Rhyme Scheme & Meter

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RHYME SCHEME  

The rhyme scheme throughout the poem is consistent through each stanza, although each stanza uses different rhymes for A and C.  It goes:


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


Throughout the poem, in each stanza lines 5 and 9 end in the words Camelot and Shalott.  The link that exists between Shalott and Camelot as well as the ordered, patterned life the Lady of Shalott leads. Everything fits  into the pattern as it  should.  There is no change, only small variations (different A and C rrhymes in each stanza) which fit into an ordered scheme.  However, the introduction of Lancelot in Sec III complicates things.  He interposes  himself into the Camelot/Shalott rhyme thus symbolizing the changes he unintentionally made in the Lady of Shalott's life.  The pattern is broken.  After Lancelot leaves, the rhyme scheme returns to how it was (Camelot/Shalott) but it is as if the Lady of Shalott is trying to take back the control she lost over her life, thus killing herself in Sec IV to maintain what she had. 

METER

    This poem is made to be spoken. The meter switches between being iambic and trochaic tetrameter, in order to make the poem flow when spoken and provide variety.  When read aloud, the poem sounds like the "carol, mournful, holy/ chanted loudly, chanted lowly" which the Lady of Shalott sings as she dies.  If  analyzing the meter seems confusing, read this poem out loud.  The stress and changes in meter follow common speech. But remember to also follow the punctuation. Below is an scansion of the first section. 


On EI/-ther SIDE/ the RI/-ver LIE/
Long FIELDS/ of BAR/-ley AND/ of RYE,/
That CLOTHE/ the WOLD/ and MEET/ the SKY;/
And THROUGH / the FIELDS/ the ROAD/ runs BY/
       To MA/-ny-TOW/-er'd CAM/-e-LOT;/
And UP/ and DOWN/ the PEO/-ple GO,/
GAZ-ing /WHERE the/ LIL-ies/ BLOW*/
ROUND an/ IS-land/ THERE be/-LOW,
The IS/-land OF/ Sha-LOTT./*
 The first stanza is primarily  iambic tetrameter.








*Notice the  change in meter.
 This makes it more speakable, and keeps the poem   from becoming monotonous.  The final
foot of this line and the one that follows  are also an imperfect feet.

*The last ine in each stanze has three feet instead of four

WIL-lows /WHI-ten,/ ASP-ens/ QUI-ver, /*             
LIT-tle/ BRE-ezes/ DUSK and /SHI-ver /
THROUGH the /WAVE that/ RUNS for/-EV-er/
BY the/ IS-land/ IN the/ RI-ver/
         FLOW-ing/ DOWN to/ CAM-e/-LOT.
FOUR grey/ WALLS, and /FOUR grey /TOW-ers,
O-ver-LOOK/ a SPACE/ of FLOW/-ers,
AND the/ SI-lent/ ISLE em/-BOW-ers/
The LA/-dy OF/ Sha-LOTT./




* The meter switches here from iambic
to trochaic.  It stays consistent though
throughout the stanza, until the last line.
There the meter changes to provide emphasis
on the subject of the poem "The Lady of Shalott."

BY the /MAR-gin, /WIL-low/-VEIL'D, /
SLIDE the /HEA-vy/ BAR-ges /TRAIL'D/
BY slow /HOR-ses;/ AND un/-HAILED/
The SHAL/-lop FLIT-teth,/ SILK-en-/SAIL'D/
          SKIM-ming/ DOWN to/ CAM-e-LOT./
Yet WHO/ hath SEEN/ her WAVE /her HAND?/ *
Or AT /the CASE-ment /SEEN her /STAND, /
        The LA/-dy OF /Sha-LOTT,/








* Here the meter switches from trochaic back to iambic

ON-ly/ REA-pers,/ REA-ping/ EAR-ly/,
IN a/-MONG the/ BEARD-ed/ BAR-ley/
HEAR a /SONG that /ECH-oes/ CHEER-ly/
FROM the/ RI-ver /WIND-ing/ CLEAR-ly,/
       DOWN to /TOW-ered/ CAM-e/-LOT:
And BY/the MOON/ the REA/-per WEA/-ry,
PIL-ing /SHEAVES in /UP-lands /AIR-y, /
LIST-ening, / WHIS-pers, "/ 'TIS the /FAI-ry/
        LA-dy/ OF Sha-/LOTT."/