by Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849)
Translation by Stéphane Mallarmé (1842 - 1898)

Helen, thy beauty is to me
Language: English 
Helen, thy beauty is to me
Like those Nicéan barks of yore,
That gently, o'er a perfumed sea,
The weary, way-worn wanderer bore
To his own native shore.

On desperate seas long wont to roam,
Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face,
Thy Naiad airs have brought me home
To the glory that was Greece,
And the grandeur that was Rome.

Lo! In yon brilliant window-niche
How statue-like I see thee stand,
The agate lamp within thy hand!
Ah, Psyche, from the regions which
Are Holy-Land!

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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2005-10-12
Line count: 15
Word count: 85

Stances à Hélène
Language: French (Français)  after the English 
Hélène, ta beauté est pour moi
comme ces barques nicéennes d'autrefois
qui, sur une mer parfumée, portaient doucement
le défait et le las voyageur
à son rivage natal.

Par des mers désespérées longtemps coutumier d'errer,
ta chevelure hyacinthe, ton classique visage,
tes airs de Naïade m'ont ramené ainsi que chez moi
à la gloire qui fut la Grèce,
à la grandeur qui fut Rome.

Là ! dans cette niche splendide d'une croisée,
c'est bien comme une statue que je te vois apparaître,
la lampe d'agate en la main,
ah ! Psyché ! de ces régions issue qui
sont terre sainte.

Authorship:

Based on:

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: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2011-09-03
Line count: 15
Word count: 100