Poetry Gallery

I am half sick of shadows, c1911. Artist: John William Waterhouse

I am half sick of shadows, c1911. Illustration of Tennyson's poem of the Arthurian legend, showing the Lady of Shalott bored with her weaving. Beside her is the window she will look through and fall in love with Sir Lancelot. She will die of a broken heart because her love is not returned

© Ann Ronan Picture Library / Heritage-Images

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CRIMEAN WAR: LIGHT BRIGADE. The Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava, 25 October 1854. Wood engraving from a 19th century edition of Lord Alfred Tennysons poem, Charge of the Light Brigade

CRIMEAN WAR: LIGHT BRIGADE. The Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava, 25 October 1854. Wood engraving from a 19th century edition of Lord Alfred Tennyson's poem, Charge of the Light Brigade

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Surreal study, 1952. Creator: Shirley Markham

Surreal study, 1952. Illustration for a poem by TS Eliot. Shirley Markham (1931-1999) studied Graphic Design and Illustration at Central School of Art in London from 1950-1952. The writer, artist, poet, and illustrator Mervyn Peake (1911-1968) was one of her tutors, and her style of drawing was also influenced by other British illustrators such as Edward Ardizzone, Quentin Blake and Edward Bawden. Markham spent time in the Dolomite Mountains in Italy, and also visited Rome, sketching classical buildings. After graduating from Central, she worked as a graphic designer, producing book illustrations, cartoons for comics, menus and programmes. She gave up her promising career however when she got married in 1957. Middle-class women at that time were expected to devote their energies to bringing up children and running the home, and despite her obvious talent, she lacked the confidence to return to illustration. Her portfolio remained in the family attic for many years, but now her work is published here for the first time

© Shirley Markham Collection / Heritage-Images