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| Author | Topic: The Lady of shallott |
| Serena Williams |
posted 12/4/04 9:43 PM
The lady of Shallott and my thoughtsSerena WilliamsI was in this English class of 13 year-old children in a school where I work. The class was led by an experienced, native teacher in her early thirties. She was teaching a ballad called – ‘The Lady of Shallot’. I read the ballad before but it simply came alive through the way she presented it. I was there to support about four children who were second language learners. How could one teach a ballad written in the 19th century English to children who can barely speak English?Well, I will give you a little tour of this teacher’s lesson. The teacher first drew a long tower (as four towers would crowd the board) on the island of Shallott, then she drew the lines of the river leading to Camelot and on both sides of the river she drew the barley and rye fields. She then drew a pathway along the other side of the river. On the path, a couple of market girls and slightly ahead of them the damsels appeared. The knights ‘two and two’, riding on horses, boldly made their way to Camelot.The forlorn figure of the lady of Shallott, weaving away, could be seen through the tower window. Sir Lancelot was riding right behind the market girls with his ‘coal-black curl’ and his ‘helmet and plume’. As the teacher drew, she kept eliciting from the students about what she was going to draw next. My students and the rest of the class copied the picture from the board and suddenly the story of ‘The Lady of Shallott’ came alive through that drawing.However, my imagination didn’t stop there with the lesson – it was only the beginning. In my mind I saw the lady, being fully aware of the curse that was upon her, come out of the tower enchanted by Sir Lancelot’s song. As she rowed the boat, I could hear an out-of-this-world tune that I had heard some time ago. The picture on the board and the tune in my mind stirred a thought – the lady wasn’t only after the source of the song but after the greater love that encompassed all. The two portraits of her painted by a great artist suddenly sprang in my mind – the one where she was in the boat and the other where her lovely serene body was floating on the river, at the sight of which, Sir Lancelot said:"She has a lovely' face; God in his mercy lend her grace, The Lady of Shalott."I could pull out the first picture from ‘Google’ but couldn’t find the other one, the other picture of ‘The Lady of Shallott’. |
| Admin |
posted 12/5/04 7:38 PM
It's been a long time since I've had a chance to pop back to the board, and how glad I am to have chosen today. What a beautiful story you've told - thank you so very much for sharing it! |
| linda bruel |
posted 8/30/05 11:07 PM
[This message has been edited on 09/05/2005] |
| linda bruel |
posted 8/30/05 11:20 PM
[This message has been edited on 09/05/2005] |
| linda bruel |
posted 8/30/05 11:21 PM
[This message has been edited on 09/05/2005] |
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