by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822)
On a poet's lips I slept Matches base text
Language: English
On a poet's lips I slept Dreaming like a love-adept In the sound his breathing kept; Nor seeks nor finds he mortal blisses, But feeds on the aëreal kisses Of shapes that haunt thought's wildernesses. He will watch from dawn to gloom The lake-reflected sun illume The yellow bees in the ivy-bloom, Nor heed nor see, what things they be; But from these create he can Forms more real than living man, Nurslings of immortality!
Composition:
- Set to music by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "On a poet's lips I slept", op. 60 no. 1, from Nocturne for tenor solo, seven obligato instruments and string orchestra, no. 1
Text Authorship:
- by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822), appears in Prometheus Unbound
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "He dormit damunt els llavis d’un poeta", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Jean-Pierre Granger)
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 13
Word count: 75