by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861)
I thought once how Theocritus had sung
Language: English
I thought once how Theocritus had sung Of the sweet years, the dear and wished-for years, Who each one in a gracious hand appears To bear a gift for mortals, old or young: And, as I mused it in his antique tongue, I saw, in gradual vision through my tears, The sweet, sad years, the melancholy years, Those of my own life, who by turns had flung A shadow across me. Straightway I was 'ware, So weeping, how a mystic Shape did move Behind me, and drew me backward by the hair; And a voice said in mastery, while I strove, - "Guess now who holds thee!" - "Death," I said. But, there, The silver answer rang, "Not death, but Love."
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), no title, appears in Poems, in Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 1, 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 Gena Branscombe (1881 - 1977), "I thought once how Theocritus had sung", published 1907 [ medium voice and piano ], from Love in a Life, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "The sweet sad years", op. 42 no. ? (1926), published 1928 [ medium voice and piano ], from Three Sonnets from the Portuguese [sung text not yet checked]
- by Leon Dallin (b. 1918), "I thought once", 1953 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Three Songs from the Portuguese [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eleanor Everest Freer (1864 - 1942), "I thought once how Theocritus had sung", published 1907 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Charles) Alfred de Kaiser (1872 - 1917), "Not death, but love", published 1912 [ duet for soprano and tenor with piano ], from Seven Sonnets from the Portuguese [sung text not yet checked]
- by Libby Larsen (b. 1950), "I thought once how Theocritus...", 1991 [ soprano and chamber orchestra or piano ], from Sonnets From the Portuguese , no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926) , no title, written 1908, appears in Sonette aus dem Portugiesischen, no. 1 ; composed by Egon Joseph Wellesz.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-12-13
Line count: 14
Word count: 121