by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892)
Translation Jean-Pierre Granger
Below the thunders of the upper deep
Language: English
Below the thunders of the upper deep; Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea, His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee About his shadowy sides: above him swell Huge sponges of millenial growth and height; And far away into the sickly light, From many a wondrous grot and secret cell Unnumber'd and enormous polypi Winnow with giant arms the slumbering green. There hath he lain for ages and will lie Battening upon huge seaworms in his sleep, Until the latter fire shall heat the deep; Then once by [man]1 and angels to be seen, In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Britten: "men"
Text Authorship:
- by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892), "The Kraken", appears in Poems, Chiefly Lyrical, first published 1830 [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Below the thunders of the upper deep", op. 60 no. 2, published 1959 [tenor, orchestra, bassoon], from Nocturne for tenor solo, seven obligato instruments and string orchestra, no. 2, note: also set in German in a translation by Ludwig Landgraf [ sung text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Sota el renou del raser de l’oceà", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Jean-Pierre Granger)
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 15
Word count: 109
Sous la foudre de la surface des océans
Language: French (Français) after the English
Sous la foudre de la surface des océans, Loin, loin en-deçà de l'abysse des mers Dans un ancient sommeil inviolé et sans rêves, Dort le Kraken : les rayons de soleil les plus ténus Glissent le long des ses flancs ombragés : au dessus de lui S'enflent d'énormes éponges issues d'une croissance millénaire Et très loin, dans la lumière chétive Au sein de maintes grottes inouïes et de cavitées dérobées D'innombrables polypes immenses Sassent de leurs bras gigantesques la végétation engourdie. Là, il s'est prélassé durant des siècles et reposera encore Se gavant, en somnolant, d'énormes néréides Jusqu'à ce que le brasier ultime enflame les profondeurs. Alors, il sera donné aux hommes et aux anges de le voir S'élever dans un fracas rugissant pour mourir à la surface.
About the headline (FAQ)
The translator has released this translation into the public domain.Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to French (Français) by Jean-Pierre Granger
Based on:
- a text in English by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892), "The Kraken", appears in Poems, Chiefly Lyrical, first published 1830
This text was added to the website: 2010-10-07
Line count: 15
Word count: 126