Gray is a color that surrounds us . It is a color that overrides our moments of beautifully , mesmerizing auroras that appear with each moment of jollity . It is the color of the burden we bear , the duty that humanity is called to fulfill . In his poem “ The Lady of Shalott ,” Lord Tennyson takes this belief and crafts it into a philosophy that states each person is born onto this earth gifted or cursed with this gray we recognize as duty to fulfill . When , however , brilliant shots of vibrancy pass through the gloom , one must decide whether this duty is worth the price of one ’ s happiness which stands out with myriads of color . He then poses this question - if it is , then at what risk is a person willing to chase these streaks of tincture ? Lord Tennyson utilizes the main character as an example of this theory . Just as we are born into the gray , the Lady is first described as being surrounded by four gray walls , never to leave . She is bound to her duty , spinning and fashioning the magical web she sits in front of , much like we are coerced to play roles in life , fulfilling the plans Fate has prearranged . With the ever repeating phrase of Camelot , a reader learns her desire to be seen , to be heard , to be a part of the color that she is barred from , much like how humanity ’ s own desires are heard through calls of peace and cries of war . As Sir Lancelot , the knight she desires , passes , she comes to a decision . Although she does not know what lies ahead of her or at what cost abandoning her duty may bring , she leaves the prison of gray she is surrounded by , chasing after the opportunity that is pulsing with