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by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank
 (Sung text for setting by R. Young)
 See base text
Language: English 
 How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!
 Here will we sit, and let the sounds of music
 Creep in our ears: soft stillness and the night
 Become the touches of sweet harmony.
 Look, how the floor of heaven
 Is thick inlaid with patines of bright gold:
 There's not the smallest orb that thou behold'st
 But in his motion like an angel sings
 Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubins;
 Such harmony is in immortal souls;
 But, whilst this muddy vesture of decay
 Doth grossly close it in, we cannot hear it.
 ... 

Composition:

    Set to music by Robert H. Young (1923 - 2011), "How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank", lines 1-12 [ SSAA chorus a cappella ]

Text Authorship:

  • by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in The Merchant of Venice, Act V, Scene I

See other settings of this text.

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

  • FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo)


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 39
Word count: 240

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–Emily Ezust, Founder

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