Lady Clare | Alfred Lord Tennyson | Summary
Short summary:
Lady
Clare is a narrative poem that tells of how lovers can rise above social and
economic status and are able to remain faithful and honest to each other. It is
a literary comic ballad which unfolds mostly through dialogue and action.
Summary
In
spring season lilies grow and clouds are in the sky. At that time Lord Ronald
brought a lily-white doe to give to his cousin, Lady Clare. They had promised
to marry each other for a long time and they were going to marry the following
morning. Lady Clare was sure that Lord Ronald loved her for her own real value, not for her family
origin and for her land.
When
Ronald went out, Alice asked her that they are going to marry, and then the
nurse thanked God because he was going to be the heir of Clare’s property.
Alice told her a secret that she was not the Lady Clare. She insisted that it
was the truth and that she was not mad as Clare
has supposed her to be so. Then the nurse told her a story. She would take care
of the old Earl’s daughter. But when
the Earl’s daughter died, Alice
buried her as her own daughter and put her child in her place. So Clare was
Alice’s daughter. Clare was unhappy with her mother because she had done so
unfaithfully. Clare was also sorry
because she had deceived Ronald for so
many years. But the mother told her to keep it secret all her life. Clare did not like to tell a lie. She planned to go
to him and tell him everything. She pulled off the gold ornament and threw the
diamond necklace. Alice repeatedly told her not to tell the secret. But Clare convinced
her that she knows Lord Ronald is a faithful man, and it will be wrong to
deceive him, after knowing the fact. Alice felt guilty for her wrong doing in
the past. Then Clare took blessing from her mother and went to Ronald to tell
her secret.
She
dressed like an ordinary girl. She had only a single rose in her hair. The
lily-white doe that Ronald had given
her also followed her. They passed by valley and by hill. When they reached Ronald’s tower, he came down and asked why she had
disgraced her value by dressing like a village girl. Then she replied that she
was born in the poor family and that it was her fate. Ronald did not understand
her tricky words and asked her not to play him any tricks. Then she boldly
looked into his eyes and told him the nurse’s story. When he heard all this, he
laughed happily and scornfully. He went upto her and kissed her, then he said
that they would marry the following morning even if she were not an heiress and
his cousin.
Short summary:
Lady
Clare is a narrative poem that tells of how lovers can rise above social and
economic status and are able to remain faithful and honest to each other. It is
a literary comic ballad which unfolds mostly through dialogue and action.
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