30-Sept-2000
If any of you listen to Loreena McKennitt (she's the lady who did the "Mummer's Dance"), she did the poem, "The Lady of Shalott" to music. It's very pretty. Anyway, I was listening to it and couldn't get it out of my head, so I cast the GW group as characters in this poem. And here is the challenge, can you name all the GW characters I used? One is _VERY_ obvious, but can you guess the rest??? Gambatte!
Disclaimer: "The Lady of Shalott" was written by Alfred Tennyson and therefore isn't mine. Gundam Wing is also not mine. I'm just borrowing them.
indicates the poem
The Lady of Shalott
by Alfred Tennyson
music by Loreena McKennitt
On either side of the river lie
Long field of barley and of rye,
That clothe the wold and meet the sky;
And thro' the field the road run by
To many-tower Camelot;
And up and down the people go,
Gazing where the lilies blow
Round and island there below,
The island of Shalott.
People walk in fields, sowing seeds, checking the crops, shooing birds away from the barley and rye. The fields border a large river with a small island in the middle. Every so often they pause to look at it in wonder.
Willow whiten, aspens quiver,
Little breezes dusk and shiver
Thro' the wave that runs for ever
By the island in the river
Flowing down to Camelot.
Four grey walls, and four grey towers,
Overlook a space of flowers,
And the silent isle embowers
The Lady of Shalott.
On the island stands a small fortress, which encases a beautiful woman. She sits quietly, not looking out the window. Her long dark blond hair is loose except for two small braids twined together with a ribbon.
Only reapers, reaping early,
In among the bearded barley
Hear a song that echoes cheerly
From the river winding clearly,
Down to tower'd Camelot;
And by the moon the reaper weary,
Piling sheaves in uplands airy,
Listening, whispers 'tis the fairy
The Lady of Shalott.'
Four reapers, stare up at the fortess. They notice Relena sitting, not gazing out at them and shudder. Huddling low, one dressed in black with a long braid whispers to the others. A blonde nods his head, a brunette with his bangs sweeping over one eye glances up once more at the fortress. He can't help but wonder who she is and why she is there. Is she a ghost or human? The fourth, his black hair tied back shakes his head and whispers something. They all look up once more, then shoulder their scythes and leave.
There she weaves by night and day
A magic web with colours gay,
She has heard a whisper say,
A curse is on her if she stay
To look down to Camelot.
She knows not what the curse may be,
And so she weaveth steadily,
And little other care hath she,
The Lady of Shalott.
Relena sits in front of a large loom. On it is a beautiful tapestry that is full of bright colors. As she weaves, the tapestry changes as her mood does. She never gazes out the window and never leaves the loom. She is a prisoner, yet doesn't care as long as she can weave.
And moving through a mirror clear
That hangs before her all the year,
Shadows of the world appear.
There she sees the highway near
Winding down to Camelot;
And sometimes thro' the mirror blue
The knights come riding two and two.
She hath no loyal kight and true,
The Lady of Shalott.
A circular mirror hangs in front of Relena above her weaving. It reflects what is happening outside, changing as the day slips into night. In the distance, almost a faded gray, we see the towers of Camelot, which fly grand colorful banners. Knights appear on the roadway to Camelot, lead by two young men, they are discussing a beautiful woman named Lucrezia whom they wish to shower with love. Unfortunately, her affection lies else where. Relena hears nothing of this, but she can guess over what the two bicker about. Choosing her thread carefully, Relena begins to depicts the knights in her tapestry. A tear slides down her cheek. Not understanding why she is crying, she wipes it away.
But in her web she still delights
To weave the mirror's magic sights,
For often thro' silent nights
A funeral, with plumes and lights
And music, went to Camelot;
Or when the moon was overhead
Came to young lovers lately wed.
'I'm half sick of shadows,' she said
The Lady of Shalott.
Night has fallen and still Relena weaves. The mirror shimmers and shows its audience a long line of people walking past her refuge. Four mean carry a coffin draped with a flag and chains of flowers. Beside them is a young girl with long pale blonde hair and dressed in black, leads a riderless sable horse solemnly. Behind her is a long line of people carrying torches. Some are knights, some are nobles, all are dressed somberly. The knights carry their helmets under their arms in honor of the man in the coffin. Relena sighs and for a moment feels pity for the family of the deceased. As the procession passes the mirror's image shifts and a man pulls a woman close to him. Removing her glasses, she leans close and kisses her new husband. His blue eyes sparkle as he runs his hands through her hair, loosing it from its buns. They kiss again. Picking a wild rose from a bush, the husband places it in his wife's hair. She smiles and begins to untie his shirt. Sighing, Relena looks away from the mirror momentarily and studies her craftsmanship instead. A glance up tells her that the lovers are doing what all new married people do on their first night married. Something inside her longs to be touched like that, but she has no one.
A bow-shot from her bower-eaves,
He rode between the barley sheaves,
The sun came dazzling thro' the leaves,
And flamed upon the brazen greaves
Of bold Sir Lancelot.
A red-crossed knight for ever kneel'd
To a lady in his shield,
That sparkled on the yellow field,
Beside remote Shalott.
The sun has long been up. Suddenly a knight on a large white charger gallops through the fields. He turns left and heads down towards the shores of the river. Sunlight glitters on his chain mail, making it appear as if it is on fire. The knight allows his horse to drink, talking to it soothingly. His shield hangs off his saddle and is white except for the red cross that divides it. He is the most faithful of the knights of Camelot and has sworn to protect the queen at all costs.
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 band and from the river
He flashed into the crystal mirror,
'Tirra lirra' by the river
Sang Sir Lancelot.
Relena's mirror shimmers and she looks up and sees the knight. His dark blue eyes lie underneath a mop of rough cut dark hair. From the mirror's perspective it looks almost black, but as he moves into the light, it is revealed to be more brown. He is singing something and Relena swears that she can almost hear his voice. So struck by this knight, that Relena believes there are no others like him.
She left the web, she left the loom,
She mad 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 cracked from side to side;
'The curse is come upon me,' cried
The Lady of Shalott.
Suddenly she realizes that she actually can hear him singing, which means he isn't that far away. She wishes to gaze upon him with her own eyes and not the mirror's. Determined, she stands up and paces about the room, peering out each window in hopes that she might catch a glimpse of him. Relena spies him as he is putting his helmet back on. She watches as he mounts his charger and turns to leave. He spurs the horse into a full gallop and races down the road. Relena continues to watch until he is out of sight, only then does she look up to the towers of Camelot. From behind her the mirror cracks, then falls to the floor. All the color drains from her face and she whirls around in horror. Realizing that what was whispered is true, she decides that if she is going to die, then she wants to at least see the knight one more time.
In the stormy east-wind straining,
The pale yellow woods were waning,
The broad stream in his bands complaining.
Heavily the low sky raining
Over tower'd Camelot;
Down she came and found a boat
Beneath a willow left afloat,
And round about the prow she wrote
The Lady of Shalott.
Driven by a need to see the knight before the curse can fully take effect, Relena hurries down the fortress steps. There moored to the stone dock is a boat. She knows not from whence it came, but silently thanks whatever kind soul left it. She can feel her life slipping away as she takes the knife she normally used for cutting thread and carves her name on the prow of the boat.
And down the river's dim expanse
Like some bold seer in a trance,
Seeing all his own mischance-
With a glassy contenance
Did she look to Camelot.
And at the closing of the day
She loosed the chain, and down she lay;
The broad stream bore her far away,
The Lady of Shalott.
Time is slipping by as Relena loosens the ties that bind the boat. It begins to float down the river towards Camelot, towards where the knight is. She wants to tell him what just his presence has meant for her despite its repercussions. Wishing she had some oar or paddle to make the trip quicker, she instead focuses all her energy on the towers of Camelot, yet she is tired. She can hardly keep her body upright and is forced to lay down. The curse is working faster than she thought.
Heard a carol, mournful, holy,
Chanted loudly, chanted lowly,
Till her blood was frozen slowly,
And her eyes were darkened wholly,
Turn'd to tower'd Camelot.
For ere she reach'd upon the tide
The first house by the water-side,
Singing in her song she died,
The Lady of Shalott.
Knowing that she would not find the knight in time, Relena begins to sing. Remembering the knight's pretty song, she sings that. But the more she sings, the sadder and more somber it becomes. Her life is slipping away with each note, but she doesn't care. She realizes that she has missed life by being shut up in her fortress, but it is too late now. Tears freeze in her eyes as her blood slows to nothing. She strains to finish the song as her vision fails. With one last breath, she sings the final word then falls silent. All she hears is the gentle flowing of the river, then all falls quiet as she approaches the outskirts of the great castle.
Under tower and balcony,
By garden-wall and gallery,
A gleaming shape she floated by,
Dead-pale between the houses high,
Silent into Camelot.
Out upon the warfs they came,
Knight and burghur, lord and dame,
And round the prow they read her name,
The Lady of Shalott.
There is much commotion in the streets. Children calling out, mothers holding their babies close, and squires bounding about. From the banks of the river a girl with dark hair cut short gives out a cry. It is carried throughout the castle as people crowd the riverbank as a boat, with a woman in it enters the inner city. The girl who first saw the boat pushes her way through the gathering crowd, behind her is a woman with light brown, nearly blonde hair tied in two braids. The women approach the boat and read what is carved on the prow.
Who is this? And what is here?
And in the lighted palace near
Died the sound of royal cheer;
And they crossed themselves for fear,
All the knights at Camelot;
But Lancelot mused a little space
He said, 'she has a lovely face;
God in his mercy lend her grace,
The Lady of Shalott.
A girl with reddish curls and one star earring runs into the court where the king and queen are having a dinner party. Panting, she tries to tell them of the strange boat and the woman. The king grows pale as he hears the description and indicates everyone to follow him. The entire court, including knights, ladies in waiting, and the queen herself follow the tall pale blond king. They come to the bank and stop. Fearing a curse from heaven, the knights cross themselves and huddle close. The queen runs a hand through her short dark hair and then slips her arm through the kings. No one is sure what to make of the appearance of the beauty in the boat. One knight pushes his way to the front of the crowd. He is the one Relena spied from her window only a short time before. He approaches the boat, pausing to read the name on the prow. Peering into it, his eye alight on the still form of Relena. A small sad smile creases his face. He bows and whispers a pray for the maiden, then he speaks so that all may hear. "She has a lovely face; God in his mercy lend her grace." Then he leans down and kisses her on the cheek, silently wishing he knew who this lovely woman had been and what had brought her here. "The Lady of Shalott."
Tigress Pern