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: 59