by John Keats (1795 - 1821)
To one who has been long in city pent
Language: English
Available translation(s): ITA
To one who has been long in city pent, 'Tis very sweet to look into the fair And open face of heaven, -- to breathe a prayer Full in the smile of the blue firmament. Who is more happy, when, with hearts content, Fatigued he sinks into some pleasant lair Of wavy grass, and reads a debonair And gentle tale of love and languishment? Returning home at evening, with an ear Catching the notes of Philomel, -- an eye Watching the sailing cloudlet's bright career, He mourns that day so soon has glided by: E'en like the passage of an angel's tear That falls through the clear ether silently.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship
- by John Keats (1795 - 1821), no title, appears in Poems, first published 1817 [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 Ronald A. Beckett , "To one who has been long in city pent", 2015, from To One who has been Long in City Pent. Four Poems by John Keats, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Fairfax Birch (b. 1917), "In the fields", published 1953 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "To one who has been long in city pent", published 1955 [ TTBB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Vivian Fine (1913 - 2000), "To one who has been long in city pent", 1976, first performed 1976 [ baritone and orchestra ], from Sonnets for Baritone and Orchestra, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Pearson (flourished 1954), "Angel thoughts", published 1954 [ SSA chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Solomon Pimsleur (1900 - 1962), "Communion with Nature", 1927-8 [ alto, bass, and string quartet or strings ], from Sonnet-Tableau [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alan Richardson , "Sonnet: To one who has been long in city pent", published 1939 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Per chi molto tempo restò nelle città rinchiuso", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-02-13
Line count: 14
Word count: 107