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The Lady of Shalott" is a Victorian ballad by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–92). The poem recasts Arthurian subject matter, the legend of Elaine of Astolat. In the poem, the Lady of Shalott is cursed to weave eternally without ever looking out at the world, but when she does she falls in love with Sir Lancelot. She strikes out into the world to find him, finding death as she floats along the river towards Camelot.
The poem was a popular subject for pre-Raphaelite painters, though this illustration is from a 1901 critical edition of Tennyson's work.
Illustration: W. E. F. Britten; restoration: Adam Cuerden
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