Footenote 15, of the author's "The ideology of 'eternal truth'," which Taylor & Francis published in 1991. It has been included in the Victorian Web with the kind permission of the author, who of course retains copyright.
See, for example, Samuel Wagstaff, 'Some notes on Holman Hunt and The Lady of Shalott', The Wadsworth Athenaeum Bulletin (Summer 1962), P. 13, and Judith Bronkhurst's entry in The Pre-Raphaeliles 1984, pp. 249-50, which helpfully lists the sequence of scenes from 'The Lady of Shalott' depicted in Hunt's roundels: 'The smaller roundels are designed to be read clockwise from the top: the first sets the scene with a close-up of one of the towers of Camelot. The lady is then revealed conscientiously working on her loom, while the third roundel shows her looking out of the window. The fourth depicts what has caught her attention: the resplendent Lancelot, with his burning helmet and helmet-feather and his horse's "gemmy bridle" (Part III of the poem). A thread from the loom appears to bisect Lancelot's chest, connecting the knight with the fulfilment of the curse.
The fifth roundel is obscured by the lady the remaining roundels illustrate
Part IV of the poem: all are cracked, for they relate to future events, after
the curse has been fulfilled, The sixth roundel portrays the lady writing her
name on the prow of the boat, while in the seventh she is seen floating down
the river "Like some bold seer in a trance". By the time the boat
reaches Camelot the lady is dead, and the last roundel depicts the people of
Camelot who have come to look on her corpse . . .'
Last modified: 7 June, 2002