by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861)
Is it indeed so? If I lay here dead
Language: English
Is it indeed so? If I lay here dead, Wouldst thou miss any life in losing mine? And would the sun for thee more coldly shine Because of grave-damps falling round my head? I marvelled, my Belovëd, when I read Thy thought so in the letter. I am thine -- But . . . so much to thee? Can I pour thy wine While my hands tremble? Then my soul, instead Of dreams of death, resumes life's lower range. Then, love me, Love! look on me -- breathe on me! As brighter ladies do not count it strange, For love, to give up acres and degree, I yield the grave for thy sake, and exchange My near sweet view of heaven, for earth with thee!
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), no title, appears in Poems, in Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 23, 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 Eleanor Everest Freer (1864 - 1942), "Is it indeed so?", published 1910 [ medium voice and piano ], from Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 23 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Harold (Hal) Herman Schaefer (b. 1925), "I yield the grave for thy sake", published 1966 [ medium-high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Rainer Maria Rilke) , no title, appears in Sonette aus dem Portugiesischen, no. 23, first published 1908
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-07-24
Line count: 14
Word count: 123