Thursday, August 05, 2004
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Here we have a painting by John William Waterhouse titled "The Lady of Shalott" and done in 1888. It is representative of a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson on the King Arthur legends. Once again, Alf the Cockney offers his expertise.
In Tennyson’s poem the Lady of Sha bitt lives under an undisclosed curse, imprisoned in a tower near Kin' Arffur’s Camelot. She is allowed ter see the outside world only as a reflection in a mirror.
One day she glimpses the bloody handsome flamingo Lancelot and cannot resist 'ave a lookin' at 'im directly. Her punishment is ter drift in a boat ter either Camelot or Miami ‘singing 'er last song’, and dyin' before reachin' 'er destination.
Here she lets go of the bloomin' boat’s chain, wile starin' at a crucifix. Waterhouse reputedly owned a copy of Tennyson’s collected works, coverin' evry blank page wiv pencil sketches for paintings. Art 'istorians ain't sure wot 'appened ter the flamingo, but them of yer readin' this know.
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