by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822)
When the lamp is shattered
Language: English
When the lamp is shattered The light in the dust lies dead -- When the cloud is scattered The rainbow's glory is shed. When the lute is broken, Sweet tones are remembered not; When the lips have spoken, Loved accents are soon forgot. As music and splendour Survive not the lamp and the lute, The heart's echoes render No song when the spirit is mute: -- No song but sad dirges, Like the wind through a ruined cell, Or the mournful surges That ring the dead seaman's knell. When hearts have once mingled Love first leaves the well-built nest; The weak one is singled To endure what it once possessed. O Love! who bewailest The frailty of all things here, Why choose you the frailest For your cradle, your home, and your bier? Its passions will rock thee As the storms rock the ravens on high; Bright reason will mock thee, Like the sun from a wintry sky. From thy nest every rafter Will rot, and thine eagle home Leave thee naked to laughter, When leaves fall and cold winds come.
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Text Authorship:
- by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822), "Lines: When the lamp is shattered", first published 1824 [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 George Antheil (1900 - 1959), "When the lamp is shattered", published 1951 [ SATB chorus and piano ], from Eight Fragments from Shelley, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by John G. Barnett (1802 - 1890), "When the lamp is shattered", published 1860, from A Series of Contralto Songs, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Robert) Houston Bright (1916 - 1970), "When the lamp is shattered", published 1970 [ SATB chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alfred (Lee) Budd, Jr. , "When the lamp is shattered", published 1942 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (1889 - 1960), "When the lamp is shattered", op. 2 (Two Songs) no. 2, unpublished [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frederick Septimus Kelly (1881 - 1916), "When the lamp is shattered", op. 6 (Six Songs) no. 3 (1910-1913), published 1913 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "Verše ", Prague, J. Otto, first published 1901
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2005-01-26
Line count: 32
Word count: 179