by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956)
The dunce
Language: English
Why does he still keep ticking? Why does his round white face Stare at me over the books and ink, And mock at my disgrace? Why does that thrush call, 'Dunce, dunce, dunce!'? Why does that bluebottle buzz? Why does the sun so silent shine? -- And what do I care if it does?
Text Authorship:
- by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "The dunce", appears in Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes, in 1. Up and Down, no. 8, first published 1913 [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 Eileen Belchamber , "The dunce", published 1945 [ unison chorus and piano ], from Two Unison Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Juliana Hall (b. 1958), "The dunce ", 1989, first performed 1995 [ tenor and piano ], from Peacock Pie -- 20 songs for Tenor and Piano, no. 8 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Herbert Norman Howells (1892 - 1983), "The dunce", op. 33 no. 4 (1919), published 1923 [ voice and piano ], from Peacock Pie, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-01-13
Line count: 8
Word count: 53