In 1848, at the peak of British industrialism and urbanization, a group of artists founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a movement which revolted against contemporary academic art. Searching for new themes of a higher truth and purity, the group did not only turn to artistic and literary sources of the Medieval Ages, the Renaissance and Romanticism but also to the poetic work of the contemporary Victorian Alfred Lord Tennyson. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the poet laureate shared a poetic affinity with medieval literature and culture. The Middle Ages provided an ideal counter world of romance, chivalry, simple order, and religious faith. In an era of modern science, Darwinism, and religious scepticism, Tennyson found his sources of inspiration in Arthurian legends and Shakespearian drama.
Between the mid 19th century and the end of World War I, Pre-Raphaelite artists produced a great number of paintings and illustrations, ie. the illustrated Moxon Edition of Poems (1857), based on the work of Alfred Tennyson. Significant thematic fascination was directed towards early romantic maiden poems, i.e. "Mariana" and "The Lady of Shalott", both published in 1832 and revised in 1842. This research paper will examine the structure, atmosphere, and symbolism of these Tennysonian ballads and analyze the corresponding paintings of John Everett Millais, William Holman Hunt, and John William Waterhouse.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Tennyson’s Mariana (1830)
2. Millais’s pictorial interpretation of Mariana (1851)
3. Tennyson’s The Lady of Shalott (1832, revised 1842)
4. Hunt’s pictorial interpretation of The Lady of Shalott (1889-92/1886-1905)
5. Waterhouse’s pictorial interpretation of The Lady of Shalott (1888)
Conclusion
Objectives and Core Themes
This academic paper examines the influence of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poetry on the Pre-Raphaelite movement, focusing specifically on how his ballads "Mariana" and "The Lady of Shalott" inspired key visual interpretations by John Everett Millais, William Holman Hunt, and John William Waterhouse. The work explores how the artists navigated the intersection of literature and visual art to express their own thematic and philosophical concerns.
- Analysis of the structural, atmospheric, and symbolic elements in Tennyson’s early poetry.
- Examination of how Victorian visual art translates literary maiden poems into pictorial narratives.
- Evaluation of artistic techniques and iconography used to convey psychological states.
- Investigation into the conflict between art, social duty, and personal desire as depicted by the Pre-Raphaelites.
Excerpt from the Book
1. Tennyson’s Mariana (1830)
Written in 1830 and published in Poems in 1832, Mariana belongs to Tennyson’s early poetry. The poem was inspired by a female character from William Shakespeare’s comedy Measure for Measure. The epigraph “Mariana in the moated grange” is not an exact quotation, but drawn from the following line of the play: “There, at the moated grange, resides this dejected Mariana.” After losing her dowry in a shipwreck, the young maiden Mariana has been abandoned by her lover Angelo. In an outlying farmhouse, she leads a life of melancholy isolation without any connection to the outer world and desperately waits for the return of her lover. Tennyson creates a psychological portrait of Mariana’s state of mind. The female character is developed from the simple emotion of losing hope and wishing for death. Her constant crying, sleepless wandering at night, and suicidal thoughts are typical symptoms of severe mental depression.
To create an authentic atmosphere, Tennyson chose the archaic form of the ballad. The poem is arranged in seven twelve-line stanzas, each of which is divided into three four-line rhyme units according to the scheme ABAB CDDC EFEF. The lines are in iambic tetrameters, with exception of the trimeter in the tenth and twelfth line of every stanza. The recurring refrain of the ballad creates a lyrical atmosphere of enchantment and emphasizes Mariana’s brooding over her hopeless dilemma.
Chapter Summary
Introduction: Provides the historical context of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood’s rebellion against academic art and their shared interest in medievalism and Tennysonian poetry.
1. Tennyson’s Mariana (1830): Analyzes the psychological landscape and symbolic imagery of Tennyson’s poem, specifically focusing on themes of isolation and longing.
2. Millais’s pictorial interpretation of Mariana (1851): Discusses how Millais translated Tennyson’s poem into a visual work, incorporating Christian iconography and Gothic elements.
3. Tennyson’s The Lady of Shalott (1832, revised 1842): Explores the sources of Tennyson’s ballad and its interpretation as a conflict between art and social life.
4. Hunt’s pictorial interpretation of The Lady of Shalott (1889-92/1886-1905): Details how Hunt depicted the Lady of Shalott as a powerful femme fatale, using complex moral allegories.
5. Waterhouse’s pictorial interpretation of The Lady of Shalott (1888): Examines Waterhouse’s rendering of the poem as a lyrical and melancholy scene of departure.
Conclusion: Summarizes the relationship between the poetic source and the artistic interpretation, highlighting how each artist added their own unique iconography.
Keywords
Alfred Lord Tennyson, Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Mariana, The Lady of Shalott, John Everett Millais, William Holman Hunt, John William Waterhouse, Victorian Art, Literary Painting, Symbolism, Christian Iconography, Femine Passivity, Medievalism, Romanticism, Artistic Interpretation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this research paper?
The paper explores the deep thematic connection between Alfred Lord Tennyson’s literary works and the visual art produced by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood during the late 19th century.
What are the primary themes discussed in the work?
Central themes include the depiction of the isolated female, the influence of medieval literature, the use of Christian iconography in secular art, and the tension between art and social reality.
What is the main objective of this study?
The study aims to analyze how visual artists interpreted and re-contextualized Tennyson’s ballads through their own stylistic choices, symbolism, and narrative focus.
Which scientific methods are utilized?
The author uses a comparative literary and art-historical analysis, examining specific poems and their corresponding visual representations to identify thematic shifts and iconographic additions.
What does the main body of the paper cover?
The main body systematically analyzes individual poems—"Mariana" and "The Lady of Shalott"—and contrasts them with the specific paintings created by Millais, Hunt, and Waterhouse.
Which keywords characterize the work?
Key terms include Pre-Raphaelite, Tennyson, literary painting, symbolism, visual narrative, and the Victorian era.
How does Millais’s version of "Mariana" differ from the original text?
Millais introduces complex Christian iconography, such as an Annunciation scene and a domestic altar, which are not present in Tennyson’s poem but serve to emphasize the protagonist’s psychological state.
How does William Holman Hunt portray the Lady of Shalott differently?
Hunt portrays her as a powerful "femme fatale" filled with intense energy and anger, turning the scene into a moral allegory about the conflict between societal duty and personal temptation.
- Quote paper
- Natalie Lewis (Author), 2003, Tennyson's Poetry as Inspiration for Pre-Raphaelite Art, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/26978
