Worlds That Are Not For Us / Mundos que no nos corresponden

ELAINE

The Lady of Shalott / La dama de Shalott

You and I see the same thing when we look in a mirror.

Usted y yo vemos lo mismo cuando miramos en un espejo.

Don Quijote

I totally agree. I believe the lady this post is about and I have a lot in common. We both wished to be part of a world that was not meant for us.

Diga usted que sí. Me parece que la dama de la que va esta entrada y yo tenemos mucho en común. Los dos quisimos participar de un mundo que no nos correspondía. 

The Lady of Shalott

A lady lived alone in her castle on an island in a river that passed by Camelot. The peasants sometimes heard her sing  but never got to see her. She could only gaze on all that surrounded her castle as reflected in a huge mirror. She whiled away the hours spinning a great tapestry in which she portrayed all she saw in the mirror. One day she saw Sir Lancelot riding by the river. Unlike the rest, he rode alone. Impressed, she went to a window to see him in person. When she looked through it, the mirror split in two, the wind carried away her tapestry and a curse that hang over her fell upon her. The lady knew she was going to die, but she spent the little time left her trying to show herself to the man whose image had cut her life short. She searched for and found a barge and wrote her name on it. Singing her swan song, she got on the barge and let it float down the river to Camelot. When the people of Camelot saw the barge, the lady had already passed away. Stunned because the woman in the boat was dead and not just sleeping, all remained mute save Sir Lancelot, who returned the compliment praising the beauty of her face out loud and asked God to have mercy on her soul. 

La Dama de Shalott

Una dama vive sola, encerrada en un castillo en una isla sita en un río que pasa por Camelot. Los campesinos que faenan a las orillas del río la oyen cantar, pero nunca la han visto. Ella ve todo aquello que queda fuera de su isla reflejado en un gran espejo. Pasa el tiempo tejiendo lo que ve en un gran tapiz mágico. Un día ve reflejado al caballero Lanzarote. Al contrario que los demás, Lanzarote cabalga solo. Atraída por él, se acerca a una ventana para verle en persona. Al mirar por la misma, el espejo se rompe, el viento se lleva el tapiz y una maldición que pendía sobre la dama cae fatalmente sobre ella. La dama sabe que va a morir, pero emplea el tiempo que le queda en conseguir una barca. Cantando su canción de cisne, entra en la barca y la deja flotar río abajo hacia Camelot. Cuando los habitantes de ese reino encuentran la barca, la dama ya ha fallecido. Todos enmudecen al ver que la mujer que yace en el barco no está dormida sino muerta, salvo Lanzarote, que devuelve el cumplido al apreciar en voz alta la belleza de su rostro y pide que Dios tenga piedad de su alma.     

Alfred Tennyson

You can listen to the poem I wrote about the Lady of Shalott by clicking on the link below. 

Puedes escuchar el poema que escribí sobre la dama de Shalott pinchando en el vínculo que hay debajo:.

ELAINE