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by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892)

Moral
Language: English 
So, Lady Flora, take my lay,
And if you find no moral there,
Go, look in any glass and say,
What moral is in being fair.
Oh, to what uses shall we put
The wildweed-flower that simply blows?
And is there any moral shut
Within the bosom of the rose?

But any man that walks the mead,
In bud or blade, or bloom, may find,
According as his humours lead,
A meaning suited to his mind.
And liberal applications lie
In Art like Nature, dearest friend;
So 'twere to cramp its use, if I
Should hook it to some useful end.

Text Authorship:

  • by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892), "Moral", appears in Poems, in The Day-Dream, no. 7, first published 1842 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Charlton Templeman Speer (1859 - 1921), "Moral", published 1888 [soli, chorus, and orchestra], from The Day-Dream, no. 7. [
     text not verified 
    ]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2010-01-30
Line count: 16
Word count: 101

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