by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by Andrea Maffei (1798 - 1885)
Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing...
Language: English
Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes, and groves; And ye that on the sands with printless foot Do chase the ebbing Neptune, and do fly him When he comes back; you demi-puppets that By moonshine do the green sour ringlets make, Whereof the ewe not bites; and you whose pastime Is to make midnight mushrooms, that rejoice To hear the solemn curfew; by whose aid,-- Weak masters though ye be,--I have bedimm'd The noontide sun, call'd forth the mutinous winds, And 'twixt the green sea and the azur'd vault Set roaring war: to the dread rattling thunder Have I given fire, and rifted Jove's stout oak With his own bolt: the strong-bas'd promontory Have I made shake; and by the spurs pluck'd up The pine and cedar: graves at my command Have wak'd their sleepers, op'd, and let them forth By my so potent art. But this rough magic I here abjure; and, when I have requir'd Some heavenly music,--which even now I do,-- To work mine end upon their senses that This airy charm is for, I'll break my staff, Bury it certain fathoms in the earth, And deeper than did ever plummet sound I'll drown my book.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in The Tempest, Act V, Scene 1 (Prospero) [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 Marjorie Merryman , "Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes, and groves", 1978, published 1979, first performed 1978 [ soprano, clarinet, percussion, and violoncello ], from Ariel, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Andrea Maffei) , no title, first published 1869
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-12-10
Line count: 25
Word count: 200
Voi, de’ colli, de’ laghi e delle selve
Language: Italian (Italiano)  after the English
Voi, de’ colli, de’ laghi e delle selve, Silfidi abitatrici, e voi, voi pure Che vi godete d’inseguir sul lido, Col piè che nell’arena orma non lassa, Il fuggente Nettuno, e se ritorna Gli date, in corsa paurosa, il dorso, E voi che descrivete a’ rai di luna, Spiritelli minuti, i cerchi amari Onde il prato s’imbeve, ed a quell’erba Nè pecora, nè zeba il dente accosta; E voi che per trastullo uscir di notte Fate il fungo di terra, ed esultate Quando suona la squilla il coprifoco, Voi che fiacchi bensì, ma pur soccorso Bastevole mi foste; e per la vostra Poca virtù velai la faccia al sole Nel pien meriggio, scatenai la rabbia De’ venti, e tra la verde onda del mare E il glauco aere del ciel, della battaglia L’ululo suscitai, le fiamme accesi Al terribile tuon che col potente Scoppio la quercia dell’Egioco atterra, Feci i monti tremar su’ lor profondi Fondamenti, l’abete, il faggio, il cedro Svelsi dalle radici; e fin le tombe Spalancai con un cenno, ed i dormenti, Svegli dall’arte mia, balzàr di novo Alla luce del dì; voi tutti udite! Giuro di qui lasciar questi infernali Prestigi; e poi che desta una divina Musica avrete che ridoni il senno A questi sciagurati, e sia raggiunto Quel fin che cogl’incanti io mi proposi, Giuro spezzar la verga mia, nel suolo Più cubiti affondarla, e il mio volume Sommergere ne’ flutti ove non giunse Scandaglio mai.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Andrea Maffei (1798 - 1885), no title, first published 1869 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in The Tempest, Act V, Scene 1 (Prospero)
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 ]
Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-05-09
Line count: 37
Word count: 242