Lady of Shalott. The Lady of Shalott is a lyrical ballad by the English poet Alfred Tennyson.
Based on the medieval Donna di Scalotta, it tells the story of Elaine of Astolat, a young noblewoman imprisoned in a tower on an island near Camelot. One of the poet's best-known works, its vivid medieval romanticism and enigmatic symbolism inspired many painters, especially the Pre-Raphaelites and their followers.
Like his other early poems- Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere, and Galahad-the poem recasts Arthurian subject matter loosely based on medieval sources. Tennyson wrote two versions of the poem, one published in 1833, of 20 stanzas, the other in 1842, of 19 stanzas.
The revised version has a significantly different ending. This revision was designed to match Victorian morals regarding gender norms and the act of suicide.
The poem is loosely based on the Arthurian legend of Elaine of Astolat, as recounted in a 13th-century Italian novel titled Donna di Scalotta; the earlier version is closer to the source material than the latter. Tennyson focused on the Lady's isolation in the tower and her decision to participate in the living world, two subjects not even mentioned in the Donna di Scalotta. The first four stanzas of the 1842 poem describe a pastoral setting. The Lady of Shalott lives in an island castle in a river which flows to Camelot, but the local farmers know little about her. And by the
Based on the medieval Donna di Scalotta, it tells the story of Elaine of Astolat, a young noblewoman imprisoned in a tower on an island near Camelot. One of the poet's best-known works, its vivid medieval romanticism and enigmatic symbolism inspired many painters, especially the Pre-Raphaelites and their followers.
Like his other early poems- Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere, and Galahad-the poem recasts Arthurian subject matter loosely based on medieval sources. Tennyson wrote two versions of the poem, one published in 1833, of 20 stanzas, the other in 1842, of 19 stanzas.
The revised version has a significantly different ending. This revision was designed to match Victorian morals regarding gender norms and the act of suicide.
The poem is loosely based on the Arthurian legend of Elaine of Astolat, as recounted in a 13th-century Italian novel titled Donna di Scalotta; the earlier version is closer to the source material than the latter. Tennyson focused on the Lady's isolation in the tower and her decision to participate in the living world, two subjects not even mentioned in the Donna di Scalotta. The first four stanzas of the 1842 poem describe a pastoral setting. The Lady of Shalott lives in an island castle in a river which flows to Camelot, but the local farmers know little about her. And by the
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