by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861)
Translation by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
I lift my heavy heart up solemnly
Language: English
I lift my heavy heart up solemnly, As once Electra her sepulchral urn, And, looking in thine eyes, I over-turn The ashes at thy feet. Behold and see What a great heap of grief lay hid in me, And how the red wild sparkles dimly burn Through the ashen greyness. If thy foot in scorn Could tread them out to darkness utterly, It might be well perhaps. But if instead Thou wait beside me for the wind to blow The grey dust up,... those laurels on thine head, O my Beloved, will not shield thee so, That none of all the fires shall scorch and shred The hair beneath. Stand further off then! go!
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), appears in Poems, in Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 5, first published 1850 [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 William Henry Bell (1873 - 1946), "I lift my heavy heart" [ voice and piano ], from Three songs: words from "Sonnets from the Portuguese" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eleanor Everest Freer (1864 - 1942), "I lift my heavy heart up solemnly", published 1907 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Charles) Alfred de Kaiser (1872 - 1917), "Ashes", published 1912 [ soprano and piano ], from Seven Sonnets from the Portuguese [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. 5, first published 1908
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-12-14
Line count: 14
Word count: 114
Ich heb mein schweres Herz so feierlich
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Ich heb mein schweres Herz so feierlich, wie einst Elektra ihre Urne trug, und, dir ins Auge schauend, hin vor dich stürz ich die Asche aus dem Aschenkrug. Das da war Schmerz in mir: der Haufen: schau, wie düster drin die Funken glühn, vom Grau verhalten. Und du tätest, glaub ich, gut verächtlich auszutreten ihre Glut, bis alles dunkel ist. Denn wenn du so an meiner Seite wartest, bis den Staub ein Wind aufwehte, ... dieses Lorberrlaub auf deinem Haupt, Geliebter, schützt nicht, wo es Feuer regnet, deine Haare. Eh sie dir versengen: tritt zurück. Nein: geh.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Sonette aus dem Portugiesischen, no. 5, first published 1908 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), appears in Poems, in Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 5, first published 1850
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-02-19
Line count: 14
Word count: 96