Read this excerpt from "The Lady of Shalott" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Which line marks the climax in the poem?
His broad clear brow in sunlight glow'd;
(On burnish'd hooves his war horse trode)
From underneath his helmet flow'd
His coal-black curls as on he rode,
(As he rode down to Camelot.)
From the bank and from the river
(He flash'd into the crystal mirror,
"Tirra lirra," by the river
Sang Sir Lancelot.)
(She left the web, she left the loom,)
She made three paces thro' the room,
She saw the water lily bloom,
She saw the helmet and the plume,
(She look'd down to Camelot.)
Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror crack'd from side to side;
("The curse is come upon me," cried
The Lady of Shalott.)
Is it (She look'd down to Camelot)?
looked down to camelot
No, the line "The climax of the poem is "The mirror crack'd from side to side." This is the moment when the Lady of Shalott's curse is fulfilled and she breaks free from her isolation and imprisonment in the tower.
No, the line "She look'd down to Camelot" is not the climax of the poem. The climax is actually marked by the line "The mirror crack'd from side to side" in the excerpt you provided. The climax is the turning point or the most intense moment in a story or poem, where the tension reaches its peak.
To determine the climax, it is helpful to consider the significance of the events leading up to it. In "The Lady of Shalott," the Lady has been under a curse and is confined to a tower, weaving a tapestry of the outside world. However, she is forbidden to directly look outside and can only see the world through a mirror. When she sees Sir Lancelot reflected in the mirror, she is overwhelmed by her emotions and decides to break the curse by looking directly at Camelot.
The cracking of the mirror is a symbolic representation of the Lady's defiance of the curse and the consequences that follow. It signals a breaking point and marks the climax of the poem as the Lady's actions have severe and irreversible effects on her fate.
So, to identify the climax in "The Lady of Shalott," focus on the line "The mirror crack'd from side to side."