Page:Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1918.djvu/871

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��LORD TENNYSON 708 The Lady of Shalott

PART I

either side the river lie Long fields of barley and of rye, That clothe the wold and meet the sky; And thro' the field the road runs by

To many-tower'd Camelot; And up and down the people go, Gazing where the lilies blow Round an island there below,

The island of Shalott.

Willows 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 gray walls, and four gray towers, Overlook a space of flowers, And the silent isle imbowers

The Lady of Shalott.

By the margin, willow-veiPd, Slide the heavy barges traiFd By slow horses; and unhail'd The shallop flitteth silken-saiPd

Skimming down to Camelot: But who hath seen her wave her hand? Or at the casement seen her stand? Or is she known in all the land,

The Lady of Shalott?

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