04 November 2024 by Jian Zhi Qiu
Quote from Dear Su Yen pp.120-125
Dear Su Yen
You wondered about the story of the Lady of Shallot. You will find it in a poem by Tennyson, a very influential nineteenth century English poet; he was appointed to the post of Poet Laureate, which means he was the official poet for the nation, and he held this position for forty-three years. He often used classical and especially mediaeval stories for his poems. A well known example is a very long collection of twelve narrative poems, called Idylls of the King, based on the legends of King Arthur. We call them narrative poems because they tell a story or narrative. Tennyson based these poems on various mediaeval manuscripts, principally one called Le Mort d'Arthur, which is a French title and means "The Death of Arthur'. When you get to know the stories perhaps that painting of Arthur's death will have more tragic meaning for you.
Tennyson used an old Norman-French manuscript for The Lady of Shallot. He wrote the poem early in his career when he was a young man; it was among the first of his many poems about Arthur. The Lady of Shallot spends her days in a fine castle; no one sees her, but sometimes people hear her beautiful singing. She is weaving a magic tapestry and in her mirror she sees the world passing by outside. This is rather like an idea from the Greek philosopher, Plato, who suggested our knowledge of reality is no better than seeing shadows of the world on a cave wall. So maybe she does not know much about the real world, but she seems to be quite contented.
Here are just a few verses.
Maybe this is something like those imaginings of the middle ages you used to have when you were young in Taiwan. The word 'fairy' suggests that she is a magic person. Camelot is of course the fabled court of King Arthur.
The curse seems far away; and then in her mirror she sees King Arthur's bravest knight, Sir Lancelot.
Without thought, maybe, of the consequences her eyes follow where this man is going: she looks down to Camelot.
Her life is broken irreparably, like the mirror. We don't know whether she fell instantly in love, or whether intense curiosity led her to ignore the curse, but the outside world has intruded into her life. The mood of the poem changes.
This is the scene you saw in the painting; it is interesting that it spoke to you although you didn't know the story. This verse is a skilful word picture of a cold, wet, late autumn day: strong cold east wind; low dark cloud; rain, the woodland trees' pale yellow autumn leaves; the river, swollen by rain, rushing against its banks. Although the poem doesn't say so, the lady must have been very cold and wet.
In the story there are many things which are not explained. Certainly John William-Waterhouse chose the most dramatic moment for his painting, as the lady untied the boat and allowed the river to carry her away, though not the most visually striking. I can't remember whether the painting shows the weather as stormy; can you?
