XIII

by Alfred, Lord Tennyson · (no date)
Published 01/07/1880
Part of Despair

But the crime, if a crime, of her eldest-born, her glory, her boast,

Struck hard at the tender heart of the mother, and broke it almost;

Tho', glory and shame dying out for ever in endless time,

Does it matter so much whether crown'd for a virtue, or hang'd for a crime?

#alfred lord tennyson #existential doubt #family betrayal #maternal grief #moral ambiguity

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