The Lady of Shalott
Artist: John William Waterhouse (English, 1849–1917)
Date: 1888
Medium: Oil on canvas
Collection: Tate Britain, London, United Kingdom
‘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.
English poet Alfred Tennyson’s poem ‘The Lady of Shalott’ (1833) describes a heroine confined to a tower and cursed to die if she looks directly upon the outside world. By using a mirror, she embroiders scenes of passers-by. When the Lady glimpses the Arthurian knight Sir Lancelot she falls in love and defies the curse. Out in the cold world, on the point of death, she frees a boat to seek him. Pre-Raphaelite clues foretell her fate: swallows fly low as the wind blows her hair and extinguishes the candles.
