Thou art fair, and few are fairer Of the Nymphs of earth or ocean; They are robes that fit the wearer -- Those soft limbs of thine, whose motion Ever falls and shifts and glances As the life within them dances. Thy deep eyes, a double Planet, Gaze the wisest into madness With soft clear fire, -- the winds that fan it Are those thoughts of tender gladness Which, like zephyrs on the billow, Make thy gentle soul their pillow. If, whatever face thou paintest In those eyes, grows pale with pleasure, If the fainting soul is faintest When it hears thy harp's wild measure, Wonder not that when thou speakest Of the weak my heart is weakest. As dew beneath the wind of morning, As the sea which whirlwinds waken, As the birds at thunder's warning, As aught mute yet deeply shaken, As one who feels an unseen spirit Is my heart when thine is near it.
E. Rushton sets stanzas 1, 4
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822), "To Sophia" [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 Albert Boubée (1850 - 1909), "Thou art fair (To Sophia)", published 1893 [ voice, piano, violoncello obbligato ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edward Rushton , "To Sophia (from To Sophia (Miss Stacey), 1819)", 2000, stanzas 1,4 [ baritone and piano ], from Three Fragments of Shelley, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "Sloky psané Miss Sophii Stacey-ové", Prague, J. Otto, first published 1901
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2005-01-24
Line count: 24
Word count: 156
Krásná jsi, jsou málo krasší nymfy moře, nymfy země, sladké tělo, v němž se vznáší vděk tvůj, šat je, který jemně kol tebe se skládá, svítí jak to, jež v nich tančí žití. Hlubý zrak tvůj hvězda dvojí v bláznovství se moudrých dívá, sladkým ohněm jenž jej kojí, vítr, myšlenky jsou, snivá něžnost jichž si zefír v moři podušku z tvé duše tvoří. Tvář-li bledne — sladká muka — jež se v tvojich očích zhlíží, duše mře-li, tvá když ruka v harfy akkordy se hříží, ký div, při tvém rozhovoru nejslabším že neznám vzdoru. Jako rosa v jitra vlání, moře, vichry probuzeno, ptáci v hromu varování němé cos, byť otřeseno, jak by kdosi cítil ducha jímá mne, že’s blízko, tucha.
Confirmed with SHELLEY, P. B. Výbor lyriky, translated by Jaroslav Vrchlický, Praha: J. Otto, 1901, pages 51-52.
Authorship:
- by Jaroslav Vrchlický (1853 - 1912), "Sloky psané Miss Sophii Stacey-ové", Prague, J. Otto, first published 1901 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822), "To Sophia"
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 page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-07-26
Line count: 24
Word count: 120