by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861)
Translation by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
And wilt thou have me fashion into...
Language: English
And wilt thou have me fashion into speech The love I bear thee, finding words enough, And hold the torch out, while the winds are rough, Between our faces, to cast light on each? -- I drop it at thy feet. I cannot teach My hand to hold my spirit so far off From myself -- me -- that I should bring thee proof In words, of love hid in me out of reach. Nay, let the silence of my womanhood Commend my woman-love to thy belief, -- Seeing that I stand unwon, however wooed, And rend the garment of my life, in brief, By a most dauntless, voiceless fortitude, Lest one touch of this heart convey its grief.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), no title, appears in Poems, in Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 13, 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 Eleanor Everest Freer (1864 - 1942), "And wilt thou have me fashion into speech", published 1910 [ medium voice and piano ], from Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 13 [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. 13, first published 1908
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-12-13
Line count: 14
Word count: 115
Und willst du, daß die Liebe, diese,...
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Und willst du, daß die Liebe, diese, meine, sich eine Sprache schaffe, reich genug, und daß ich zwischen dir und mir im Zug die Fackel halte, daß sie uns bescheine? - Sie fällt, sie fällt. Ich kann nicht meine Hand zwingen, mein Fühlen von mir fort zu halten; wie soll ich zu Beweisen umgestalten die Liebe in mir, die sich mir entwand? Nein, trau dem Schweigen meines Frauenlebens die Frauen-Liebe zu, die es dir weiht. Sieh, wie ich dasteh, alles warb vergebens, und wie dies Stummsein meines Daseins Kleid furchtlos zerreißt, daß nicht in einer Schwäche mein Herz von seinem Schmerz noch anders spreche.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Sonette aus dem Portugiesischen, no. 13, 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), no title, appears in Poems, in Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 13, 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: 103