Bright be the place of thy soul!
Language: English 
Available translation(s): DUT
Bright be the place of thy soul!
  No lovelier spirit than thine
E'er burst from its mortal control,
  In the orbs of the blessed to shine.

On earth thou wert all but divine,
  As thy soul shall immortally be;
And our sorrow may cease to repine,
  When we know that thy God is with thee.

Light be the turf of thy tomb!
  May its verdure like emeralds be:
There should not be the shadow of gloom
  In aught that reminds us of thee.

Young flowers and an evergreen tree
  May spring from the spot of thy rest;
But not cypress nor yew let us see,
  For why should we mourn for the blest?

First published in Examiner, June 1815, titled "Stanzas" and signed B---n; revised 1816.

Confirmed with The Complete Works of Lord Byron, ed. by John Galt, Esq., Paris, Baudry's European Library, 1837, page 53.


Authorship

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Dr. W. Plate DUT FRE ; composed by F. Bosen.
  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Adolf Böttger (1815 - 1870) , "Licht sei der Ort deiner Seele!" DUT FRE ; composed by August Friedrich Wilhelm Reissmann, Hugo von Senger.

Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 113