Poetry Analysis Essay
AP Literature
Analyzing Author’s Style: “The Lady of Shalott” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
In the narrative poem “The Lady of Shalott,” Tennyson employs the repetition of
sounds, such as rhyme and alliteration, to weave the dark, dreamy tale of his doomed
heroine. In a poetry analysis essay (four paragraphs), identify specific examples of rhyme or
alliteration in the poem and explain how these repetitions of sound enhance the poem’s
mood and themes. Remember all the writing instruction that you have had this year: use it
as you craft your essay! You will be turning in your pre-writing, your first draft, and your
final essay, which will eventually be typed, using MLA formatting.
Revising tips:
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Include direct quotations (embed text) from the poem to provide examples of Tennyson’s
use of the repetition of sounds.
Include line numbers for each quotation.
Make sure you have explained why your examples reflect the mood or themes of the poem.
Vocabulary:
• Theme: The poet’s message about life that is universal and transcends the text; the message
is a complete sentence/statement.
• Mood: The feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for a reader; the mood may change
over the course of the work. Adjectives are used to describe mood.
• Tone: The poet’s attitude toward what he or she is writing about. Adjectives are used to
describe tone.
• Speaker: The poem’s voice that talks to the reader; sometimes the speaker is an invented
persona, or character. In some poems, the speaker is a distant observer, in others, the
speaker is directly involved in the experience.
• Camelot: The castle and court of King Arthur
• Lancelot: King Arthur’s best knight of the knights of the round table
• Setting: Time and place; this poem is set during the middle ages
• Citing verse: See below example for citing verse in a poem