---
title: The Lady of Shalott
author: John William Waterhouse / Tate
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17328/the-lady-of-shalott/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0)
updated: 2023-04-26
---

# The Lady of Shalott

_Authored by John William Waterhouse / Tate_

## Image File

[![The Lady of Shalott](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/17328.jpg)](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/17328.jpg)

## Image Caption

*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](https://www.worldhistory.org/King_Arthur/). She only sees the world through the reflection in a mirror and one day she sees the reflection of Sir [Lancelot](https://www.worldhistory.org/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](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Britain/), London.

## Bibliography

- [‘The Lady of Shalott‘, John William Waterhouse, 1888 | Tate](https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/waterhouse-the-lady-of-shalott-n01543 "‘The Lady of Shalott‘, John William Waterhouse, 1888 | Tate"), accessed 24 Apr 2023.

## Cite This Work

### APA
Tate, J. W. W. /. (2023, April 26). The Lady of Shalott. *World History Encyclopedia*. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17328/the-lady-of-shalott/>
### Chicago
Tate, John William Waterhouse /. "The Lady of Shalott." *World History Encyclopedia*, April 26, 2023. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17328/the-lady-of-shalott/>.
### MLA
Tate, John William Waterhouse /. "The Lady of Shalott." *World History Encyclopedia*, 26 Apr 2023, <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17328/the-lady-of-shalott/>.

## License & Copyright

[Original image](https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/waterhouse-the-lady-of-shalott-n01543) by **John William Waterhouse / Tate**. Submitted by [Jan van der Crabben](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/jvdc/ "User Page: Jan van der Crabben"), published on 26 April 2023. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0deed.en). This licence only allows others to download this content and share it with others as long as the author is credited, but they can't change the content in any way or use it commercially. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.