by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
There is a willow grows aslant a brook
Language: English
Gertrude: There is a willow grows aslant a brook, That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream; There with fantastic garlands did she come Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples That liberal shepherds give a grosser name, But our cold maids do dead men's fingers call them: There, on the pendent boughs her coronet weeds Clambering to hang, an envious sliver broke; When down her weedy trophies and herself Fell in the weeping brook. Her clothes spread wide; And, mermaid-like, awhile they bore her up: Which time she chanted snatches of old tunes; As one incapable of her own distress, Or like a creature native and indued Unto that element: but long it could not be Till that her garments, heavy with their drink, Pull'd the poor wretch from her melodious lay To muddy death.
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Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 7 [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):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Ernest-Wilfrid Legouvé (1807 - 1903) [an adaptation] ; composed by Hector Berlioz, Charles Camille Saint-Saëns.
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Adrien Dézamy (d. 1896) ; composed by Delphine Ugalde.
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-13
Line count: 19
Word count: 137