by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861)
Translation by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
Pardon, oh, pardon, that my soul should...
Language: English
Pardon, oh, pardon, that my soul should make Of all that strong divineness which I know For thine and thee, an image only so Formed of the sand, and fit to shift and break. It is that distant years which did not take Thy sovranty, recoiling with a blow, Have forced my swimming brain to undergo Their doubt and dread, and blindly to forsake Thy purity of likeness and distort Thy worthiest love to a worthless counterfeit. As if a shipwrecked Pagan, safe in port, His guardian sea-god to commemorate, Should set a sculptured porpoise, gills a-snort And vibrant tail, within the temple-gate.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), no title, appears in Poems, in Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 37, 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), "Pardon, oh, pardon, that my soul should make", published 1910 [ medium voice and piano ], from Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 37 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Juliana Hall (b. 1958), "Pardon", 2015 [ soprano and piano ], from How do I love thee? -- 5 songs for soprano and piano on sonnets by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Rainer Maria Rilke) , no title, appears in Sonette aus dem Portugiesischen, no. 37, 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: 103
Verzeih, verzeih, daß meine Seele sich
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Verzeih, verzeih, daß meine Seele sich vermaß, von all der Gnade, die du bist, ein Bild zu machen, das so brüchig ist und nichts als Sand und Sand. Es haben mich die harten Jahre vor die Stirn geschlagen (vergangne Jahre, die du nicht gekrönt) und haben mein verwirrtes Hirn gewöhnt, Zweifel und Angst solange zu ertragen, daß deiner Liebe köstlicher Kontur ihm anders nicht gelingt als halbentstellt. So kann ein Heide nach dem Schiffbruch nur den Rettenden, den Herrn der Wogenwelt sich formen als unförmlichen Delphin; und so, am Tempel-Tor, verehrt er ihn.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Sonette aus dem Portugiesischen, no. 37, first published 1908 [author's text checked 1 time 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. 37, 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: 93