I know a bank [whereon the wild thyme blows]1,
Where [oxlips]2 and the nodding violet grows
[Quite over-canopied with luscious]3 woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses, and with eglantine:
There sleeps [Titania some time]4 of the night,
Lull'd in [these]5 flowers with dances and delight.
And there the snake throws [her]6 enameled skin,
Weed wide enough to wrap a fairy in.

L. Lehmann sets lines 1-2, 5-6
J. Bartlett sets lines 1-6 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
J. Bartlett sets lines 5-6 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Bartlett: "where the wild Thyme blows"; Roe: "where the whild thyme grows"
² Bartlett: "the oxlips"; Lehmann: "oxlip"
³ Bartlett: "Quite o-er canopied with luscious"; Proctor-Gregg: "All over-canopied by luscious"; Harrison: "Quite over-canopied by lush"
⁴ Bartlett: "Titania sometime" ; Lehmann: "our Fairy Queen some times"
⁵ Lehmann: "the"
⁶ Proctor-Gregg: "his"

Text Authorship:

• by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Midsummer Night's Dream, Act II, Scene 1 [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 Winifred May Bury (1897 - 1977), "I know a bank", copyright © 1933 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Julius Allan Greenway Harrison (1885 - 1963), "I know a bank" [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Liza Lehmann (1862 - 1918), "Titania's Cradle", lines 1-2,5-6 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Humphrey Procter-Gregg (1895 - 1980), "I know a bank" [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Betty Roe (b. 1930), "I know a bank", published 2001 [ medium voice, recorder, and piano ], from Seven Short Songs for voice, recorder and piano, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]

The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

• by John Bartlett (b. 1949), "Midsummer Night’s Dream", 1977 [ voice and piano ]
  • View the full text. [sung text checked 1 time]
    

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title

Researcher for this page: Barbara Miller

This text was added to the website: 2006-12-05
Line count: 8
Word count: 66

Je sais un banc où s'épanouit le thym sauvage,
où poussent l'oreille d'ours et la violette branlante.
Il est couvert par un dais de chèvrefeuilles vivaces,
de suaves roses musquées et d'églantiers.
C'est là que dort Titania, à certain moment de la nuit,
bercée dans ces fleurs par les danses et les délices.
C’est là que la couleuvre étend sa peau émaillée, 
vêtement assez large pour couvrir une fée.