"the lady of shalott" by alfred, lord tennyson, describes the life of a lady who lives alone in a tower and weaves a tapestry depicting life in the surrounding town. what might the lady of shalott represent?
a.
the solitary life of an artist
b.
the bored life of a housewife
c.
the gloomy life of a nun
d.
the difficult life of a servant

the lady of shalott
by alfred, lord tennyson (excerpt)

no time hath she to sport and play:
a charmed web she weaves alway.
a curse is on her, if she stay
her weaving, either night or day,
to look down to camelot.
she knows not what the curse may be;
therefore she weaveth steadily,
therefore no other care hath she,
the lady of shalott.

she lives with little joy or fear.
over the water, running near,
the sheepbell tinkles in her ear.
before her hangs a mirror clear,
reflecting tower'd camelot.
and as the mazy web she whirls,
she sees 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 thro' 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 thro' the silent nights
a funeral, with plumes and lights
and music, came from camelot:
or when the moon was overhead
came two young lovers lately wed;
`i am half sick of shadows,' said
the lady of shalott.

The answer is letter A. the solitary life of an artist.

Explanation:

It is the understanding of most scholars that Tennyson's poem "The Lady of Shalott" is about the conflict between life and art. Artists are solitary beings in the sense that they spend their days in their own minds, which is represented by the tower where the lady lives. They are often torn by the need to engage into a more social life, leaving the safety of their ideas. It's as if artists fear that, by paying close attention to the real world and its matters (politics, history, money etc.), they will lose touch with art, with magic. That much is represented by the curse in the poem. Thus, very much like the Lady of Shallot, artists stay away from life while at the same time concocting representations of life itself through their work. They may not live it the way other people do, but they paint it, sing of it, write about it - forever lonely and enchanted.

1. read the following excerpt from franklin d. roosevelt's "fireside chat 19":

on the other side of the picture, we must learn also to know that guerilla warfare against the germans in, let us say serbia or norway, us; that a successful russian offensive against the germans us; and that british successes on land or sea in any part of the world strengthen our hands.

remember always that germany and italy, regardless of any formal declaration of war, consider themselves at war with the united states at this moment just as much as they consider themselves at war with britain or russia. and germany puts all the other republics of the americas into the same category of enemies. the people of our sister republics of this hemisphere can be honored by that fact.  

the true goal we seek is far above and beyond the ugly field of battle. when we resort to force, as now we must, we are determined that this force shall be directed toward ultimate good as well as against immediate evil. we americans are not destroyers — we are builders.

analyze the effectiveness of this excerpt. how does it function within the speech as a whole? how does the structure of the excerpt to convey the speech's purpose and key points? support your argument with evidence from the speech. (10 points)