by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861)
Translation by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
My letters! all dead paper, mute and...
Language: English
My letters! all dead paper, mute and white! And yet they seem alive and quivering Against my tremulous hands which loose the string And let them drop down on my knee to-night. This said, -- he wished to have me in his sight Once, as a friend: this fixed a day in spring To come and touch my hand . . . a simple thing, Yet I wept for it! -- this, . . . the paper's light . . . Said, Dear I love thee; and I sank and quailed As if God's future thundered on my past. This said, I am thine -- and so its ink has paled With lying at my heart that beat too fast. And this . . . O Love, thy words have ill availed If, what this said, I dared repeat at last!
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), no title, appears in Poems, in Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 28, first published 1847 [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 Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "Letters", op. 42 no. ?, published 1928 [ high voice and piano ], from Three Sonnets from the Portuguese [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eleanor Everest Freer (1864 - 1942), "My letters! all dead paper, mute and white!", published 1910 [ medium voice and piano ], from Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 28 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Libby Larsen (b. 1950), "My letters!", 1991 [ soprano and chamber orchestra or piano ], from Sonnets From the Portuguese , no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Peter Tahourdin (1928 - 2009), "My letters! all dead paper, mute and white!", 1968, first performed 1970 [ speaker, alto, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, 2 violins, viola, violoncello, and tape ], from cantata Riders in Paradise, cantata [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926) , written 1908, appears in Sonette aus dem Portugiesischen, no. 28 ; composed by Maria Bach, as Emilie Maria von Bach, Viktor Ullmann.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-07-24
Line count: 14
Word count: 138
Briefe, nun mein! Tot, bleich und...
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Briefe, nun mein! Tot, bleich und lautlos dauernd! Und doch wie meine Hand sie bebend heut am Abend aufband: wunderlich erschauernd und wie belebt in meinen Schoß gestreut. In diesem wünscht er mich zum Freund. Und der bestimmt, an dem ich ihm die Hand gereicht, den Tag im Frühling ... Und ich weinte mehr darum als nötig scheint. Und der, sehr leicht, enthält: Ich liebe dich; und warf mich hin wie Gott mit Kommendem verwirft was war. Und der sagt: Ich bin dein ,- die Tinte drin verblich an meines Herzens Drängen. Ger erst dieser ... Lieber, du hast selbst verwirkt, daß ich zu sagen wagte, was er birgt.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), written 1908, appears in Sonette aus dem Portugiesischen, no. 28 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), no title, appears in Poems, in Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 28, first published 1847
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Maria Bach (1896 - 1978), as Emilie Maria von Bach, "Briefe, nun mein", 1939 [ medium voice and piano ], from Fünf Sonette, no. 2, Wiener Stadt- und Landesbibliothek [sung text not yet checked]
- by Viktor Ullmann (1898 - 1944), "Briefe, nun mein! Tot, bleich und lautlos dauernd!", op. 29 no. 1 (1940), from Drei Sonette aus dem Portugiesischen von Elizabeth Barett-Browning, übertragen von Rainer Maria Rilke, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2008-11-26
Line count: 14
Word count: 107