These lines are full of visual and aural imagery. One
imagines the glittering jewels in the horse's bridle and the sound the bridle bells make
in the silent forest. The comparison to the "Golden Galaxy" reminds the reader that the
Lady of Shalott is hidden away and remote, far from consideration and awareness of the
wide world at large, and unable to go outside to look at the night sky as most people
can.
This is also a very important line because it
describes the spectacle of Lancelot's horse, and the distraction it represents for the
Lady of Shalott. Because she notices his beauty, and the beauty of the horse, bedecked
in jewels and bells, she is cursed. She sees the appeal of the outside world, and is
entranced by the possibility of love, and is destroyed by it. This is a powerful
commentary on the power and tragedy of romantic love, which explains why the poem's
popularity has endured.
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