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After great pain, a formal feeling comes – The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs – The stiff Heart questions 'was it He, that bore,' And 'Yesterday, or Centuries before'? The Feet, mechanical, go round – A Wooden way Of Ground, or Air, or Ought – Regardless grown, A Quartz contentment, like a stone – This is the Hour of Lead – Remembered, if outlived, As Freezing persons, recollect the Snow – First – Chill – then Stupor – then the letting go –
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with THE POEMS OF EMILY DICKINSON: READING EDITION, edited by Ralph W. Franklin, ed., Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Copyright © 1998, 1999 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Copyright © 1951, 1955, 1979, 1983 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College.
Authorship
- by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, written 1862, appears in Further poems of Emily Dickinson [author's text checked 2 times 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 Gloria Coates (b. 1938), "After great pain", from 15 Songs on Poems by Emily Dickinson, no. 1. [ sung text verified 1 time]
- by Scott Gendel (b. 1977), "After great pain", 2005 [voice and piano], from Forgotten Light, no. 7. [ sung text not verified ]
- by Sylvia Glickman (1932 - 2006), "After great pain" [ sung text not verified ]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Walter A. Aue) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , no title, copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Bertram Kottmann
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 13
Word count: 83
Après une grande douleur, un sentiment formel arrive -- les Nerfs s'assoient cérémonieusement, comme des Tombes -- Le Cœur raide demande « était-ce Lui, qui a supporté », Et « Hier, ou des Siècles avant » ? Les Pieds, mécaniquement, tournent -- Sur un chemin de Bois, Sur la Terre, dans l'Air, ou N'importe où -- Devenus indifférents, Satisfaction de Quartz , comme une pierre -- C'est l'Heure de Plomb -- Dans le souvenir, si on survit, Comme des personnes qui Gèlent, se souviennent de la Neige -- D'abord -- le Froid -- puis la Stupeur -- puis le lâcher prise --
About the headline (FAQ)
Translation of title "After great pain" = "Après une grande douleur"Authorship
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2016 by Guy Laffaille, (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:
- a text in English by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, written 1862, appears in Further poems of Emily Dickinson
This text was added to the website: 2016-11-08
Line count: 13
Word count: 91