The lady of Shalott

About “The lady of Shalott”

"The Lady of Shalott" is a lyrical ballad by Alfred Tennyson, a 19th-century English poet. Based on the 13th-century Italian text La Damigella di Scalot, the poem tells the story of Elaine of Astolat, a noblewoman trapped in a tower near Camelot. Tennyson wrote two versions of the poem, one in 1832 with 20 stanzas and another in 1842 with 19 stanzas. He also revisited the story in Lancelot and Elaine. The poem's medieval themes and symbolic imagery influenced many artists, particularly the Pre-Raphaelites. It remains one of Tennyson's most famous works. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.)