Like souls that balance joy and pain

My last Myth, Legend and History assignment before the exam in November is a 500 word visual analysis. We have to choose a character or a theme from Arthurian Legend (see the lists below) and then pick an image from the selection given to us on the LaTrobe Moodle (LMS). I have chosen to do Lancelot and Guinevere, because even though two characters is not encouraged, it is allowed and these two are so closely linked in poetry of the time and in my chosen artwork that it seems silly not to analyse them together. The artwork I have chosen is Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Arthur's Tomb: The Last Meeting of Lancelot and Guinevere, which is a water colour on paper done between 1854-5.

Arthur's Tomb: The Last Meeting of Lancelot and Guinevere

I chose this image because I feel that it is very powerful. It shows Guinevere, covered in her nuns garb, farewelling the husband she betrayed, and Lancelot, either trying to kiss her or persuade her to come with him, over the tomb of his dead king and friend. Guinevere is rejecting his advances, but I believe it has more to do with the guilt of betraying Arthur and the location of their meeting than to do with her recently taken vows of chastity. I can only imagine that, after the two parted ways, Guinevere returned to the convent to atone for her sins and Lancelot ventured out into the world, probably taking a lover's vows to never forget the Queen he so loved.

List of Characters

• Arthur
• Guinevere
• Lancelot
• Galahad
• Isolde
• The Lady of Shallot

List of Themes

• Knighthood
• Chivalry
• Courtly Love
• Women and Gender
• Spiritual Quests/The Holy Grail