The most famous legend in English mythology is The Legend of King Arthur. It takes place in the magnificent atmosphere of Camelot in the late 5th century. Of course, in the legend where there are important symbols such as King Arthur, Guinevere, round table knights, the story of the Lady of Shalott has been somewhat overshadowed. However, it is quite dramatic [1].

There are different versions of this story. The events described in Sir Thomas Malory’s book Le Morte d’Arthur, written in 1485, are completely different. What is known today and is the most processed in art works is the form mentioned by the British royal poet Alfred Tennyson in his lyrical poem of the same name (Lady of Shalott) [2].

“Lady Elaine is imprisoned on the island of Shalott, located in the middle of a river near Camelot. He is weaving in a tower on this island. But if Elaine gets out of the tower, even if she looks out of the window, she is cursed to die. Its only connection with the outside world is its mirror, where it watches the reflection of the outside through the window. He weaves reflections from the mirror on his carpets, thus immortalizing the limited world he can see. One day he hears a voice singing. He looks in his mirror and sees Lancelot on his horse. In the King Arthur legend, Lancelot is one of Arthur’s round table knights and betrayed Arthur by falling in love with his wife, Guinevere. Lancelot is pretty handsome. Lady Elaine is impressed by her. He wants to see with his eyes. He decides to pursue the handsome knight. For this, the mirror next to him shatters when he looks out the window. He realizes that the curse has begun to happen, but still, with hope, he exits the tower and jumps into a boat standing in the river to catch up with him. After traveling the river for a while, the curse takes place and the beautiful Elaine takes her last breath. When the boat approaches Camelot, those who see a dead woman in it come to look. Among those who came is Lancelot, for whom he died. She looks at Elaine and thinks what a beautiful girl she is, but it’s too late for everything. ” [3,4]

One of the most famous works of art that tells this story is the painting “Lady of Shalott” by Waterhouse. He reflects the emotions of the story he tells so well that it feels like we are looking at a photographed moment. Waterhouse has processed Elaine’s death journey in this work. If we come to the details in the picture; It is known that the model painted by the painter is his wife. With long red hair and a pale face, Elaine captured the anxiety and fear of someone going to death very realistically.

The lady put the rugs she made in the boat. In the far right embroidery a knight appears on his horse. These weavings, which he depicts what he sees from his mirror, symbolize his desires for the real world and which he cannot resist at last. Actually, Elaine is an artist. According to some commentators, this metaphor describes the place of women who have to work in their homes in society today [4]. At the same time, the chain he held with his right hand symbolizes his captivity and his release from this captivity [5].

At the bow of the boat, we see three candles, two of which are extinguished, and a small crucifixion of Christ. These represent the paradise that Elaine is nearing death and will reach after death [3,5].

Waterhouse often painted pictures of mythological stories and literary works. Tennyson’s poem of Lady of Shalott will have attracted a lot of attention as he painted two different paintings on the subject.

This second painting above is “The Lady Of Shalott Looking At Lancelot” made by the painter in 1894. This picture depicts the moment when the mirror is broken and the curse happens. The ropes tied to the lady’s feet symbolize her slavery and imprisonment for weaving [6].

The third and final painting is “I am half sick of shadows, said Lady of Shalott”, made in 1915. Here is the painter who painted Elaine on a loom. The name of the painting is again taken from a line of the poem. The world seen in the mirror to the left of Elaine is vibrant, bright and colorful. We see two young lovers outside. The interior is darkly portrayed with slightly pale colors, except for the lady’s clothes [6].

Apart from the very different Waterhouse depictions, this story has been handled many times by other painters in the history of art. There are many works on the subject that are also adapted to music and cinema.

The original version of the poem can also be found here.  https://d.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/text/tennyson-lancelot-and-elaine 

Sources

1. https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kral_ArthurShalott Lady of King Arthur’s Legend

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaine_of_Astolat

3. Umberto arte

4. https://kayiprihtim.com/inceleme/the-lady-of-shalott-sanatci-izolasyonu/amp/

5. http://aycakoncina.blogspot.com/2018/09/lady-of-shalott-john-william-waterhouse.html?m=1

6.  https://www.diggitmagazine.com/papers/waterhouse-lady-shalott