The Parting of Lancelot and Guinevere (from Illustrations to Tennyson's "Idylls of the King") 1874
Lord Alfred Tennyson’s poem The Lady of Shalott about a woman who weaves day in and day out in a tower above a town called Camelot and can only look at the world through a mirror and shadows. In this fairy-tale scenario, The Lady of Shalott would be cursed if she stopped weaving and looked to the village below. Within the first five lines, Camelot is mentioned as the name for the city that the Lady resides near- whether it is the Legendary Camelot or a city by the same name it is unclear- and Lancelot appears later in the poem- a second clear Arthurian reference in the same poem suggests Tennyson was indeed referring to the original Legendary Camelot- who ends up as the demise of the Lady of Shalott, fulfilling her curse.
Arthurian legend strongly influenced the Victorian Era culture. From fashion, travel, art and literature, Victorian society was enamored with Arthurian themes of grand Camelot, dashing Lancelot, brave Arthur, and the honor of the knights. So, unsurprisingly, The Lady of Shalott as well as several other works by Tennyson are based on Arthurian legend. Tennyson was said to be one of the figureheads for the Arthurian revival in the late 1800s and as a result of his fascination, some speculators say that Tennyson was a large reason that a wave of art and other forms of popular media fascinated with Arthurian themes appeared as inspiration from his work. However, other critics like Roger Simpson say that “Tennyson was not so much the father of the nineteenth-century Arthurian renaissance as he was a major figure who was a part of- and profited from- the prevailing contemporary fascination with the stories of Camelot” (Simpson). Whichever speculation is true, Tennyson’s fascination gave us some wonderful poetry that inspires and entertains readers to this day.
If the subject of the Arthurian revival in the Victorian Era is an interest to you, I suggest these readings!
Camelot Regained: the Arthurian Revival and Tennyson, 1800-1849 by Roger Simpson (https://k-state.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01KSU_INST/1177os2/alma993640843402401 )
The Arthurian Revival in Victorian Art by Debra Mancoff (https://k-state.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01KSU_INST/1177os2/alma993832423402401 )
Arthuriana by Alan Lupack: https://muse-jhu-edu.er.lib.k-state.edu/article/430563