by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939)
The folly of being comforted
Language: English
One that is ever kind said yesterday: "Your well-beloved's hair has threads of grey, And little shadows come about her eyes; Time can but make it easier to be wise, Though now it's hard, till trouble is at an end; And so be patient, be wise and patient, friend." But, heart, there is no comfort, not a grain; Time can but make her beauty over again, Because of that great nobleness of hers; The fire that stirs about her, when she stirs, Burns but more clearly. O she had not these ways, When all the wild summer was in her gaze. O heart! O heart! If she'd but turn her head, You'd know the folly of being comforted.
First published in Speaker, January 1902
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
Authorship:
- by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), "The folly of being comforted", appears in In the Seven Woods, first published 1904 [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 Rebecca Clarke (1886 - 1979), "The folly of being comforted", 1911? [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ivor (Bertie) Gurney (1890 - 1937), "The folly of being comforted", 1917, published 1938 [ voice and piano ], from A Second Volume of Ten Songs, no. 6, London: Oxford University Press [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 118