she made three paces through the room
she saw the water lily bloom
she saw the helmet and the plume,
she looked down to Camelot.
out flew the web and floated wide
the mirror crack'd from side to side
'the curse is come upon me!' cried,
the lady of shalott.'
Alfred Lord Tennyson
Without a doubt one of the greatest ballads in existence. Arthurian legends are one of the only things that are almost universally liked by the general public. there's something for everyone, intrigue, forbidden romance, magic, swordfights, bravery, cowardice, religion even... And Elaine of Shalott's story is a touching one, revealing a side to Lancelot that previously we hadn't recognised. He is self-absorbed, and she, a cursed maiden, falls in love with his beauty, and all he does is spare her a few words of sadness. I can imagine Lancelot, actually, being too immersed in his own reflection to think of the dying girl before him.
One of my favourite bits in any movie is in the 1985 Anne of Green Gables, where she and her friends attempt to re-enact Elaine's story and cast Anne into the water with a posy of flowers. I haven't laughed harder since the part where, in the middle of the river and stuck in a boat without oars Anne realises her predicament and starts screaming wildly, trying to think of how she could possibly solve the problem. the transition from dying cursed maiden to frantic and hysterical teenage girl is hilarious.
anyway, the poem is just magical, simply magical, and epic too. definitely much too long to put in one post. but i recommend it to everyone, it is just beautifully written, the rhyming scheme is incredible to perceive, the story tragic, but beautiful.
and of course no writing on elaine is complete without waterhouse's iconic painting, hanging in the tate gallery.
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