The Lady of Shalott [Paperback]

When I opened my copy of the Visions in Poetry edition of Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott," I was first astounded and then bewildered by Genevieve Cotes' illustrations of the Tennyson poem. The purpose of pictorial content is to support the text. That's what I expected and thus my criticism of this edition. The poem is given in its entirety, its flights of fancy as beautiful and poignant as ever: the poem itself is impeachable. The illustrations, however, show little regard for the subject matter or chronology of the poem. With Ms. Cotes it seems the artwork is what's important here and not the text. Didn't she read the poem? Cotes' illustrations are anachronisms and this is the problem. The setting appears to be France, Camelot depicted as an early twentieth century French city. (I know the character of Lancelot is a French contribution to the Arthurian Legend, but Cotes' interpretation is ridiculous!) The first illustration presents what appears to be a Parisian couple dressed in 1920's couture. In the background one sees an auto on a bridge and a city skyline hardly medieval.

Tennyson's poem, composed between the years of 1832-42, drew its inspiration from Sir Thomas Malory's "Le Morte Darthur," a compilation of Arthurian romances printed by William Caxton in 1485, in particular the romance "The Fair Maid of Astolat" in which a summary states: "(And, as the booke sayth, she keste such a love unto sir Launcelot that she cowde never withdraw hir loove, wherefore she dyed. And her name was Elayne le Blanke.)" Tennyson takes the story of Elaine and Lancelot and restructures it ("Lancelot and Elaine") in blank verse in his "Idylls of the King." Elaine's story further inspired "The Lady of Shalott," in which the maiden's unrequited love is a kind of curse which causes her to live a life of illusion through the images in the mirror on her wall. The curse "is on her" if she turns her back on the mirror, the life it reflects, turns to the window of her tower and looks out upon the reality of the outside world. The only way she can connect with reality and the world beyond and escape the curse is to weave the mirror's images into a tapestry.

For textual support, then, one would expect artwork depicting medieval dress and architecture, knights with heraldic crests on their shields. Cotes' Lancelot, though astride a charger, wears a military trenchcoat vintage WWI, sports a medal-laden lapel and what appears to be "motorcycle" goggles riding above the brim of his helmet. Where's the rendering of the Golden Age of Chivalry?? In Part One, stanza three, "heavy barges" and "the shallop," (a small sailboat), are given as a modern fishing boat with one of the crew setting or pulling a net. In the next stanza we see "reapers reaping early" wearing sunglasses as protection from the morning glare. In Part iv, stanza four, Cotes has the dead Fairy Lady float past a river or canal front, drifting by the facade of a twentieth century city (hardly the Camelot I envision) and promenade replete with sidewalk cafe and lounging patrons. (Strange, too, that Cotes' "Fairy Lady" sprouts wings when she's outside her tower. Perhaps the Lady only wears them when she "goes out?") Before Cotes sat down at her easel or drawing board, perhaps she should have consulted two beautiful nineteenth century renderings of The Lady of Shalott by William Holman Hunt and John William Waterhouse. Both paintings capture faithfully the medieval times of Arthuriana; it is apparent both artists read the text.

If it weren't for its helpful back material, I would have given this edition only a one star rating. I recently shared Tennyson's beautiful story with my mother and purchased this illustrated version for her birthday present. What a disappointment! In the case of this illustrated version of "The Lady of Shalott," the "search inside this book" feature would have been most helpful.

Lady of Shalott with illustrations by Howard Pyle:
Book is wonderful to read, illustrations are Museum Quality Beautiful-Seller was DELIGHTFUL and very helpful!!

"She knows not what the curse may be..."

Living as a recluse, denying the inevitable curse of mankind---our mortality--- the Lady of Shalott finally breaks free of her prison when faced with a vision of love she cannot resist: Sir Lancelot. The artist's rendition of a final metamorphosis can be interpreted many ways, but at the least signifies how the beauty of our nature as Created beings is exposed when we follow the path for which we were created. See our full review with suggested teaching activities at our website.

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