by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939)
Put off that mask of burning gold
Language: English
"Put off that mask of burning gold With emerald eyes." "O no, my dear, you make so bold To find if hearts be wild and wise, And yet not cold." "I would but find what's there to find, Love or deceit." "It was the mask engaged your mind, And after set your heart to beat, Not what's behind." "But lest you are my enemy, I must enquire." "O no, my dear, let all that be, What matter, so there is but fire In you, in me?"
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Text Authorship:
- by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), "A lyric from an unpublished play", appears in The Green Helmet and Other Poems, first published 1910, revised 1913 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]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 Erika Budai (b. 1966), "The Mask", 1990 [ women's chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Raymond Warren (b. 1928), "The mask", 1965 [ tenor and guitar ], from The Pity of Love [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-01-20
Line count: 15
Word count: 86