by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861)
Translation by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
When we met first and loved, I did not...
Language: English
When we met first and loved, I did not build Upon the event with marble. Could it mean To last, a love set pendulous between Sorrow and sorrow? Nay, I rather thrilled, Distrusting every light that seemed to gild The onward path, and feared to overlean A finger even. And, though I have grown serene And strong since then, I think that God has willed A still renewable fear . . . O love, O troth . . . Lest these enclaspëd hands should never hold, This mutual kiss drop down between us both As an unowned thing, once the lips being cold. And Love, be false! if he, to keep one oath, Must lose one joy, by his life's star foretold.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), no title, appears in Poems, in Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 36, first published 1847 [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), "When we met first and loved, I did not build", published 1910 [ medium voice and piano ], from Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 36 [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. 36, first published 1908
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-07-24
Line count: 14
Word count: 122
Da diese Liebe anfing, wars gewagt
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Da diese Liebe anfing, wars gewagt mit Marmor drauf zu bauen; denn sie hing im Schwingen zwischen Schmerz und Schmerz. Ich ging, als wäre mir die Zukunft untersagt, mißtrauisch weiter als die schreckhaft Scheue, die auch nicht einen Finger aufstützt. Wenn ich jetzt auch ruhig bin und stark, - will denn Gott nicht, daß meine Angst sich stets erneue... O Liebe, - Treue ... diese Angst: daß Hand aus Hand sich löste, daß ein Kuß vom Rand der Lippen Fiele, kühl und ungenommen. Sei, Liebe, Täuschung, die vorübergeht, - kann deinetwegen etwas nicht mehr kommen, was ihm als Freude in den Sternen steht.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Sonette aus dem Portugiesischen, no. 36, 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. 36, first published 1847
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: 100