A dream | In visions of the dark night

In visions of the dark night

Language: English

In visions of the dark night
I have dreamed of joy departed-
But a waking dream of life and light
Hath left me broken-hearted.

Ah! what is not a dream by day
To him whose eyes are cast
On things around him with a ray
Turned back upon the past?

That holy dream- that holy dream,
While all the world were chiding,
Hath cheered me as a lovely beam
A lonely spirit guiding.

What though that light, thro' storm and night,
So trembled from afar-
What could there be more purely bright
In Truth's day-star?

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Text Authorship:

by Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849), "A dream", appears in Tamerlane and Other Poems, first published 1827 [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 John Habash , "A dream", published 1964 [sung text not yet checked]
by Myra Kinney Van Höveln-Carpé , "In Visions", op. 57c, published 1922 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in English, a translation by Edward Agate (1880 - 1940) ; composed by Marie-Joseph-Alexandre Déodat de Séverac.
Also set in French (Français), a translation by Stéphane Mallarmé (1842 - 1898) , "Un rêve", appears in Les Poèmes d'Edgar Poe, in Romances et vers d'album, Éd. Deman, first published 1888 ; composed by Marie-Joseph-Alexandre Déodat de Séverac.
Also set in French (Français), a translation by Maurice Rollinat (1846 - 1903) , "Le Rêve, d'après Edgar Poë", first published 1919 ; composed by Maurice Rollinat.
Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , "Der Traum" ; composed by Henriette Fahrbach.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2007-07-07
Line count: 16
Word count: 95