"La Belle Dame Sans Merci" by Sir Frank Dicksee

Arthurian Literature & Art

Part I: Celtic and Medieval

Part II: Romantic, Victorian, Modern

Part II Romantic/Victorian/Modern Index

• Poems and Paintings: Romantic/Victorian
• 19th-20th Century Arthurian Legend
• Recent Pop Culture, Literature, and Film

Poems and Paintings: Romantic/Victorian

The Arming and Departure of the Knights of the Round Table on the Quest for the Holy Grail,
designed by Edward Burne-Jones. Also called "The Quest for the Holy Grail."
Another image here, with commentary.

General

• Gothic Art for the Industrial Age: The Middle Ages Revisited in the Art of the Pre-Raphaelites--good survey of the medieval revival in Victorian art and culture (speech by the curator of Medieval Art for the Cleveland Museum of Art).

La Belle Dame Sans Merci (Keats)

              

       La Belle Dame sans Merci        La Belle Dame sans Merci       La Belle Dame sans Merci        La Belle Dame sans Merci

      by Frank Dicksee                     by J. W. Waterhouse                  by Walter Crane                       by Arthur Hughes

• La Belle Dame sans Merci (Bartleby site)--e-text of John Keats' poem.
• La Belle Dame sans Merci (UToronto)--e-text; revised version of Keats' poem.
• John Keats Overview (Landow site)--links to biography, e-texts, social history, imagery, themes, etc.

• La Belle Dame sans Merci --very helpful study guide for Keats' poem.
• La Belle Dame as Critical Test Case --graduate student paper on the two versions of the poem.
  
  
• Keats' "La Belle Dame sans Merci: A Ballad" --good discussion of La Belle as Lilith.
• The Painted Poem: The Connection Between Art and Literature During the Pre-Raphaelite Period --graduate student paper on the paintings inspired by Keats' "La Belle Dame" and "Lady of Shalott."
  
  
• Gendered Romanticism: Keats' La Belle Dame--excerpt from a scholarly study.
• Dream Lovers and Tragic Romance: Negative Fictions in Keats's Lamia, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Isabella--scholarly article on the failure of Keats' idealized romances; includes discussion of La Belle Dame sans Merci.

The Lady of Shalott (Tennyson)

              

  'I am half sick of shadows'          The Lady of Shalott                    'I am half-sick of shadows'           The Lady of Shallot    

   by J. W. Waterhouse               by Elizabeth Siddal                         by Sidney Meteyard               by J. W. Waterhouse

• The Lady of Shalott--e-text of 1832 version.
• The Lady of Shalott--e-text of 1842 version.
• The Lady of Shalott--e-text, plus illustrations by Howard Pyle.
• Close Reading Example: "The Lady of Shalott" --very helpful study guide to Tennyson's poem.
  
  
• Tennyson Overview (Landow's Victorian Web)--many links to Tennyson's biography, works, political/social history, themes, imagery, etc.
• Tennyson's 'Lady of Shalott": Overview (Landow's Victorian Web)--many links related to "The Lady of Shalott."
  
  

• "Who Is This? And What Is This Here?" The Evolution of Tennyson's Lady of Shalott And Her Presence in the Artistic Imagination --long, detailed study of Tennyson's Lady, compared to Malory's depiction of women and Tennyson's in Idylls; pre-Raphaelite paintings also covered.
• The Embowered Woman: Pictorial Interpretations of "The Lady of Shalott" --excerpt from a scholarly study on the Shalott paintings.
• Pictorial Interpretations of "The Lady of Shalott": The Lady in her Boat --excerpt from a scholarly study on the Shalott paintings.
• Replete with Meaning: William Holman Hunt and Typological Symbolism --excerpt from a scholarly study on Hunt's Shalott painting.
• A Backward Journey through the "Lady of Shalott": John William Waterhouse --excerpt from a scholarly study on Waterhouse's Shalott painting.

                

The Lady of Shalott                              The Lady of Shalott                                        The Lady of Shalott    

  by J. W. Waterhouse                              by John Grimshaw                                           by Arthur Hughes       

• The Lady of Shalott: Pre-Raphaelite Attitudes Toward Woman in Society --good student paper on View of women in Tennyson's Shalott and in paintings on the same theme.
• The Painted Poem: The Connection Between Art and Literature During the Pre-Raphaelite Period --graduate student paper on the paintings inspired by Keats' "La Belle Dame" and "Lady of Shalott."
• Lady of Shalott--Feminist or Victim? --a number of images with provocative commentary/questions about the conflicting ideologies/discourses embodied in the Shalott image.
• Elaine of Astolet/Lady of Shalott Page --illustrations of the Elaine/Shalott theme.

The Lady of Shalott by G.E. Robertson

Idyll's of the King (Tennyson)

• The Idylls of the King--e-text.

• Dedication to The Idylls of the King
• "The Coming of Arthur"
• "Gareth and Lynette"
• "The Marriage of Geraint"
• "Geraint and Enid"
• "Balin and Balan"
• "Merlin and Vivien"
• "Lancelot and Elaine"
• "The Holy Grail"
• "Pelleas and Ettarre"
• "The Last Tournament"
• "Guinevere"
• "The Passing of Arthur"
• "Epilogue--To the Queen"

• Galahad --many links to Galahad illustrations.
• Sir Galahad: A Call to the Heroic --interpretation from 1915 arguing Galahad as the ideal role model for young men.
• Arthurian Legends Illustrated --many 19th Century paintings "tell" the story of King Arthur and his knights.
• Elaine of Astolet/Lady of Shalott --additional literature and illustrations on the Elaine theme.
• Fortescue-Brickdale, Eleanor --biography and 20 illustrations of the 1911 edition of Idylls.
• Harrison, Florence --5 illustrations of Idylls.
• Gustave Dore Illustrations --biography and 40 illustrations of Idylls.
• Cameron, Julia Margaret --biography and 12 photo-illustrations of Idylls.
• Julia Margaret Cameron's Women, Great Men and Others --scholarly study.
• Knights and Camelot --a gallery of famous 19th Century paintings on Arthurian themes.

                

   Chivalry                                      Guinevere's A-Maying                            Morgan le Fay

           by Frank Dicksee                                  by John Collier                                by Frederick Sandys       

• Alfred Lord Tennyson --compositional history of "Idylls."
• Idylls of the King Overview (Landow's Victorian Web)--many links to Tennyson's biography, historical/social background and related topics. See, in particular, "Characterization," "Themes," and "Setting."
• Tennyson's Major Poems: the Comic and Ironic Patterns (Landow's Victorian Web)--scholarly study.
• Misogynist, Eunuch, or Christian? Arthur's Farewell to Guinevere in Tennyson's Idylls of the King --good student paper on the charges of misogyny in Tennyson's female portraits.
• Arthur's Apocalypse: Desolation and Isolation in a Camelot without its Christ --good student essay.
• A Question of Species: Humanity and Bestiality in Tennyson's 'Balin and Balan' --Booth's scholarly article.
• Edward III's Round Table and Dartmouth College's Casque and Gauntlet: Two Returns of King Arthur--scholarly paper on the uses of the Arthur myth as a model for the formation of boys groups based on it in the 14th and the 19th centuries.

               

The Beguiling of Merlin                    Lancelot fights Mador                           The Last Sleep of Arthur     

  by Edward Burne-Jones                          by N. C. Wyeth                                by Edward Burne-Jones       

The Defence of Guenevere (William Morris)

• The Pursuit Of The Ideal: The Life And Art Of William Morris--links to his biography, writings, socialism, and Kelmscott Press. See his medieval decorations for his edition of Defence of Guenevere.
  
  
• William Morris Overview (Landow's Victorian Web)--many links to Morris's biography, works, political/social history, themes, imagery, etc.
• The Defence of Guenevere--e-text.
  
  
• The Tristan stained glass for Harden Grange --produced by Morris and Co.
• Portrayals of Guinevere throughout Literature --the different characterizations of Guinevere in earlier and later literature.

19th-20th Century Arthurian Legend

Tristan and Isolde (Wagner/Bédier/Cocteau)

             

Tristan and La Belle Isoude              Tristan and Isolde                  Tristan and Isolde             The Death of Tristram      

by D. G. Rossetti                    by Edmund Leighton              by J. W. Waterhouse             by Marianne Stokes    

• Grand Opera Librettos: Tristan and Isolde --e-text of Wagner's libretto.

• Tristan and Isolt (The Camelot Project)--background and many links to e-texts and images.
• Tristan and Iseult --some information on and links to earlier Tristan legends.
• Tristan and Iseult --reviews early and modern versions of the Tristan legend.
• Richard Wagner --biography.
  
  
• The History of 'Tristan and Isolde' --background on the creation and production troubles of Wagner's "Tristan."
• Stories of the Operas: Tristan and Isolde --helpful plot summary of Wagner's opera.
• The Sickness unto Death --interesting review of Death-Devoted Heart: Sex and the Sacred in Wagner's Tristan and Isolde by Roger Scruton.
• Tristan and Isolde --set design for one production of Wagner's opera.
  
  
• Richard Wagner --a more detailed biography, including his controversal beliefs and the "nazi connection."
• History Review --partial defense of Wagner on the Hitler-Wagner charge.
• Wagner, Hitler and Anti-Semitism --more on the infamous "nazi connection."

• Parsifal--one of the most elaborate websites I've ever seen--many, many links to almost anything you may want to know about this operatic masterpiece and its composer. Highly recommended.
  
  
• The Romance Of Tristan And Iseult, by M. Joseph Bédier (Project Gutenberg)--e-text of Bédier's complete book.
• The Ideal of Innocence in Romantic Love --student paper comparing the lovers in Bédier and in the film First Knight.
• Tristan As the Ideal Chivalric Knight --student paper.
• Anglo-Norman Influences III: Tristan and Isolde --good background and some good questions about the Tristan stories.
  
  
• Jean Cocteau-- biography.
• User comments for L'Éternel Retour--helpful comments on Cocteau's movie.
• The film satisfied my aesthetic senses --short movie review.

The Wasteland (T. S. Eliot)

Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali

• T. S. Eliot's Life and Career --biography
• The Wasteland--e-text.
• The Annotated Wasteland----in frames, with allusions explained in the right column
• Tradition and the Individual Talent --Eliot's defining essay explaining his approach to poetry.
  
  
• T.S. Eliot, The Wasteland --helpful study notes for first-time readers of Eliot's poem.
• The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock --Don't be fooled by the title; scroll down near the bottom of the page for a very helpful and detailed reading of The Wasteland and then go the the second page of the discussion by clicking on "Next Page" link.
• Notes and Observation on Eliot's Early Poems --many links to scholarly comments.

• The Wasteland by T. S. Eliot --excellent introduction/study guide to The Wasteland summarizing some key points about Fraser's Golden Bough and Jessie Weston's From Ritual to Romance.
• The Fisher King --good survey of the development of the Fisher King symbol from Chretien through Jessie Weston.
• An Introduction to From Ritual to Romance --helpful introduction to Jessie Weston's classic (see next listing).
• From Ritual to Romance --Jessie Weston's classic study of pagan myths/rituals from which Arthurian legends derive. Recommended chapters:

• Chapt.IV Tammuz and Adonis
• Chapt.VI The Symbols
• Chapt.IX The Fisher King

• On The Wasteland --generous excerpts from a number of scholarly studies analyzing different aspects of the poem. Highly recommended..
• Disciplining 'The Waste Land', or how to lead critics into temptation --scholarly article.
• The Wasteland and the Critical Controversies It Spurs --Moi's scholarly article evaluating the poem from different theoretical perspectives; rejects the unity advanced by the Weston/Frazier/Archetypal approach.
• Mary Butts's "Unrest Cure" for The Waste Land --scholarly article comparing Butts's version of the "wasteland" with Eliot's.

Recent Pop Culture, Literature, and Films

       

Note: Bradley cover artist: Braldt Bralds

Fiction

• Medieval to Modern: What has Gawain Become? --helpful overview of the development of Gawain from early to contemporary literature.
• Interview with Mary Stewart --author comments on her Merlin novels.
• Arthurian Fantasy 1980-89 --Doherty's essay,includes brief survey of 1938-1979, plus discussions of Bradley, Stewart, Godwin, and other modern treatments of the Arthurian material and the "High Fantasies of Lawhead and Kay."
• The High Fantasies of Lawhead and Kay --reprint of the last section of Doherty's above essay.
• The Dark Ages: King Arthur and Others --brief descriptions/evaluations of many contemporary novels on Arthur and medieval themes.
• King Arthur in the Arts-- brief assessments of several contemporary Arthurian novels.
  
• Author Information: Marion Zimmer Bradley --short biography.
• Lady of Avalon --short plot summary and review of this novel.
• Thoughts on Avalon --Bradley's interesting discussion of the goddess/god, pagan/Christian, and women/men conflicts in her Avalon novels.
• The Avalon Series --reviews of Bradley's three "Avalon" books, listed in the order written (Lady of Avalon last).
• Marion Zimmer Bradley, Lady of Avalon --review.
• The Mists of Avalon --good introduction to the novel.
• Discussion Questions --good study aid for Mists of Avalon.
• On Chrétien de Troyes's Erec and Enide, The Knight of the Cart (Lancelot), and Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon --sample essay.
• Dystopia in a Binary World: A Skeptical Feminist Analysis of Bradley's Revision of Arthurian Legends --interesting thesis proposal; very helpful annotated list of sources.
• King Arthur in the Various Media --modern and contemporary fiction, films, television, comics, video games featuring Arthurian characters or themes.

Movies

• List of films based on Arthurian legend --comprehensive list, with links.
• Arthurian Film-- an extensive list of films, accompanied by brief descriptive/evaluative comments.
• Medieval History in the films --full listing and evaluation.
• Swashbucklers at the Round Table --mostly 1950s films.
• Monty Python's Completely Useless Web Site --site devoted to Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974).
• The Quest for the Hollywood Grail --film review of Excalibur.
• Excalibur-- film review.
• Excalibur--film review.
• First Knight --film review.
• First Knight --a Roger Ebert review.
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade --a Roger Ebert review.
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade --a less-than-reverent review.
• The Account of the Fisher King --a film review of Terry Gilliam's Fisher King.
• On Location with The Fisher King --film review.
• The Fisher King --a Roger Ebert review.
• The Fisher King: A Review --a film review.
• The Natural --summary and commentary on the Robert Redford film, with arthurian parallels noted.
• The Natural --film review.

Comic Books and Role-Playing Games

• Camelot In Four Colors: A Survey of the Arthurian Legend in Comics--interesting site.
• King Arthur Pendragon and Pendragon Fiction: Artist's Style Guidelines--art for King Arthur Pendragon's roleplaying game "to support and encourage heroic, romantic, nostalgic, evocative, and narrative play."
• Camelot 3000 and Beyond: An Annotated Listing of Arthurian Comic Books Published in the United States c. 1980-1998 (Revised Edition, May 2000)--an extensive listing.
• Dark Age of Camelot --another Arthurian-influenced role-playing game.

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