By Mia Farley
Numerous artists have taken influence from poems, offering their unique and creative interpretation of literary themes. Here are five examples of art inspired by poetry:
John William Waterhouse’s Lady of Shalott
‘Lady of Shalott’(1888) by John William Waterhouse
Alfred Lord Tennyson’s Lady of Shalott (1832) has inspired countless artists, including John William Waterhouse and his painting of the same name, which might be the most famous of art inspired by poetry. Tennyson’s poem reimagines a mediaeval Arthurian tale about Elaine of Astolat, who is cursed to live in isolation in a tower near King Arthur’s Camelot. Waterhouse captures the pivotal moment when she chooses to escape by boat, just before the curse claims her life. Her mouth is open as she ‘chants her deathsong’, her hand is poised to release the chains that bind her to her doomed existence. To her right, the candles, a popular motif that symbolises life, are about to extinguish. This painting is a beautiful example of impressionism, done characteristically en plein air, and hauntingly captures the protagonist’s final moments of life.
‘Ophelia’ (1851-2) by John Everett Millais
Perhaps one of the best-known paintings at Tate Britain, John Everett Millais’ Ophelia depicts the famous death scene of Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1623). In the play, Ophelia is falsely accused by Hamlet of being unchaste and learns of her father’s murder at his hands. Descending into madness, she wanders the countryside gathering flowers and singing haunting songs before tragically drowning in a river. At just 22, Millais was one of the most radical painters of his time. He spent six months in Surrey to meticulously capture every flower and leaf mentioned in the play. As a Pre-Raphaelite artist, Millais emphasised the realism of nature, portraying a moment of stillness and underscoring Ophelia’s tragic role as a victim of Hamlet’s madness.
‘Caminante’(2024) by Alida Torbay
Alida Torbay, a multidisciplinary Venezuelan-Lebanese artist, presents her exhibition titled Caminante at the Cervantes Institute in Beirut. This exhibition features twenty sculptures and installations inspired by Antonio Machado’s poem Caminante no hay camino (Traveller, there is no path). Machado, one of Spain’s most renowned poets, is known for his simplicity, depth and emotional resonance. In Caminante no hay camino he writes, ‘Traveller, there is no road; you make your own path as you walk.’ In response Torbay reflects, ‘The path does not exist; it is but a fiction, a succession of lived moments and experiences that build a human being.’ Her work intimately illuminates the processes of her life, tracing the steps that shaped her journey to the present moment.
www.selectionsarts.com/caminante-by-alida-torbay-at-the-cervantes-institute-of-beirut/
‘Myself and my Heroes’ (1961) by David Hockney
Continuing our traversal of art inspired by poetry, David Hockney’s Myself and my Heroes was his first etching while attending the Royal College of Art in London. The piece depicts Hockney, wearing a cap, alongside influential figures Walt Whitman and Mahatma Gandhi. This work was inspired by Whitman’s poem For the Dear Love of Comrades (1886), which emphasises themes of unity and camaraderie. Additionally, the title of Hockney’s piece references Whitman’s Song of Myself (1855), a celebration of both personal identity and the interconnectedness of humanity. Whitman writes,
‘And these tend inward to me and I tend outward to them
And such as it is to be of these more or less I am;
And of these one and all I weave the song of myself.’
Through his etching, Hockney conveys the connection between individuals through lived experiences, positioning himself alongside those who have inspired him and suggesting a shared human experience that links him to his heroes.
‘A Spark in the Emerald Forest’ (2019) by Hana Shahnavaz
Hana Louise Shahnavaz is a British-Iranian painter based in London, known for her vibrant, detailed large-scale works. Her piece, ‘A Spark in the Emerald Forest’ was inspired by the Persian romance of Shirin and Khosrow, as popularised by 12th-century poet Nizami Ganjavi. In the story, Khosrow, the Prince of Persia, falls in love with the Armenian princess Shirin before they ever meet. The first time he sees her in person, she is bathing in a lake, unaware of his presence as he watches from a distance. This moment marks the deepening of Khosrow’s love, from infatuation with the idea of Shirin to a deep admiration for her true essence, revealed in her natural, unguarded state.
Shahnavaz’s interpretation of this scene emphasises the profound role of nature, which she views as divine, mirroring the ethereal and angelic qualities attributed to Shirin in the story. The piece reflects a moment of connection between two souls, united by the river that represents ‘the flow of love, energy and truth’. And that wraps up our survey of art inspired by poetry.
www.hanashahnavaz.com/artworks/9374-hana-shahnavaz-a-spark-in-the-emerald-forest-2019/