by George Meredith (1828 - 1909)
Lucifer in starlight
Language: English
On a starred night Prince Lucifer uprose. Tired of his dark dominion swung the fiend Above the rolling ball in cloud part screened, Where sinners hugged their spectre of repose. Poor prey to his hot fit of pride were those. And now upon his western wing he leaned, Now his huge bulk o'er Afric's sands careened, Now the black planet shadowed Arctic snows. Soaring through wider zones that pricked his scars With memory of the old revolt from Awe, He reached a middle height, and at the stars, Which are the brain of heaven, he looked, and sank. Around the ancient track marched, rank on rank, The army of unalterable law.
Authorship:
- by George Meredith (1828 - 1909), "Lucifer in starlight", appears in Poems and Lyrics of the Joy of Earth, first published 1883 [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 Granville Ransome Bantock, Sir (1868 - 1946), "Lucifer in starlight", published 1911. [men's chorus a cappella] [text not verified]
- by Philip Fitzhugh Radcliffe (b. 1905), "Lucifer in starlight", published c1957. [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-01-13
Line count: 14
Word count: 111