Idylls of the King 

Gustave Doré created this engraving to illustrate Tennyson’s poem cycle, Idylls of the King. This image evokes the romantic medievalism that was popular in Victorian England. Doré was the most successful illustrator of his day, and he was prolific in the use of wood engraving. The image creates meaning through the strong contrast of light and dark. There are also historical associations. Tennyson's Arthurian poems were written at a time when the British Empire was at its height, but there were also widespread concerns about social and political decay. Was the empire truly civilized, or was it barbaric? The image seems to suggest an ambivalent answer to this question. To understand this print better, it helps to know about the history of book illustration in the 19th century. Tennyson was poet laureate, and Doré was a celebrity artist. What did it mean to put the two together? This is the kind of question a social historian might ask. Ultimately, the meaning of art is contingent on its social and institutional context.