The Lady of Shalott

Story

The Lady of Shalott lives alone in a tower overlooking the kingdom of Camelot. She knows that if she looks down at the bustle of people below, a curse will come upon her, so she spends her days weaving and watching their shadows through a mirror. But then one fateful day, the brave Sir Lancelot rides past her tower singing, and she cannot resist…

Why we chose it

A classic lyrical ballad which tells a tragic story of unrequited love, based on a medieval romance set in the legendary world of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

Where it came from

Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809 – 1892) was a hugely successful English poet of the Victorian era. He was the fourth of 12 children. His father, though often a cruel man, instilled a love of books in them, and Tennyson wrote his first poems at age 8. The Lady of Shalott is one of Tennyson’s earliest works, appearing in Poems, written following his father’s death and his exit from Cambridge University. Tennyson loved the romance of the medieval era, particularly Arthurian legends, which he often used for his poetry, including The Lady of Shalott. Specifically, he based the poem on a 13^th century Italian story, Donna di Scalotta.

Where it went next

The Lady of Shalott was not initially well-received by critics. John Wilson Croker wrote a particularly harsh review, which upset Tennyson hugely. He became discouraged for a while, but eventually took the criticism and used it to rewrite the poem, republishing it in 1842. The Lady of Shalott ultimately inspired many contemporary artists, particularly the Pre-Raphaelites, many of whom created paintings based on the poem, including William Holman Hunt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and John William Waterhouse. Although his poetic career had a rocky start, Tennyson eventually found great popularity, becoming poet laureate in 1850. When he died 11,000 people applied for tickets to his funeral in Westminster Abbey. The poem has since been used and referenced in many books, films, and even TV series. A picture book version illustrated by Charles Keeping was published in 1989.

Associated stories

Tennyson wrote countless other poems over his long career, including The Charge of the Light Brigade (1854), and In Memoriam A. H. H. (1849).