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A tale of folly and of wasted life”
                                
                                
                                
                                
                            
                                        
                                        Introductory verse. 
The Earthly Paradise (1868-70) 
Context: Masters, I have to tell a tale of woe,
A tale of folly and of wasted life,
Hope against hope, the bitter dregs of strife,
Ending, where all things end, in death at last.
                                    
 
        
     
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                            