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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!
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship
- by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822), appears in Prometheus Unbound [author's text not yet checked 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 Creighton Allen (1900 - 1969), "The poet's world", published 1928. [medium voice or high voice, piano] [text not verified]
- by Sir Edward Cuthbert Bairstow (1874 - 1946), "On a poet's lips I slept", published 1929. [SSA chorus a cappella] [text not verified]
- by (William) Havergal Brian (1876 - 1972), "On a poet's lips I slept", 1919. [text not verified]
- 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 verified 1 time]
- by Jean Coulthard (1908 - 2000), "On a poet's lips I slept", 1972/3, from Songs for Enchantment, no. 1. [text not verified]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Jean-Pierre Granger)
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , title 1: "He dormit damunt els llavis d’un poeta", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
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
He dormit damunt els llavis d’un poeta, somiant com un adepte de l’amor, en el so que el seu respir mantenia; ell no cerca ni troba benaurances mortals, sinó que es nodreix de besades airívoles, de figuracions que obsedeixen els ermots del pensament. Ell contemplarà, des de l’alba fins a la foscor, el llac il·luminat per el reflex del sol, les daurades abelles en la floració de l’heura, ell no escolta ni veu les coses tal com són, sinó que d’aquestes podrà crear formes més reals que un ésser vivent, nodrissons de la immortalitat!
Authorship
- Translation from English to Catalan (Català) copyright © 2016 by Salvador Pila, (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.
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- a text in English by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822), appears in Prometheus Unbound
This text was added to the website: 2016-03-29
Line count: 13
Word count: 94