Leonora's death

Artist: Daniel Maclise

Engraver: John Thompson

1847

Source: Cameron (unnumbered pages)

In this powerful composition, the rider is revealed as a skeleton, and Leonora's soul parts from her body above the open grave. The lesson that the ghostly figures declaim in the final stanza is: "Endure! endure! though break the heart, / Yet judge not God's decree" (cf. the typical Victorian epitaph: "Thy will be done, not mine!" from Luke 22, 42). A scythe, skull, snake and hourglass occupy the foreground, bringing the ballad to a close.

Image capture and text by Jacqueline Banerjee.

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the source and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one. Click on the image to enlarge it.]