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DIALV3-savage-lotus-AI-crop-for-intro

The unframed black-and-white rectangular drawing, reproduced by line-block engraving by Walker & Boutall, is shown in portrait orientation. It illustrates Tennyson’s poem “The Lotos Eaters.” The image depicts a close-up view of a ship inside which Odysseus and his men lie in a trance, lotus flowers growing out of the hold, with sirens surrounding them. At the top of the image, in the background, a group of five sirens loom over the ship; their hair and bodies are stretched and curved, giving the appearance of ocean waves. The siren at the top left of the image lies on the top deck of the ship, playing a small harp. In the ship, six robed men with long, curly hair lie sleeping. Several of them lean on the sides of the ship on the right middle and foreground, and another lies in the left foreground, his face turned towards the viewer. The head of another sleeping figure is visible in the left middleground. In the extreme right foreground, facing away from the viewer, Odysseus is lashed to the ship’s mast, wrapped in canvas and ropes.. In the top left corner are stylized initials, or the artist’s monogram; The line of the capital “R” extends down and is crossed by an “S.”