by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 - 1834)
I ask'd my fair, one happy day
Language: English
I ask'd my fair, one happy day, What I should call her in my lay, By what sweet name from Rome or Greece, [Neaera, Laura, Daphne, Chloris, Carina, Lalage, or Doris, Dorimene, or Lucrece?]1 "Ah!" replied my gentle fair, "[Dear one]2, what are names but air? Choose thou whatever suits the line; Call me [Sappho]3, call me Chloris, Call me Lalage or Doris, Only -- only -- call me thine!"
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Ide:
Lalage, Neaera, Chloris, Seppho, Lesbia, or Doris, Arethusa or Lucrece?2 Ide: "Beloved"
3 Ide: "Laura"
Text Authorship:
- by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 - 1834), "Epigrams" [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 Chester Edward Ide (1878 - 1944), "Names", published 1907. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 74