
LXXXII in the collection Il Novellino: Le ciento novelle antike) the earlier version is closer to the source material than the latter. It is inspired by the legend of Elaine of Astolat, as recounted in a 13th-century Italian novellina titled La Damigella di Scalot, or Donna di Scalotta (No. Like Tennyson's other early works, such as " Sir Galahad", the poem recasts Arthurian subject matter loosely based on medieval sources. The vivid medieval romanticism and enigmatic symbolism of "The Lady of Shalott" inspired many painters, especially the Pre-Raphaelites and their followers, as well as other authors and artists. Tennyson wrote two versions of the poem, one published in 1832 (in Poems, incorrectly dated 1833), of 20 stanzas, the other in 1842, of 19 stanzas (also in a book named Poems), and returned to the story in "Lancelot and Elaine". Inspired by the 13th-century Italian short prose text Donna di Scalotta, the poem tells the tragic story of Elaine of Astolat, a young noblewoman stranded in a tower up the river from Camelot.

" The Lady of Shalott" is a lyrical ballad by the 19th-century English poet Alfred Tennyson and one of his best-known works.

Iambic tetrameter with isolated lines in iambic trimeter
