How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
She threw her wet hair backward from her brow (line 2)
In just the second line of the poem, we are given an interesting little detail about Guenevere's physical appearance: she has "wet hair." Why is it wet? What does that dampness mean? We don't know yet, but we do know that Guenevere's appearance is probably going to be an important aspect of the poem.
Quote #2
Her hand close to her mouth touching her cheek,
As though she had had there a shameful blow (lines 3-4)
Here in the opening lines we can already see some tension between how things appear and how they really are. Guenevere puts her hand on her cheek "as though" she had been smacked. We don't know for sure why she is really touching her cheek.
Quote #3
'After a shivering half-hour you said,
"God help! heaven's colour, the blue;" and he said, "hell."
Perhaps you then would roll upon your bed,
And cry to all good men that loved you well,
"Ah Christ! if only I had known, known, known;"' (lines 37-41)
In this opening allegory of the choice between the red and blue cloths, Guenevere emphasizes the difference between the way things appear and what they really are. In her "what-if" situation, the man on his deathbed chooses the blue cloth because blue is the color of "heaven." It's the wrong choice – blue represents "hell" – but how could he have known that?