Antigone:
 Ihr hohen Himmlischen erhöret
 Der Tochter herzentströmtes [Flehn]1:
 Laßt einen kühlen Hauch des Trostes
 In [Oedips]2 große Seele wehn.

 Genüget, euren Zorn zu sühnen,
 Dieß junge Leben - nehmt es hin;
 Und [eurer Rache Strahl]3 vernichte
 Die tief betrübte Dulderin.

 Demüthig falte ich die Hände -
 Das Firmament bleibt glatt und rein,
 Und stille ist's, nur laue Lüfte
 Durchschauern noch den alten Hain.

 Was seufzt und stöhnt der bleiche Vater?
 Ich ahn's - ein furchtbares Gesicht
 Verscheucht von ihm den leichten Schlummer;
 Er springt vom Rasen auf - er spricht:

Oedip:
 Ich [träumte]4 einen schweren Traum.
 Schwang nicht den Zepter diese Rechte?
 Doch Hoheit lös'ten starke Mächte
 Dir auf, o Greis, in nicht'gen Schaum.

 Trank ich in schönen Tagen nicht
 In meiner großen Väter Halle,
 Beym Heldensang und Hörnerschalle,
 O Helios, dein golden Licht,

 Das ich nun nimmer schauen kann?
 Zerstörung ruft von allen Seiten:
 "Zum Tode sollst du dich bereiten;
 Dein irdisch Werk ist abgethan."

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Gedichte von Johann Mayrhofer. Wien. Bey Friedrich Volke. 1824, pages 163-164.

¹ Schubert: "Flehen"
² Schubert (first print 1821): "des Vaters"
³ Schubert: "euer Rachestrahl"
⁴ Schubert: "träume"

Text Authorship:

• by Johann Baptist Mayrhofer (1787 - 1836), "Antigone und Oedip" [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 Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Antigone und Oedip", op. 6 (Drei Lieder) no. 2, D 542 (1817), published 1821 [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Antígona i Èdip", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Antigone en Oedipus", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Antigone and Oedipus", copyright ©
• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Antigone et Œdipe", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Antigone ed Edipo", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Richard Morris , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 30
Word count: 157

Antigone:
 O lofty gods, hear
 the heartfelt plea of your daughter;
 let a cool breath of solace
 blow into my father's great soul.

 To assuage your anger, be satisfied with
 this young life - take it!
 and let your vengeance destroy
 this deeply troubled sufferer.

 I fold my hands humbly -
 the firmament remains smooth and pure,
 and it is still; only a tepid breeze
 still rustles through the ancient grove.

 Why does my pale father sigh and groan?
 I have an uneasy feeling that a frightful vision
 is chasing away his slumber;
 he springs up from the grass and speaks:
 
Oedipus:
 I am dreaming a heavy dream.
 Did not my right hand wield this scepter?
 Yet powerful forces have dissolved you,
 old man, into worthless foam.

 Did I not drink in fairer days
 in the halls of my ancestors,
 amid songs of heroes and the flourish of horns?
 O Helios, your golden light -

 will I now never be able to see it again?
 Devastation calls from every side:
 "For death must you prepare yourself;
 your earthly work is done."