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.