by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894)
Rest
Language: English
O Earth lie heavily upon her eyes; Seal her sweet eyes weary of watching, Earth. Lie close around her, Leave no room for mirth with its harsh laughter, Nor for sound of sighs. She hath no questions, she hath no replies, Hushed in and curtained with a blessed dearth Of all that irked her from her hour of birth; With stillness that is almost Paradise. Darkness more clear than noon-day holdeth her, Silence more musical than any song; Even her very heart hath ceased to stir; Until the morning of Eternity her rest shall not begin nor end, But be, and when she wakes she will not think it long.
Text Authorship:
- by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894), "Rest", appears in Goblin Market and other Poems, first published 1862 [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 Herbert Kennedy Andrews (1904 - 1965), "Rest", published 1947 [ tenor and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Josephine Stephenson (b. 1990), "Rest", 2023, first performed 2023 [ mezzo-soprano, cello and piano ], from Rest(e), no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "Rest", 1902, published c1904-5 [ SSATB chorus a cappella ], in the collection Part Songs by Modern Composers, no. 42 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 110