×
Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at
If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.
Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892)
Translation © by Pierre Mathé
A bow‑shot from her bower‑eaves
Language: English
Available translation(s): FRE
A bow-shot from her bower-eaves,
He rode between the barley-sheaves,
The sun came dazzling thro' the leaves,
And flamed upon the brazen greaves
Of bold Sir Lancelot.
A red-cross knight for ever kneel'd
To a lady in his shield,
That sparkled on the yellow field,
Beside remote Shalott.
The gemmy bridle glitter'd free,
Like to some branch of stars we see
Hung in the golden Galaxy.
The bridle bells rang merrily
As he rode down to Camelot:
And from his blazon'd baldric slung
A mighty silver bugle hung,
And as he rode his armour rung,
Beside remote Shalott.
All in the blue unclouded weather
Thick-jewell'd shone the saddle-leather,
The helmet and the helmet-feather
Burn'd like one burning flame together,
As he rode down to Camelot.
As often thro' the purple night,
Below the starry clusters bright,
Some bearded meteor, trailing light,
Moves over still Shalott.
His broad clear brow in sunlight glow'd;
On burnish'd hooves his war-horse trode;
From underneath his helmet flow'd
His coal-black curls as on he rode,
As he rode down to Camelot.
From the bank and from the river
He flash'd into the crystal mirror,
'Tirra lirra,' by the river
Sang Sir Lancelot.
She left the web, she left the loom,
She made three paces thro' the room,
She saw the water-lily bloom,
She saw the helmet and the plume,
She look'd down to Camelot.
Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror crack'd from side to side;
'The curse is come upon me!' cried
The Lady of Shalott.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Quiller-Couch, Arthur Thomas, Sir. The Oxford Book of English Verse. Oxford: Clarendon, 1919, [c1901]; Bartleby.com, 1999. www.bartleby.com/101/700.html.
Authorship:
- by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892), no title, appears in The Lady of Shalott, no. 3 [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 Wilfred Ellington Bendall (1850 - 1920), "A bow-shot from her bower-eaves", published 1884 [soprano, SSA chorus, orchestra], from the cantata The Lady of Shalott, no. 3, London, Novello [text not verified]
- by Carl Reinhold Busch (1862 - 1943), "A bow-shot from her bower-eaves", published 1894 [soprano, mixed chorus, orchestra], from the cantata The Lady of Shalott, no. 3, Boston, White-Smith [text not verified]
- by Christopher Montague Edmunds (1899 - 1990), "A bow-shot from her bower-eaves", published 1926 [SA chorus, orchestra], from the cantata The Lady of Shalott, no. 3, London, Stainer & Bell [text not verified]
- by Maurice Jacobson (1896 - 1976), "A bow-shot from her bower-eaves", published 1942 [tenor, SATB chorus, orchestra], from the cantata The Lady of Shalott, no. 3, London, Curwen [text not verified]
- by Phyllis Margaret Duncan Tate (1911 - 1987), "A bow-shot from her bower-eaves", 1956 [tenor, viola, percussion, 2 pianos, cello], from the cantata The Lady of Shalott, no. 3, London, Oxford University Press [text not verified]
This text (or a part of it) is used in a work
- by Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (1889 - 1960), "The Lady of Shalott", published 1929 [mezzo-soprano, SA chorus, piano, optional strings], London, Curwen.
- by Cyril Bradley Rootham (1875 - 1938), "The Lady of Shalott", 1909-10. [mezzo-soprano, SATB chorus, orchestra].
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , title unknown, copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2015-02-19
Line count: 45
Word count: 254
À portée de flèche du toit de sa...
Language: French (Français) after the English
À portée de flèche du toit de sa chaumière,
Il chevauchait entre les gerbes d'orge,
Le soleil éblouissant passait à travers les feuilles
Et flamboyait sur la jambière d'airain
Du vaillant sire Lancelot.
Un chevalier à la croix rouge agenouillé pour toujours
Devant une dame, gravé sur son écu
Qui scintillait sur le champ jaune,
Auprès du lointain Shallott.
Une bride gemmée brillait librement,
Pareille aux rameaux d'étoiles que l'on voit
Pendus dans la galaxie dorée.
Les cloches de la bride sonnaient gaiement
Alors qu'il chevauchait vers Camelot,
Et de son baudrier blasonné pendait
Une puissante corne d'argent,
Et alors qu''il chevauchait son armure tintait
Auprès du lointain Shallott.
Dans le bleu d'un ciel sans nuage, tout
Resplendissait : la selle de cuir aux lourds joyaux,
Le heaume et le plumet du heaume
Incendiés tous deux comme une brûlante flamme,
Alors qu'il chevauchait vers Camelot.
Comme souvent dans la nuit pourpre,
Sous les brillants amas d'étoiles,
Quelque météore barbu, lumière traçante,
Passait au-dessus du silencieux Shallott.
Son front clair et large luisait dans le soleil
Son destrier avançait à grands pas sur ses sabots polis
Par-dessous son heaume s'échappaient
Ses boucles noires comme le charbon, tandis qu'il chevauchait,
Tandis qu'il chevauchait vers Camelot.
De la rive et de la rivière
Il brillait comme l'éclair dans le miroir de cristal,
« Tire lire » au bord de la rivière
Chantait sire Lancelot.
Elle abandonna la toile, elle quitta le métier,
Elle fit trois pas dans la pièce,
Elle vit le nénuphar en fleur,
Elle vit le heaume et le plumet,
Elle baissa les yeux vers Camelot.
La toile s'envola dehors et voltigea au loin ;
Le miroir se craquela d'un bord à l'autre ;
« La malédiction s'abat sur moi » s'écria
La Dame de Shallott.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2015 by Pierre Mathé, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact:
Based on:
- a text in English by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892), no title, appears in The Lady of Shalott, no. 3
This text was added to the website: 2015-03-23
Line count: 45
Word count: 295