Question

Read the following stanzas from a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson, then answer the question that follows:

Only reapers, reaping early in among the bearded barley, hear a song that echoes cheerly from the river winding clearly, down to towered camelot: and by the moon the reaper weary, piling sheaves in uplands airy, listening, whispers "'tis the fairy lady of shalott." part ii there she weaves by night and day a magic web with colours gay. she has heard a whisper say, a curse is on her if she stay to look down to camelot. she knows not what the curse may be, and so she weaveth steadily, and little other care hath she, the lady of shalott.

What is the best paraphrase of the bolded stanza from Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem?
a) Music follows the river through the fields of barley.
b) There are murmurs in the fields about a woman they call "the Lady of Shalott."
c) The tired reapers who are out in the fields early supposedly hear the fairy singing songs all the way from the river to the road to Camelot.
d) Workers are in a field gossiping about a woman who sings a lot.

Answer 1

The stanza suggests that reapers in the field, while working, hear a song and murmur that it is the fairy Lady of Shalott (option b)singing. These murmurs convey a shared knowledge or legend about the Lady among the workers.

Step-by-step explanation:

The best paraphrase of the bolded stanza from Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem is (b) There are murmurs in the fields about a woman they call "the Lady of Shalott." The stanza paints a picture of reapers, reaping early in the day, who are able to hear a melodic song.

The song travels with the wind from the river all the way to the fields of barley and ultimately down towards the mythical city of Camelot. The reapers, though tired from their work, hear the song and whisper among themselves that it is the fairy, known as the Lady of Shalott, who is singing.

This interpretation is supported by other stanzas in the poem that describe the surroundings of Shalott and the Lady's actions, including her weaving of a magic web and her isolation due to a mysterious curse. The rumors and whispers by the reapers in the field hint at a wider awareness of the Lady's existence and her otherworldly nature.