by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861)
When our two souls stand up erect and...
Language: English
When our two souls stand up erect and strong, Face to face, silent, drawing nigh and nigher, Until the lengthening wings break into fire At either curvëd point, -- what bitter wrong Can the earth do to us, that we should not long Be here contented? Think! In mounting higher, The angels would press on us and aspire To drop some golden orb of perfect song Into our deep, dear silence. Let us stay Rather on earth, Belovëd, -- where the unfit Contrarious moods of men recoil away And isolate pure spirits, and permit A place to stand and love in for a day, With darkness and the death-hour rounding it.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship
- by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), no title, appears in Poems, in Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 22, first published 1847 [author's text not yet checked 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 Celius Dougherty (1902 - 1986), "When our two souls stand up erect and strong", 1975 [soprano and piano], from Eglantine and Ivy [text not verified]
- by Eleanor Everest Freer (1864 - 1942), "When our two souls stand up erect and strong", published 1910 [medium voice and piano], from Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 22. [text not verified]
- by William Arthur Goldsworthy (1878 - 1966), "When our two souls stand up erect and strong", published 1932 [alto and piano], from How Do I Love Thee [text not verified]
- by Fritz Bennicke Hart (1874 - 1949), "When our two souls", op. 116 (Three Sonnets) no. 3 (1935). [voice and piano] [text not verified]
- by (Charles) Alfred de Kaiser (1872 - 1917), "United", published 1912 [duet for soprano and tenor with piano], from Seven Sonnets from the Portuguese [text not verified]
- by Michael Alexander Kimbell (b. 1946), "When our two souls stand up erect and strong", 1965-6, first performed 1966 [soprano and piano], from Three Sonnets from the Portuguese [text not verified]
- by Reginald Chauncey Robbins (1871 - 1955), "Sonnet from the Portuguese", published 1923. [medium-low voice and piano] [text not verified]
- by Carlos Surinach (b. 1915), "Our two souls", published 1966 [voice and piano], from Flamenco Meditations [text not verified]
- by (James) Healey Willan (1880 - 1968), "Sonnet", published 1925 [high voice and piano], from Healy Willan Song Album, no. 1 [text not verified]
- by Arthur Wills (b. 1926), "Sonnet", 1975. [soprano, clarinet, and piano] [text not verified]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Rainer Maria Rilke) , no title, from Sonette aus dem Portugiesischen, no. 22, published 1908
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-07-24
Line count: 14
Word count: 109