Illustration
The Lady of Shalott, oil on canvas by John William Waterhouse, 1888. It depicts the following lines of Tennyson's poem The Lady of Shalott:
And down the river's dim expanse
Like some bold seer in a trance,
Seeing all his own mischance –
With glassy countenance
Did she look to Camelot.
And at the closing of the day
She loosed the chain, and down she lay;
The broad stream bore her far away,
The Lady of Shalott.
The poem speaks of a cursed woman who lives in a tower on an island named Shalott, downriver from Camelot, the castle of King Arthur. She only sees the world through the reflection in a mirror and one day she sees the reflection of Sir Lancelot and she cannot resist the temptation to look at him directly. The mirror cracks and she is cursed to drift down the river alone, singing a song but dying before she reaches the shore.
Tate Britain, London.
Related Images
King Arthur & the Lady of the Lake
Lancelot Brings Guinevere to Arthur
The Lady and the Unicorn: Hearing
King Arthur, French Tapestry
Lancelot
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
References
- ‘The Lady of Shalott‘, John William Waterhouse, 1888 | TateAccessed 24 Apr 2023.
Cite This Work
APA Style
Tate, J. W. W. /. (2023, April 26). The Lady of Shalott. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17328/the-lady-of-shalott/
Chicago Style
Tate, John William Waterhouse /. "The Lady of Shalott." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified April 26, 2023. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17328/the-lady-of-shalott/.
MLA Style
Tate, John William Waterhouse /. "The Lady of Shalott." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 26 Apr 2023. Web. 25 Apr 2024.
