I’ve found inspiration in many poems, including ‘The Lady of Shalott’ written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson in 1832 and 1842. It tells the story of a young noblewoman stranded in a tower on an island up the river from Camelot. She suffers from a mysterious curse and must continually weave images on her loom without looking out at the world.

So instead, she looks into a mirror which reflects the busy road and the people of Camelot who pass by her island. One of these is “bold Sir Lancelot”. The effect of seeing Lancelot makes her stop her weaving and actually look out of the window - which brings about the curse. She leaves her tower, finds a boat and floats down the river to Camelot - but dies before arriving.

Many other painters (including John William Waterhouse) have found similar inspiration in these verses - and now I know why!

So far I’ve only responded to some of the stanzas. Stay tuned to see more in the near future.

The Lady of Shalott

'And thro’ the field the road runs by To many-tower’d Camelot'

'And thro’ the field the road runs by
To many-tower’d Camelot'

'Four grey walls, and four grey towers'

'Four grey walls, and four grey towers'

'By the margin, willow-veil’d, Slide the heavy barges trail’d'

'By the margin, willow-veil’d,
Slide the heavy barges trail’d'

'But in her web she still delights To weave the mirror’s magic sights'

'But in her web she still delights
To weave the mirror’s magic sights'

'A bow-shot from her bower-eaves, He rode between the barley sheaves'

'A bow-shot from her bower-eaves,
He rode between the barley sheaves'

'The gemmy bridle glitter’d free, Like to some branch of stars we see'

'The gemmy bridle glitter’d free,
Like to some branch of stars we see'

'The helmet and the helmet-feather Burn'd like one burning flame together'

'The helmet and the helmet-feather
Burn'd like one burning flame together'

'Below the starry clusters bright, Some bearded meteor, trailing light, Moves over still Shallot'

'Below the starry clusters bright,
Some bearded meteor, trailing light,
Moves over still Shallot'

'From underneath his helmet flow’d His coal black curls as on he rode'

'From underneath his helmet flow’d
His coal black curls as on he rode'

'She saw he water-lily bloom, She saw the helmet and the plume'

'She saw he water-lily bloom,
She saw the helmet and the plume'