by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861)
Translation by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
And yet, because thou overcomest so
Language: English
And yet, because thou overcomest so, Because thou art more noble and like a king, Thou canst prevail against my fears and fling Thy purple round me, till my heart shall grow Too close against thine heart henceforth to know How it shook when alone. Why, conquering May prove as lordly and complete a thing In lifting upward, as in crushing low! And as a vanquished soldier yields his sword To one who lifts him from the bloody earth, Even so, Beloved, I at last record, Here ends my strife. If thou invite me forth, I rise above abasement at the word. Make thy love larger to enlarge my worth!
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), no title, appears in Poems, in Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 16, 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 Celius Dougherty (1902 - 1986), "And yet, because thou overcomest so", 1975 [ soprano and piano ], from Eglantine and Ivy [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eleanor Everest Freer (1864 - 1942), "And yet, because thou overcomest so", published 1912 [ medium voice and piano ], from Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 16 [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. 16, 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: 110
Du aber, Überwinder, der du bist
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Du aber, Überwinder, der du bist, du kannst dich auch an meine Angst noch wagen und deinen Purpurmantel um mich schlagen, so daß mein Herz in deins gedrängt vergißt, wie es einst bebte, da es einsam schlug. Warum auch nicht? Ob einer Sieg ertrug, ob er ihn siegte: jedes kann vollkommen und adlig sein. Dem, der ihn aufgenommen vom blutigen Boden, reicht ihm der Soldat nicht seinen Degen hin, so wie ich jetzt feststellen will, daß ich mich nicht mehr wehre? Dein Wort ist mächtig über mich gesetzt. Was kann ich tun, wenn deine Liebe naht, als wollen: daß sie wachsend mich vermehre.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Sonette aus dem Portugiesischen, no. 16, 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. 16, 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