Difference between revisions of "The Lady of the Lake"
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
''[[The Lady of the Lake]]'' is the name of a character, a poem, an opera and various plays | ''[[The Lady of the Lake]]'' is the name of a character, a poem, an opera and various plays | ||
| − | Also found as [[Lady of the Lake]] | + | Also found as ''[[Lady of the Lake]]'' |
== The character == | == The character == | ||
Revision as of 19:24, 27 July 2018
The Lady of the Lake is the name of a character, a poem, an opera and various plays
Also found as Lady of the Lake
Contents
The character
"The Lady of the Lake" is an enchantress, a character in the Arthurian legends. She is a central figure in many of the stories, being the one who gives Arthur his sword Excalibur, enchants Merlin, and raises Lancelot after the death of his father. Given many names by various writers and copyist (e.g. Nimue, Nymue, Nimueh, Viviane, Vivien, Vivienne, Ninianne, Nivian, Nyneve, or Evienne), she is more generally known simply as "The Lady of the Lake".
She also appears as a character in both the film and stage play of Monty Python's Spamalot
The poem by Sir Walter Scott
The Lady of the Lake is a narrative poem by Sir Walter Scott, written in August 1809 while he and his family were holidaying in the Trossachs and along the shores and islands of Loch Katrine, which would provide the poem's setting.
While Scott drew on the romance of the legend, he told an entirely different story, focuses on the struggle between King James V and the powerful clan Douglas.
The poem was first published in 1810 as The Lady of the Lake; A Poem in Edinburgh by John Ballantyne and Co. and in London by Longman, Hurst, Rees and Orme, and William Miller. The poem was tremendously influential in the nineteenth century, inspiring what is known as the Highland Revival.
Dramatised versions of the tale and the poem
A number of theatrical versions have been done of it over the years.
Gioachino Rossini’s opera La donna del lago (1819)[1] has a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola and is based on the French translation of Scott's poem. It was first performed in Naples at the Teatro San Carlo on 24 September 1819.
The Lady of the Lake is a stage play by Benjamin Askew. It opened at the Theatre by the Lake, Cumbria, playing from 13 June - 6 November 2015.
Performance history in South Africa
Sources
"The Lady of the Lake", The Walter Scott Digital Archive[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lady_of_the_Lake_(poem)
"The Lady of the Lake" in Wikipedia[3]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_donna_del_lago
Go to ESAT Bibliography
Return to
Return to PLAYS I: Original SA plays
Return to PLAYS II: Foreign plays
Return to PLAYS III: Collections
Return to PLAYS IV: Pageants and public performances
Return to South African Festivals and Competitions
Return to The ESAT Entries
Return to Main Page
