by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861)
And therefore if to love can be desert
Language: English
And therefore if to love can be desert, I am not all unworthy. Cheeks as pale As these you see, and trembling knees that fail To bear the burden of a heavy heart, - This weary minstrel-life that once was girt To climb Aornus, and can scarce avail To pipe now 'gainst the valley nightingale A melancholy music,--why advert To these things? O Beloved, it is plain I am not of thy worth nor for thy place! And yet, because I love thee, I obtain From that same love this vindicating grace To live on still in love, and yet in vain, - To bless thee, yet renounce thee to thy face.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), no title, appears in Poems, in Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 11, first published 1856 [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 Eleanor Everest Freer (1864 - 1942), "And therefore if to love can be desert", published 1907 [mezzo-soprano and piano], from Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 11. [text not verified]
- by Bernard James Naylor (1907 - 1986), "And therefore if to love can be desert", 1948 [mezzo-soprano and string quartet], from Sonnets from the Portuguese [text not verified]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Rainer Maria Rilke) , no title, from Sonette aus dem Portugiesischen, no. 11, published 1908
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-12-13
Line count: 14
Word count: 112