John William Waterhouse, 1915, "I am half sick of shadows", said the Lady of Shalott (Tennyson, 1842)
Lady of Shalott, amaldiçoada, precisa constantemente de tecer uma tapeçaria mágica sem poder olhar directamente para fora, o mundo. Em vez disso, ela vê através de um espelho que reflecte a movimentada estrada vinda de Camelot.
And moving through a mirror clear
That hangs before her all the year,
Shadows of the world appear.
Quando pára de tecer para olhar directamente, pela janela, para Lancelot, a maldição cai sobre si...
She left the web, she left the loom,
She made three paces through the room,
She saw the water-lily bloom,
She saw the helmet and the plume,
She look'd 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.
excerto de The Lady of Shalott, Tennyson, 1842
