I thought once how Theocritus had sung | I thought once how Theocritus had sung

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861)

I thought once how Theocritus had sung

Language: English

I thought once how Theocritus had sung
Of the sweet years, the dear and wished-for years,
Who each one in a gracious hand appears
To bear a gift for mortals, old or young:
And, as I mused it in his antique tongue,
I saw, in gradual vision through my tears,
The sweet, sad years, the melancholy years,
Those of my own life, who by turns had flung
A shadow across me. Straightway I was 'ware,
So weeping, how a mystic Shape did move
Behind me, and drew me backward by the hair;
And a voice said in mastery, while I strove, -
"Guess now who holds thee!" - "Death," I said. But, there, 
The silver answer rang, "Not death, but Love."

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), no title, appears in Poems, in Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 1, first published 1856 [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 Gena Branscombe (1881 - 1977), "I thought once how Theocritus had sung", published 1907 [ medium voice and piano ], from Love in a Life, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "The sweet sad years", op. 42 no. ? (1926), published 1928 [ medium voice and piano ], from Three Sonnets from the Portuguese [sung text not yet checked]
by Leon Dallin (b. 1918), "I thought once", 1953 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Three Songs from the Portuguese [sung text not yet checked]
by Eleanor Everest Freer (1864 - 1942), "I thought once how Theocritus had sung", published 1907 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
by (Charles) Alfred de Kaiser (1872 - 1917), "Not death, but love", published 1912 [ duet for soprano and tenor with piano ], from Seven Sonnets from the Portuguese [sung text not yet checked]
by Libby Larsen (b. 1950), "I thought once how Theocritus...", 1991 [ soprano and chamber orchestra or piano ], from Sonnets From the Portuguese , no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Louise Juliette Talma (1906 - 1996), "I thought once how Theocritus had sung", 1934 [ voice and piano ], from Five Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926) , no title, written 1908, appears in Sonette aus dem Portugiesischen, no. 1 ; composed by Egon Joseph Wellesz.
- Go to the text.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2007-12-13
Line count: 14
Word count: 119