poemas de Tennyson. Además, tiene toda una serie de poemas basados en el ciclo artúrico, los "Idilios" y "El santo grial". Ciclo artúrico = My Master.

Deka Black dijo...

Conocia la canci´´on, pero no el poema. Y mira que es trsite. Eso si, no puedo evitar pensar que de nuevo Lancelot está liandolo todo. No puedo evitarlo, es que es un personaje que me cae fatal.

Pero volviendo a lo que nos ocupa... que solo salga d ela torre para morir camino de Camelot... Es muuuy triste.

Noe_Izumi dijo...

Tennyson... Loba, ya somos dos XDDD

Tennyson es un AMOR, me encanta.

Manu "Strawdog" Sáez dijo...

Boo...

... es broma :P

Hermoso poema que personalmente desconocía. Lástima que no domine el inglés tanto como me gustaría para hacer justicia a la lectura de esos versos.

También hermosas las pinturas. Me ha encantado sobre todo la primera.

Zanthia Khalá dijo...

jeje gracias chiquitines ^^

Sdk0 dijo...

Lo conocí por la canción.
Dos amigas mias se engancharon cuales eternas grupis a la señorita Emilie Autumn, y esa es la canción que más me gusta; no terminaba de entenderla y me molesté en buscarlo por internés: he ahí que encontré más de lo que me imaginaba. Sobra decir que me leí la entrada de wikipedia (maldita wikipedia!) y me tiré una hora mirando cuadros de la Dama.
Busqué el poema y me dejó... encandilada.
Es hermoso.. (vale, suena fatal, pero es que no se me ocurre palabra que lo describa mejor, es sencilla y apasionadamente hermoso >_<)
Lo adoro, aunque lamento no ser capaz de aprendérmelo (y sobre todo fastidiarlo si lo intento recitar con mi paupérrima pronunciación)
Por cierto, ni lo he leído en español ni lo pienso hacer ^^