Lady Clara Vere de Vere - Alfred, Lord Tennyson
A Poetic Reprimand of Noble Pride
Lady Clara Vere de Vere,
Of me you shall not win renown:
You thought to break a country heart
For pastime, ere you went to town.
At me you smiled, but unbeguiled
I saw the snare, and I retired;
The daughter of a hundred Earls,
You are not one to be desired.
Lady Clara Vere de Vere,
I know you proud to bear your name;
Your pride is yet no mate for mine,
Too proud to care from whence I came.
Your bitter cup: I only know
I never felt the less for that;
I wear my coronet of snow,
For I was born a bachelor’s brat.
Lady Clara Vere de Vere,
Some meeker pupil you must find,
For were you queen of all that is,
I could not stoop to such a mind.
Lady Clara Vere de Vere,
You put strange memories in my head;
Not thrice your branching limes have blown
Since I beheld young Laurence dead.
Oh, your sweet eyes, your low replies:
A great enchantress you may be;
But there was that across his throat
Which you had hidden if you could see.
Lady Clara Vere de Vere,
When thus he met his mother’s view,
She had the passions of her kind,
She spake some certain truths of you.
Indeed I heard one bitter word
That scarce is fit for you to hear;
Her manners had not that repose
Which marks the caste of Vere de Vere.
Lady Clara Vere de Vere,
There stands a castle by the sea;
And often in the silent nights
A ship slides by the crenell’d lea,
And gazing on the lights, I thought
Of those that would have freed his brain
From madness: but you woke a thought
That slew him—nay, you slew him—plain.
One doubt is left of all his grief:
He could not give that doubt a tongue,
But had he lived a second night,
He had not died for shame unsung.
Lady Clara Vere de Vere,
You have done a cruel thing;
You have no heart, or such a heart
In such a breast doth surely ring.
You ’re weary of the night, you say,
You are weary of the day:
You ’re weary of all forms of sense,
You ’re weary of your star above;
But how can you be weary of me?
Such hearts, though cold, can rarely move.
And would I read the riddle right,
And pierce the strands that bound his mind,
Though parted by the rolling seas,
Your history still might stand behind.
Lady Clara Vere de Vere,
If time be heavy on your hands,
Are there no beggars at your gate,
Nor any poor about your lands?
Oh! teach the orphan-boy to read,
Or teach the orphan-girl to sew,
Pray Heaven for a human heart,
And let the foolish yeoman go.
[Public Domain: The text above is representative of Tennyson’s poem with some minor formatting for brevity; variations may exist.]
In Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “Lady Clara Vere de Vere,” the speaker addresses a highborn lady who wields her status and beauty with callous disregard for others—particularly a young man named Laurence, whose tragic end the poem implies she helped precipitate. The poem is structured as a moral reproach in ballad-like stanzas. It sets up a stark tension between aristocratic pride and the speaker’s sense of integrity, capturing the Victorian concern with social class while underscoring the ethical failings concealed under a noble title.
Tennyson uses direct, pointed language. Instead of dwelling on vague abstractions, he names Lady Clara Vere de Vere and calls out her heritage, referencing her “hundred Earls” and “branching limes.” This anchoring in real or realistic detail adds immediacy, showcasing a poet unafraid to confront upper-class hypocrisy. The speaker does not blame Lady Clara’s rank as inherently evil, but criticizes how she exploits her privileged position to toy with others’ affections.
At the same time, the poem’s moral thrust culminates in a call for compassion. The speaker challenges Lady Clara to break free from her ennui and arrogance by helping orphans—thus gaining some form of genuine heart. Throughout, Tennyson sharply contrasts Lady Clara’s aristocratic title with what the speaker sees as a truer nobility that springs from empathy and moral action. In this way, “Lady Clara Vere de Vere” takes on a social statement reminiscent of Victorian efforts to reform class relationships, urging aristocrats to honor their power with responsibility rather than idle cruelty.
Ultimately, Tennyson’s poem resonates as a critique of privilege misused. It also explores themes of love unfulfilled, moral accountability, and the notion that lineage alone does not confer virtue. Through the poem’s pointed admonitions, Tennyson offers a vision of nobility measured by conscience rather than inheritance.
Key points
• Critiques the misuse of aristocratic power and status
• Centers on a tragic figure (Laurence) caught in the lady’s manipulations
• Contrasts inherited privilege with genuine moral and emotional nobility
• Demonstrates Victorian-era interest in social duty and compassion
• Uses a direct, pointed address to highlight Lady Clara’s ethical failings
