by Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)
O Singer of Persephone!
Language: English
O Singer of Persephone!
In the dim meadows desolate
Dost thou remember Sicily?
Still through the ivy flits the bee
Where Amaryllis lies in state;
O singer of Persephone!
Simaetha calls on Hecate
And hears the wild dogs at the gate;
Dost thou remember Sicily?
Still by the light and laughing sea
Poor Polypheme bemoans his fate:
O Singer of Persephone!
And still in boyish rivalry
Young Daphnis challenges his mate:
Dost thou remember Sicily?
Slim Lacon keeps a goat for thee,
For thee the jocund shepherds wait,
O Singer of Persephone!
Dost thou remember Sicily?
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), "Theocritus", subtitle: "A villanelle" [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 Derek Healey (b. 1936), "Theocritus", op. 114 no. 3 (2007) [ soprano and piano ], from Golden Apples (Oscar Wilde), no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Michael Linton , "Theocritus", 2016-2017 [ bass-baritone and piano ], from Wilde songs, no. 12 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Raoul Pleskow (b. 1931), "Theocritus – A Villanelle", 1987 [ voice and piano ], from Three Songs on Texts of Oscar Wilde [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "Theocritus (A Vilanelle)", op. 120 (1946) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2023-04-21
Line count: 19
Word count: 96