Bhatnagar 1

Arshi Bhatnagar
Ms. Amelia Hall
Word and Image
6 November 2015
Rise of Temptation and Downfall of Peace
Temptation is a part of daily life. Every decision, whether it has to do with eating pizza
over a salad or taking the hundred-dollar bill left lying on the floor instead of returning it, is
heavily influenced by temptation. Most people are unable to resist the urges of temptation and
make choices that bring them happiness at the moment but later have consequences that can ruin
the tranquility in their lives. In fact, this temporary happiness blinds people to such an extent that
people often cannot see the problems caused by temptation at the moment they give into it. The
Lady of Shalott, a poem by Alfred Tennyson, demonstrates the dire consequences of giving into
temptation; namely, the main characters peaceful life is destroyed by temptation. Several PreRaphaelite paintings inspired by the poem, such as William Holman Hunts painting of the Lady
of Shalott, also stress the negative consequences of temptation. Both the Pre-Raphaelite paintings
and the poem demonstrate the power of temptation by creating a contrast between red and blue,
in which red dominates, to show the ongoing battle between giving into temptation and leading a
peaceful life. In The Lady of Shalott and its accompanying Pre-Raphaelite paintings, red
triumphs over blue and in so doing, represents the victory of temptation and the destruction of
peace and tranquility.
In a religious context, blue is used to represent peace and harmony. According to Vivian
Jacobs, In paintings, both Christ and the Virgin Mary wear mantles of blue In the Church
blue has become the traditional color of the Virgin Mary and is used on days commemorating
events in her life (29). Blue is a representation of Christ and Virgin Mary, who are both saints.
People attend church to repent for their sins and therefore pray to saints who have resisted the

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temptation to commit sins. Therefore, Christ and Virgin Mary represent saints who resisted
temptation, which makes the blue that they wear a symbol of resisting temptation and living a
calm life without the consequences of giving into temptation. In addition, Vivian Jacobs also
says, in studies dealing with symbolism in religious works of art, blue is defined as signifying
heaven, heavenly love, and truth, constancy, and fidelity (29). Blue represents staying truthful,
constant, and loyal, which are all examples of resisting temptation. Thus, blue once again
signifies resisting temptation. Moreover, lying and being disloyal have consequences that can
ruin the peace in ones life. Therefore, blue is not just a symbol of resisting temptation, but is
also a symbol of living in peace.
The presence of blue in the poem confirms the notion that blue represents peace and
harmony. The repetition of blue throughout the poem forces the reader to focus on this color. One
instance of blue can be seen in the beginning of the poem when the Lady of Shalott resists
temptation and looks through the mirror blue (Tennyson 60). The mirror represents the right
choice, in which the lady resists the temptation of looking out the window directly and achieves
a calm life without the curse. The mirror results in a life of peace so it is therefore described as
being blue, making blue a color of tranquility. In addition, this sentence is grammatically
incorrect; through reversing the standard noun/adjective word order and placing blue after the
noun it precedes, rather than before it, the line puts more emphasis on the color blue. The
emphasis on blue compels the reader to look deeper into its meaning and see it as a
representation of calmness. The color blue appears once again when the author describes the
weather. Before the main character gives into the temptation of looking out the window, the
setting has a blue unclouded weather (Tennyson 91). An unclouded sky represents calmness,
which is once again described by the color blue, making blue a color of peace. In contrast, after
the lady gives into temptation, the weather is described as heavily the low sky raining

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(Tennyson 121). There are now heavy clouds in the sky that block out the peaceful blue;
correspondingly, the sky is no longer described as being blue, since the peace has been destroyed
by temptation. Temptation now holds control.
If blue is a symbol for peace, then red is a symbol for temptation, which can be seen
throughout history. In many cultures, especially in America, red was associated with death, and
as both mercury and red lead are poisonous to the touch, their use in objects associated with
rituals pertaining to death and the afterlife is all the more poignant (Phipps 5). Many cultures
relate red to death. In fact, red lead is poisonous, which makes red a symbol of poison. Poison is
something that taints and infects the body, just as temptation taints and infects the mind with
dangerous thoughts. Thus, temptation is a poisonous force. Since red can represent poison, it can
also be a color of temptation. In addition, a research that was conducted a few years ago on the
human perception of the color red leads to the same conclusion that red can be seen as a color of
temptation. According to the study, red is often associated with dangersclaims have been
made linking the color red to the highest level of hazard (Mehta 1226). Generally, red is seen as
a color of danger, since it is the color of fire and blood. However, people are often attracted to
danger, due to the excitement and adrenaline it gives, and often give into the temptation to
engage in dangerous situations. Since danger is a form of temptation, red can also be seen as a
color of temptation.
The repetition of red in both William Hunts painting and the poem confirms the notion
that red represents temptation. One instance of red can be seen on the right side of the painting,
where a man is grabbing a red apple from a tree. This man reaching up to the apple could
perhaps be considered an allusion to Adam and Eve grabbing an apple from the forbidden tree.
Due to the religious background, an apple is often seen as a symbol of sin and temptation.
Through the same logic, redthe color of an applerepresents temptation. Red also appears

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several times in the imagery of the poem. For example, outside the tower, there are red cloaks of
market girls, a long haired page in crimson clad, and a red-cross knight (53, 58, 78). The
girls, page, and knight outside of the tower are forms of temptation, since the lady is not allowed
to look at them directly. These people are therefore described with the color red to accentuate the
fact that red is a color of temptation.
Blue, a representation of tranquility, and red, a symbol of temptation, fight a battle to gain
control throughout the imagery of the poem, in which red is victorious at the end. An example of
this ongoing battle can be seen when the helmet and the helmet-feather are described as one
burning flame together (Tennyson 94). A flame consists of both blue and red; thus, this plume,
as a burning flame, perhaps represents their fight to gain control. However, the majority of a
flame is red, while only glimpses of blue can be seen along a flames bottom edge; thus, even the
distribution of color in the flame itself emblematizes the dominance of red over blue. This
dominance of red demonstrates temptations victory over peace. Furthermore, imagery is again
used to show this battle between red and blue when the setting is described as being a purple
night (Tennyson 96). Purple is a mix of blue and red, which portrays the ongoing fight between
red and blue in the poem. However, in this purple night, Some bearded meteor, trailing light,/
Moves over little Shalott (Tennyson 98-99). A meteor is a ball of fire and is engulfed in red.
Even though the night is purple, in which red and blue are equal, this red meteor shoots through
the sky to show reds dominance over blue. Red has the power to make itself known even in the
dark sky, which demonstrates the tremendous amount of power that temptation holds. The
meteor validates the fact that temptation prevails.
Reds victory over blue is also shown by the rhyme in the poem. The words loom,
room, bloom, and plume all contain the sound of blue (Tennyson 109-112). Tennyson uses
assonance to repeatedly create the sound of blue, which highlights the significance of the color

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blue in the poem. However, the last line of this rhyme pattern is She saw the helmet and the
plume (Tennyson 112). As previously stated, the helmet is like a flame and is therefore engulfed
in red. The blue rhyme scheme ends the instant that this red helmet is mentioned, which once
again shows the victory of red over blue. The fact that red is able to change the rhyme scheme
demonstrates the power that red holds over the poem. In addition, directly after this rhyme
scheme, she looked down to Camelot (Tennyson 113). Right after red appears, the lady gives
into temptation and looks out the window down to Camelot, which releases the curse. Just the
mention of this influential and powerful red pushes the main character over the edge and causes a
turning point in the story. In fact, this line is indented to put emphasis on the turning point, where
red officially wins the battle. After this turning point, the blue mirror cracked from side to side
(Tennyson 115). Like before, the mirror is a representation of staying away from temptation and
living a peaceful life so it is blue. However, red has destroyed blue and therefore the mirror has
cracked. The peace in the ladys life is now ruined since red has prevailed. Moreover, a mirror
shows ones true reflection. Accordingly, the mirror was a representation of the lady who stayed
true to her own self and resisted temptation. However, the mirror is now destroyed. Temptation
now holds control over all her thoughts and decisions; it is powerful enough to blind the lady to
such an extent that she is no longer herself. Therefore, the cracked mirror demonstrates how
powerful temptation can be.
Reds victory over blue is also confirmed by William Hunts painting, The Lady of
Shalott. The battle between blue and red is apparent in the womans dress, which is divided
halfway between these two colors. The red is creeping up the dress and threatening to overthrow
the originally beautiful blue dress. This infectious nature of red confirms the fact that red
dominates over blue. In fact, her dress unravels just like the peace in her life unravels. Also, on
the bottom right, blue flowers are scattered over the ground. Instead of being placed nicely in a

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vase, these flowers look like they have been knocked over by a powerful force, which in this
case is the power of temptation. The scattering of the blue flowers shows that the peace in the
main characters life has been destroyed and also emphasizes how powerful temptation can be. In
addition, the ladys red hair is creeping up towards the blue sky and is now covering up most of
the blue on top. The fact that her hair has consumed the blue shows that temptation has now
taken over peace and tranquility. Moreover, the presence of red circles around blue throughout
the painting demonstrates how red engulfs and takes over the blue, therefore winning the battle.
For example, the mirror in the back is round and surrounded by red, while everything in the
middle is blue. As a matter of fact, a circular red fence surrounds even the lady herself, showing
that the lady is surrounded by the urge of giving into temptation. Since she ends up giving into it,
red prevails. In the painting, red seems to be taking over the blue, which shows the victory of
temptation over peace.
The victory of red over blue can also be seen in another painting inspired by the poem
called I am half sick of shadows, said the Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse.
When people are half sick of shadows, they have to decide whether they should stay in the safe
shadows and live their peaceful lives or make a change by giving into temptation and get out of
the dark. In other words, they have to make a choice between red and blue. The lady in the
painting is looking outside, which indicates that she has chosen to give into temptation and look
out into the light away from the dark shadows; her choice shows that red has prevailed over blue.
In addition, in contrast to Hunts painting in which all the circles are red, all the circles are blue
in Waterhouses painting of the poem. These blue circles may at first seem to oppose the
argument that red dominates over blue. However, the blue circles are small, while the circles in
Hunts painting are large. While Hunts large red circles emphasize how red holds control over
the lady, Waterhouses small circles emphasize that blue does not encircle and hold control over

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anything major and significant. The size of the blue circles accentuates the fact that blue is
almost powerless and is inferior to red. Also, these blue circles are placed directly in front of the
lady. When something, such as a piece of artwork, is directly in front of someone, the person
usually looks at it. However, the lady is looking over the blue circles into the distance, which
represents how the blue holds no control over her. In other words, the lady has already lost all
sight of blue or tranquility in her life and blue has lost the battle against red. Also, the womans
dress is completely red, without even a trace of blue, which once again emphasizes the
dominance of red over blue. The fact that her dress has no hint of blue signifies how the lady has
been completely taken over by temptation and has no hope of getting back to her old calm life. In
addition, the dominance of red can also be seen outside the window. The roof of the castle in the
back is red, which represents how red is above everything and has control even over the rulers of
the nation who live in the castle.
The painting titled The Lady of Shalott, by John William Waterhouse, also emphasizes
the dominance of red over blue. In this painting, the ladys hair is once again red. Her red hair
shows that the ladys mind has been taken over by thoughts of temptation. In addition, the lady is
gripping onto a red chain, which highlights that she is holding onto temptation and not the peace
or blue in her life. The fact that the woman is holding a red chain shows reds victory over blue.
Also, the object she is holding onto is a chain to show that the woman is chained by the power of
temptation. She is forced to give into it since it is too powerful to resist, once again proving the
power of red over blue. In addition, the tapestry is almost completely red, with slight traces of
blue in the middle, which once again emphasizes reds dominance over blue. The blue in the
design is completely encircled by red to show that the red is taking over the blue. Furthermore,
the water surrounding the lady is covered with weeds and leaves and is therefore no longer pure
blue. In other words, the weeds cover up the calmness and tranquility in her life. Moreover, even

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though the lady is surrounded by blue water, she is looking beyond it into the distance, just as
she was in the previous painting. Once again, the fact that the lady is not even looking at the
water around her shows that she has lost all sight of blue and calmness in her life. She is now
tired of her life trapped inside the boat, even though leaving the boat will ruin the peaceful and
safe life that she has. She chooses to give into the temptation of leaving the boat, which is shown
by her choice to look beyond the blue water into the distance. She chooses red over blue and red
prevails.
Reds dominance over blue can be seen in many Pre-Raphaelite paintings, beyond just
those inspired by the Lady of Shalott. Several other paintings suggest that temptation ruins the
peace in ones life and red prevails over blue. One example of a painting that supports this claim
is Beata Beatrix by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. In this painting, the woman is surrounded by two
figures one wearing dark blue and one wearing red. The fact that both these figures are on
opposite sides of the lady represents how she has to make a choice between the two. These two
figures are almost like the devil and the angel and emphasize the ongoing battle between blue
and red. However, the womans hair is once again red, which shows that the lady has made up
her mind to choose the red figure over the blue one and give into temptation. Therefore, red wins
against blue. In addition, the woman seems to be praying for something with her eyes closed and
arms crossed and the red bird is coming to grant the wish. The fact that the bird that grants the
wish is red shows that the woman gives into temptation to fulfill her wish. The bird also seems to
be taking a payment in exchange for fulfilling the wish, which is the small blue object it carries
in its mouth. This blue object in the mouth of the bird indicates that the woman has traded in
some of the tranquility in her life to get her wish fulfilled by the bird. The temptation to have her
wish fulfilled costs the woman some of the blue or calmness in her life. Therefore, the woman
chooses temptation over tranquility and red prevails over blue.

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Many other Pre-Raphaelite paintings have a similar color scheme, in which red
dominates over blue. In particular, when referring to hair color, a red-gold huewas closely
associated with the Pre-Raphaelite portrait (Harrison 111). Women in Pre-Raphaelite paintings
usually have red hair, including the women in all the paintings I have talked about. Many people
believe that the reason Pre-Raphaelite paintings are usually of women with red hair is that they
are inspired by Elizabeth Siddal. However, red hair has a deeper meaning. The red hair is used to
show how the womens minds have been taken over by temptation and that red dominates every
single choice they make. The women are powerless to the force of temptation. Interestingly, red
hair in these paintings signifies mature, dangerous, daring sexuality (Harrison 111). Red hair is
a symbol of danger. As I previously stated, danger is a form of temptation since people are often
attracted to it. Therefore, the red hair also signifies temptation. Since most of the Pre-Raphaelite
portraits are of women with red hair, the artists are trying to convey a message about the dangers
of temptation.
Both the poem and the different Pre-Raphaelite paintings create a contrast between blue
and red to show the ongoing battle between giving into temptation and maintaining a peaceful
life. In these forms of art, temptation prevails and red dominates over blue. As a result of giving
into temptation, the lady of Shalotts life unravels and her actions lead to her own downfall.
Peace and temptation cannot coexist; they are constantly fighting against each other. Due to their
natural urge to give into temptation, people usually end up letting red win. Giving into
temptation feels good at the moment, just like the lady in the poem was able to achieve a
moments happiness when she was finally able to look out the window. However, in the long run,
temptation leads to consequences and destroys peace. In this case, giving into temptation leads to
the ladys death. Temptation has a blinding effect and prevents people from thinking clearly and
logically. It is a powerful force that is hard to resist but only leads to negative consequences.

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Works Cited
Harrison, Kimberly. "Sensational Hair." Victorian Sensations: Essays on a Scandalous
Genre. Ohio: Ohio State University Press, 2006. 102-114. Print.
Hunt, William Holman. "The Lady of Shalott." (1888-1905). Available on Blackboard Site for
ENGL 1183 FWS: Word and Image. Accessed 11 Nov. 2015.
Jacobs, Vivian. "The Color Blue: Its Use as Metaphor and Symbol." American Speech 33.1
(1958): 29-46. JSTOR. Web. 27 Nov. 2015.
Mehta, Ravi. "Blue or Red? Exploring the Effect of Color on Cognitive Task Performances."
Science 323.5918 (2009): 1226-229. JSTOR. Web. 27 Nov. 2015.
Phipps, Elena. "Cochineal Red: The Art History of a Color." The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Bulletin 67.3, COCHINEAL RED: The Art History of a Color (2010): 4-48. JSTOR. Web.
27 Nov. 2015.
Rossetti, Dante Gabriel. Beata Beatrix. 1864-1870. Tate Gallery, London. Artstor. Web. 27 Nov.
2015. <http://library.artstor.org/library/secure/ViewImages?id=8DlKaFMsKTQwJg%3D
%3D&userId=hzZIfw%3D%3D&zoomparams=>.
Tennyson, Alfred. "The Lady of Shalott" 1833. Blackboard. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
Waterhouse, John William. " 'I Am Half Sick of Shadows,' Said The Lady of Shalott" 1915. Art
Gallery of Ontario. Artstor. Web. 27 Nov. 2015.
<http://library.artstor.org/library/secure/ViewImages?
id=8DFGfDMoMloyLyw4cDx2SHEq&userId=hzZIfw%3D%3D&zoomparams=>.
Waterhouse, John William. The Lady of Shalott. 1888. Tate Gallery, London. Artstor. Web. 27
Nov. 2015. <http://library.artstor.org/library/secure/ViewImages?
id=8DlKaFgkKjc0&userId=hzZIfw%3D%3D&zoomparams=>.

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" 'I am half sick of shadows,' said The Lady of Shalott" by John William Waterhouse

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The Lady of Shalott By John William Waterhouse

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Beata Beatrix by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

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Expanding my Essay
In my original essay, I had only talked about the presence of red and blue in one painting.
However, I wanted to analyze more Pre-Raphaelite paintings and see if I can find similar patterns
in all of the paintings from this era. I wanted to expand my argument to all Pre-Raphaelite art
rather than just one painting. I therefore spent time finding more paintings and picked the ones I
found interesting. I then analyzed the presence of blue and red in the paintings I chose and tried
to find similarities between the different paintings. All the paintings seemed to be saying
something about red and blue, since these colors were present in all of them. I then wanted to
find out more about these two colors.
I wanted to see how scholars define red and blue and the different things that these colors
can represent. To find articles, I first did some casual research. I read through a few blogs and
Wikipedia posts to try to think of possible research terms, such as red hair, danger, and
sexuality. I then used JSTOR to find reliable sources. To find out more about these colors, I
found articles on the historical uses of these colors, as well as a psychological perspective to find
out what the human mind thinks when we see red or blue. I wanted to see if these articles support
my claim or oppose them. The different meanings I found about red and blue seemed to be
similar to the argument I had argued in my previous essay, so I decided to stick to my original
idea and use these scholars to support my claim.
I also looked briefly into the meaning of red hair, just because almost all the paintings I
saw had women with red hair and red hair had come up a lot in class discussions. Although I did
not want to make this the main point of my essay, I did want to at least know something about it
since it came up several times in my argument and reference it in my essay since my essay is

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about red. I found a book on hair color that helped me better understand the meaning of red hair
and therefore create a better argument for the meaning of red.