The Victorian era was filled with rapid change. The changes included the industrial revolution and the colonization of other lands/territories by England. Lord Tennyson's "The Lady of Shallot" and Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach" use ekphrasis to heighten all of the senses in order emphasize the sentiment of opposition or agreement of the rapid change that occurred during industrial revolution within the Victorian era, more specifically colonization and its consequences. Lord Tennyson's "The Lady of Shallot" is a narrative that is for the colonization and the rapid changes of the industrial revolution, whereas Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach" lyric poem depicts the opposition to it. Lord Tennyson's "The Lady of Shallot" demonstrates the beauty and need for colonization through the narrative story of a cursed young woman yearning to escape her tower. The world that the Lady of Shallot currently lived in was isolating and depressing, her whole world was "four gray walls, and four gray towers" …show more content…
The poem takes place at night with "the moon lies fair, upon the straits; on the French coast the light gleams and is gone" (lines 2-4). In this line, the light can come and go easily when surrounded by darkness. This represents the faith that comes and goes during colonization and the deficit of the senses. There is no certainty in what can be accomplished during colonization, or how to accomplish it. Travels for colonization was done by boats to travel the sea. The sea can be calm but it is mostly ruthless and dangerous. This is reflected in line 9 and 10 "Listen! You hear the grating roar of pebbles which the weaves draw back and fling". The sea is loud and fights against the pebbles, the fight against humans will be much more treacherous. The rewards are uncertain and line 17 demonstrates this "into his mind the turbid ebb and