She knows not what the curse may be... 'The Lady of Shalott' is a lyrical ballad by the 19th-century English poet Alfred Tennyson. Inspired by the short prose text 'La Damigella di Scalot' from the 13th-century, it tells the tragic story of Elaine of Astolat, a young noblewoman stranded in a tower up the river from Camelot. It is one of Tennyson's most famous and memorable works, with its lucid medieval romanticism, as well as enigmatic symbolism. Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892), invariably known as Alfred Lord Tennyson, was born in Somersby, UK. At the age of 18, he published his first book, 'Poems by Two Brothers' with his brother, later followed by 'Poems Chiefly Lyrical' (1830). In 1850, Tennyson was appointed Poet Laureate and married his childhood friend, Emily Sellwood. In 1884, as a great favorite of both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, he was given the title of Baron Tennyson of Aldworth, the first Englishman to be granted such a high rank solely for his literary faculty. Tennyson continued to write poetry throughout his life. He died in 1892 at the age of 83, to be then buried in Westminster Abbey.