The heart asks pleasure first | The heart asks pleasure - first

The heart asks pleasure ‑ first

Language: English

Our translations: FRE GER GER

The heart asks pleasure - first,
And then excuse from pain.
And then those little anodynes
That deaden suffering.

And then, to go to sleep;
And then, if it should be
The will of its Inquisitor,
The liberty to die.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Poems of Emily Dickinson, first published 1890 [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 Ernst Bacon (1898 - 1990), "The heart", 1920-31, published 1952 [ voice and piano ], from Quiet Airs, no. 9 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Jules Langert (b. 1932), "The heart asks pleasure first", from Three Emily Dickinson Songs, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
by George Perle (1915 - 2009), "The heart asks pleasure first" [ voice and piano ], from Thirteen Dickinson Songs, no. 8 [sung text not yet checked]
by William Keith Rogers (b. 1921), "The heart asks pleasure first", published 1948 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Three Songs from Emily Dickinson, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]

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: 8
Word count: 39