Question

Read this excerpt from "The Lady of Shalott" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. In what way is the Lady of Shalott symbolic of an artist such as a poet?
Thus truth was multiplied on truth, the world
Like one great garden show'd,
And thro' the wreaths of floating dark upcurl'd,
Rare sunrise flow'd.
And Freedom rear'd in that august sunrise
Her beautiful bold brow,
When rites and forms before his burning eyes
Melted like snow.
There was no blood upon her maiden robes
Sunn'd by those orient skies;
But round about the circles of the globes
Of her keen eyes
And in her raiment's hem was traced in flame
WISDOM, a name to shake
All evil dreams of power--a sacred name.
And when she spake,
Her words did gather thunder as they ran,
And as the lightning to the thunder
Which follows it, riving the spirit of man,
Making earth wonder,
So was their meaning to her words.
No sword
Of wrath her right arm whirl'd,
But one poor poet's scroll, and with 'his' word
She shook the world.

Answer 1

"She is forced into isolation from the real world by devotion to her"

The Lady of Shalott is symbolic of an artist such as a poet because she needs isolation in order to create and be inspired. Apart from that, she believes that she is in a higher level. She thinks it is magic and not ordinary at all.