by Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)
A white mist drifts across the shrouds
Language: English
A white mist drifts across the shrouds, A wild moon in this wintry sky Gleams like an angry lion's eye Out of a mane of tawny clouds. The muffled steersman at the wheel Is but a shadow in the gloom; - And in the throbbing engine-room Leap the long rode of polished steel. The shattered storm has left its trace Upon this huge and heaving dome, For the thin threads of yellow foam Float on the waves like ravelled lace.
About the headline (FAQ)
Appeared in Our Continent, Feb. 1882 as one of the Impressions
Text Authorship:
- by Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), "La Mer" [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 Miranda Al-Raad (b. 1988), "La Mer", 2010 [ voice and guitar ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884 - 1920), "La Mer", A. 41 (1916), published 1970 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], from Four Impressions, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884 - 1920), "La Mer", A. 29 (1912) [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Harold Vincent Jervis-Read (1883 - 1945), "The Sea", published 1911 [ voice and piano ], from Four Impressions, no. 4, also set in a German translation by Maurice Fanshawe [sung text not yet checked]
- by David Morris (b. 1964), "La Mer", 2002 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Impressions, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Dezső Kosztolányi) , "La mer"
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 79