I'm reading a certain semi-autographical novel. [EDIT: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce.] At one point the protagonist and some schoolmates dispute who is the best poet.
Two schoolmates say that it's Tennyson.
This seems to be the prevailing critical opinion.
Our hero insists on Byron.
It's an interesting pair to consider. Both can be considered romantic in their way. But Byron casts himself as the rebel against the conventional, where Tennyson casts himself more as a defender of nobility and goodness.
Byron did passionate scenes,
Endangering innocent youth.
Tennyson kept his poems clean
And focused on higher truth.
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