Talk:The Lady of Shalott

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Platonic Reference: "I am half-sick of shadows"[edit]

I'm essentially ignorant on Tennyson. That being said, it's obvious his discussion of "shadows" was a direct reference to Plato's cave and I'd have thought that if there were citations of artists referencing Tennyson's shadows, there'd be a reference to the original work of Plato. Even if Tennyson never stated there was a connection, his education would have certainly included The Republic. Mad Bunny (talk) 22:51, 10 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Layout[edit]

I'm not favorably impressed with page layouts with a strip of illustrations down the right-hand side like a booklet of postage stamps. Can anyone make out any detail with the images reduced like this? --Wetman 03:01, 31 Mar 2005 (UTC)

What do you mean reduced? Do they look small to you? They are 300px wide. Paradiso 03:21, 31 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Well, they do. But these are very detailed paintings, and one can always click on the image for a closer look. --Wetman 03:34, 31 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Hm. Not sure if it fits (or if it does, where?), but there's a French play that's been adapted into an English-language film, with a remarkably similar name, exploring similar themes, though through a profoundly different path, and ensuing outcome.

This Madwoman is "cursed" to live among the dregs of society, has a number of friends (all of them Mad, some of them imaginary) and falls rather in... hate with her own version of Lancelot. Instead of being lured out to Camelot to her own doom, she uses arcana to lure him into her tower (tenement basement) presumably to his.

At any rate, there's enough symmetry and (deliberate?) inversion between the two tales, that I wonder very much if the latter was inspired by, or influenced by Tennyson's poem. I'll ask in the other (Madwoman) side of the Wiki, to see if anyone can assent to a traceable connection, or if it's mere coincidence. --Raduga 17:09, 20 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Either was or forget it...[edit]

"...is commonly believed to have been loosely based..." Waffle. Damp waffle. It is based on Malory or it isn't. It is loosely based or it is directly based. What is "commonly believed" is without interest or relevance, as much here as elsewhere. --Wetman 23:01, 25 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Anne of Green Gables[edit]

Much more important than mentioning that the Anne of Green Gables MOVIE (1985) has a Shalott reference, it would be nice to note that a vital scene in L.M. Montgomery's classic BOOK (1908)has Anne and her friends acting out Tennyson's poem with a borrowed rowboat, which then begins leaking and forces Anne/Elaine to make a quick decision not to die a lanquid maiden's death after all. She clambers out, nightgown and all, onto a nearby bridge support from which she is soon rescued by her hated academic rival/future husband. It's a crucial part of the plot in terms of foreshadowing Anne's adult life and making some amusing statements about her excessive romanticism and need for a balance of practicality. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.54.32.252 (talk) 14:06, 22 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Happy New Year to all[edit]

Have a great new year!

Isn't there a local event coming up? Anything I can do to help? -Neonorange (talk) 03:52, 1 January 2014 (UTC)[reply]

File:W.E.F. Britten - The Early Poems of Alfred, Lord Tennyson - The Lady of Shalott.jpg[edit]

Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that File:W.E.F. Britten - The Early Poems of Alfred, Lord Tennyson - The Lady of Shalott.jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on April 3, 2014. You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2014-04-03. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. Thanks! — Crisco 1492 (talk) 01:05, 15 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Picture of the day

"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

Archive – More featured pictures...

Hark! A Vagrant[edit]

There is also a webcomic by Kate Beaton about this poem. [1] --Lkl ★ 07:04, 25 October 2014 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by El Kael (talk • contribs) [reply]

External links modified[edit]

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Is "Shalott" an entirely fictional island?[edit]

Is "Shalott" an entirely fictional island, or is there an actual island named with that name? Or, is there an actual island with some other name from which Tennyson took inspiration? Or, has there been speculation about which actual island(s) Tennyson might have taken inspiration from? The article would be improved by addressing this. 2601:281:CC00:5FD:3CE7:83B2:B78D:9FBE (talk) 18:28, 28 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Cultural influence[edit]

This section starts off strong with an intelligent discussion of the poem's representation in visual arts. It devolved from there into a collection of mostly trivial mentions in literature, music, and television, free of any context. I have trimmed the first two of these and eliminated the television subsection entirely, as the deleted items contributed nothing to an understanding of the work and very little to its importance. See WP:CULTURALREFS.

Kablammo (talk) 15:12, 25 December 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Additional links at WT:WikiProject_Poetry#Boundless_trivia_at_The_Lady_of_Shalott. I am removing the trivia again, as contrary to policy. Kablammo (talk) 14:39, 28 December 2020 (UTC)[reply]

So I turned almost 7 KB of removed material into just over 2 (removing various detail and also all entries where authors have no Wikipedia articles), and also prosified everything (no longer bullet point lists). Hope you will find it better now. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 5.173.112.123 (talk) 03:36, 6 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Quote by Ormond[edit]

In the section Theme, there is a quote "...valid setting for the study of the artist and the dangers of personal isolation" which is attributed to biographer Leonée Ormond. I am wondering if this attribution should be modified to a different source. I found the same quote used by David Staines, University of Ottawa in two different editions of the Arthurian Encyclopedia:

Lacy, Norris J., ed. (1987), "Tennyson, Alford Lord", The Arthurian Encyclopedia, p. 543, ISBN 978-0-8240-4377-3 (1986 for hardcover)

Lacy, Norris J., ed. (1991), "Tennyson, Alford Lord", The New Arthurian Encyclopedia, p. 446, ISBN 978-0-8240-4377-3

I did not find the quote used by Ormond. Does someone else have a reference showing Ormond using this phrase before 1987? If nothing surfaces, I propose the main article be modified to say "literary critics have said" without listing the name of any specific biographer. then add the exact reference by Staines (1986). Comments welcome. - DutchTreat (talk) 15:54, 10 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Added two references onto the page. Keeping the original text with attribution to Leonée Ormond pending any further comments from other editors. If not feedback, this text will be re-written. - DutchTreat (talk) 12:45, 14 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Completed. Removed the name Ormond from the main article pending more research. Only source found was an article in The Arthurian Encyclopedia (1987) shown above by David Staines. - DutchTreat (talk) 11:34, 24 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]