by Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)
Translation by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
Madonna Mia
Language: English
A lily-girl, not made for this world's pain, With brown, soft hair close braided by her ears, And longing eyes half veiled by slumberous tears Like bluest water seen through mists of rain: Pale cheeks whereon no love hath left its stain, Red underlip drawn in for fear of love, And white throat, whiter than the silvered dove, Through whose wan marble creeps one purple vein. Yet, though my lips shall praise her without cease, Even to kiss her feet I am not bold, Being o'ershadowed by the wings of awe. Like Dante, when he stood with Beatrice Beneath the flaming Lion's breast, and saw The seventh Crystal, and the Stair of Gold.
Text Authorship:
- by Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), "Madonna mia", from Poems, first published 1881 [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 Charles Trowbridge Haubiel (1892 - 1978), "Madonna Mia", published 1937 [ SSAA chorus and 2 pianos (or orchestra, or orchestra with harp) ], from L'amore spiritual [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Erwin Schulhoff.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Arie Gijsbert Schuyer.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-10-19
Line count: 14
Word count: 113
Madonna mia
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Our translations: FRE
Ein Lilienmädchen, fremd im Erdenleben, Mit braunem Haar, geflochten dicht am Ohr, Sehnsücht'gen Augen, halb im Tränenflor Wie blaustes Wasser unterm Regenweben: Die Wangen nie erglüht in heissem Beben, Die Unterlippe eingezogen bang In Furcht vor Liebe, und den Hals entlang im Marmorweiss nur eine Ader eben. Doch soll mein Mund auch ohne Rast ihr singen, Selbst ihre Füsse küsst'ich nimmermehr, Weil überschattet von der Ehrfurcht Schwingen Wie Dante, als mit Beatricen er Unter des [Greifen]1 Brust, die Flammen schlug, Im siebten Himmel sah den goldnen Zug.
View original text (without footnotes)
1 Some online sources have "Greisen" here, probably a typo.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
1 Some online sources have "Greisen" here, probably a typo.
Text Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), "Madonna mia", from Poems, first published 1881
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Erwin Schulhoff (1894 - 1942), "Madonna mia", op. 15 no. 1 (1914) [alto and piano], from Rosa Mystica, no. 1. [text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , title 1: "Ma madone", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-10-19
Line count: 14
Word count: 87