Why did the speaker use images of darkness to describe the knight in The lady of Shallot?

Answer 1

That the speaker uses images of darkness to describe the knight in The Lady of Shallot is a misconception. In fact, the poet uses vivid, bright and colourful images to present Sir. Lancelot in the river bank-scene at Shallot. His broad clear brow glowed in the sunlight, his horse's hoofs were highly polished- burnished, and his coal-black curls flew from underneath his glittering helmet. He appeared like a meteor trailing light across the sky and instantly dispelled the gloom and dreariness in the life of the Lady of Shallot and passed, again like a meteor. There is mention of other knights who come riding two and two in the poem who also are images of vividness and brightness.

Answer 2

The use of darkness in describing the knight in "The Lady of Shallot" creates an air of mystery and foreboding around him, highlighting his enigmatic and distant nature. It serves to underscore the knight's unattainability and the Lady's doomed fascination with him. The darkness may also symbolize the knight's role as a romantic, unattainable figure in the Lady's isolated world.