Explication of Lady of Shalott

Under tower and balcony,

 By garden-wall and gallery,

 A gleaming shape she floated by,

 Dead-pale [20] between the houses high,

 Silent into Camelot.

 Out upon the wharfs they came,

 Knight and burgher, lord and dame,

 And round the prow they read her name,

 'The Lady of Shalott' [21]

 Who is this? and what is here?

 And in the lighted palace near

 Died the sound of royal cheer;

 And they cross'd themselves for fear,

 All the knights at Camelot:

 But Lancelot [22] mused a little space;

 He said, "She has a lovely face;
 God in his mercy lend her grace,
 The Lady of Shalott". [23]

These last two stanzas from The Lady of Shalott demonstrate the influence that Arthur had in Victorian literature. He is not mentioned by name in this poem but his fabled city is and that is enough to get this poem included in the Arthurian tradition. There are assumptions attached to a tale of Camelot, including ideas of masculinity. In the case of this poem the dominant male character is of course Lancelot who only comments on Lady Shalott's pretty face. This poem is useful in  establishing Victorian ideals about gender roles, of course the role of women is most obvious but there is a male undertone. Lancelot says "God in his mercy lend her grace," this is a representation of the spiritual role that men were expected to fill in the house, as they were not only physical protectors of their family, but patriarchal leaders also.