My first attempt...

The 'early bird' prompt was to write a ekphrastic poem, a poem inspired or about a work of art. Now, I know that the word 'art' alludes to many different forms, but I decided to let inspiration flow from what the layman would call art: a painting.

I chose to draw inspiration from The Lady of Shalott, an 1888 oil painting by English Pre-Raphaelite painter John William Waterhouse (1888). The work, in turn, as I soon found out, is a representation of a scene from Lord Alfred Tennyson’s 1832 poem of the same name. The young woman described is based on Elaine of Astolat in the Arthurian legend, a story I hold very dear to my heart.

I attempted to write my poem, pretending not to know any of the above. I think you will find my interpretation of the image rather different to Waterhouse’s interpretation of Tennyson’s poem. Either way, I find it rather thrilling that my poem is based on a work of art which is based on a poem. I tend to do this somehow...

The Lady of Shallot by John William Waterhouse

Futile Escape

With a heavy heart,

Fair maiden fled

From anguish and despair,

Hope and love had faded,

Leaving only disappointment

To guide her through darkness;

The tapestry of her life

Lay forlorn and forgotten;

Soaked in her tears;

Her dimmed eyes

Darkened as light faded

From her heart;

She lay down to sleep

To dream no more

On her lonely journey

  

By Andrea Vermaak