She is breaking free from the work that was preventing her from looking at her beloved knight.
The Lady of Shalott (1832)By Alfred, Lord Tennyson Part I
On 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
The yellow-leaved waterlily The green-sheathed daffodilly Tremble in the water chilly
Willows whiten, aspens shiver. The sunbeam showers break and quiver In the stream that runneth ever By the island in the river
Four gray walls, and four gray towers Overlook a space of flowers, And the silent isle imbowers
Underneath the bearded barley, The reaper, reaping late and early, Hears her ever chanting cheerly, Like an angel, singing clearly,
O'er the stream of Camelot.
Piling the sheaves in furrows airy, Beneath the moon, the reaper weary Listening whispers, ' 'Tis the fairy,
The little isle is all inrail'd With a rose-fence, and overtrail'd With roses: by the marge unhail'd The shallop flitteth silken sail'd,
Skimming down to Camelot.
A pearl garland winds her head: She leaneth on a velvet bed, Full royally apparelled,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/poetryseason/poems/the_lady_of_shalott.shtml
