"Lady Clara Vere de Vere" is an English

poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

written by

Alfred Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...

, part of his collected ''Poems'' published in 1842. The poem is about a lady in a family of

aristocrats Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

, and includes numerous references to

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

, such as to

earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

s or

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic ac ...

. One such line from the poem goes, "Kind hearts are more than

coronet In British heraldry, a coronet is a type of crown that is a mark of rank of non-reigning members of the royal family and peers. In other languages, this distinction is not made, and usually the same word for ''crown'' is used irrespective of ra ...

s, and simple faith than

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

blood." This line gave the title to the film ''

Kind Hearts and Coronets ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' is a 1949 British crime film, crime black comedy film directed by Robert Hamer. It features Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, Valerie Hobson and Alec Guinness; Guinness plays eight characters. The plot is loosely based ...

''.

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...

's poem "Echoes" is based on "Lady Clare Vere de Vere". Tennyson spent some time as a guest at Curragh Chase and wrote the poem to show his close friendship with the de Vere family. Despite this, the poem is a scathing rebuke. The speaker tells that Lady Clara has rebuffed a young, but low-born man who loved her, and he committed suicide after her rejection. The references to coronets and earls are deployed ironically—the poem's speaker is not, in fact, impressed with the Vere de Vere ancestry, and all of her noble claims can't balance out Lady Clara's coldness, pride, and idleness (as proven by the fact that she apparently has no better claim on her time than breaking hearts). The poem's speaker then professes a more democratic viewpoint, where good character is earned by virtue, not by high birth.

References in other works

* In

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...

's play '' What Every Woman Knows'', "Vere de Vere" is referred to as a slightly cynical metaphor for "the noble nobility": ::COMTESSE. It seems to be no joke to you, Mr. Shand. Sybil, my pet, are you to let him off? ::SYBIL lashing Let him off? If he wishes it. Do you? ::JOHN anfully I want it to go on. omething seems to have caught in his throat: perhaps it is the impediment trying a temporary home.It's the one wish of my heart. If you come with me, Sybil, I'll do all in a man's power to make you never regret it. :: riumph of the Vere de Veres. * In C. J. Mathews' ''My Awful Dad'' (1881) the name Vere de Vere is used humorously as a stereotypical name of a member of the nobility: "You shall sit next to Evangeline Clara Vere de Vere, née Tadpole, the grand double-jointed sentimental comic clog and pump dancer." * In the 1914

Angela Brazil Angela Brazil (pronounced "brazzle") (30 November 186813 March 1947) was one of the first British writers of "modern School story, schoolgirls' stories", written from the characters' point of view and intended primarily as entertainment rather t ...

story ''The Youngest Girl in the Fifth'', chapter two, the second sentence is "She was tall for her age, and rather awkward in her manners, apt at present to be slapdash and independent, and decidedly lacking in 'that repose which stamps the caste of Vere de Vere'". * In the 1917

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse ( ; 15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Je ...

short story ''The Romance of an Ugly Policeman'', there is this passage: ::"Ellen Brown was a nice girl, but she had a temper, and there were moments when her manners lacked rather noticeably the repose which stamps the caste of Vere de Vere." *In the story "William Spoils the Party" – included in the 1925 collection '' Still William'' by

Richmal Crompton Richmal Crompton Lamburn (15 November 1890 – 11 January 1969) was a popular English writer, best known for her ''Just William (book series), Just William'' series of books, humorous short stories, and to a lesser extent adult fiction books. L ...

– there is a reference to Mr. Bott (the self-made man in the village who has become wealthy through his invention of a digestive sauce). Crompton summarises him thus: "Mr. Bott was 'self-made' and considering all things had made quite a decent job of himself, but his manners had not 'the repose that stamps the caste of Vere de Vere.'" * The theme is alluded to in the fictional play ''Simple Hearts and Coronets'', which is advertised as playing locally in the 1932 film '' The Water Gipsies'' which allegorically refers to the real film's plot.

References

External links

* - full text of the poem Poetry by Alfred, Lord Tennyson 1842 poems {{UK-poem-stub