by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873)
Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing...
Language: English
Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes, and groves; And ye that on the sands with printless foot Do chase the ebbing Neptune, and do fly him When he comes back; you demi-puppets that By moonshine do the green sour ringlets make, Whereof the ewe not bites; and you whose pastime Is to make midnight mushrooms, that rejoice To hear the solemn curfew; by whose aid,-- Weak masters though ye be,--I have bedimm'd The noontide sun, call'd forth the mutinous winds, And 'twixt the green sea and the azur'd vault Set roaring war: to the dread rattling thunder Have I given fire, and rifted Jove's stout oak With his own bolt: the strong-bas'd promontory Have I made shake; and by the spurs pluck'd up The pine and cedar: graves at my command Have wak'd their sleepers, op'd, and let them forth By my so potent art. But this rough magic I here abjure; and, when I have requir'd Some heavenly music,--which even now I do,-- To work mine end upon their senses that This airy charm is for, I'll break my staff, Bury it certain fathoms in the earth, And deeper than did ever plummet sound I'll drown my book.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in The Tempest, Act V, Scene 1 (Prospero) [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 Marjorie Merryman , "Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes, and groves", 1978, published 1979, first performed 1978 [ soprano, clarinet, percussion, and violoncello ], from Ariel, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Andrea Maffei) , no title, first published 1869
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-12-10
Line count: 25
Word count: 200
Vous, sylphes des collines, des...
Language: French (Français)  after the English
Vous, sylphes des collines, des ruisseaux, des étangs et des halliers, et vous qui, d’un pas sans empreinte, allez sur les plages chassant Neptune, quand il retire, et le fuyant, quand il revient ; vous, petits lutins, qui, au clair de lune, faites dans la verdure ces cercles acres où la brebis ne mord pas, vous dont le passe-temps est de produire les champignons de minuit, et qui vous réjouissez d’entendre le solennel couvre-feu ; vous à l’aide de qui, tout faibles maîtres que vous êtes, j’ai obscurci le soleil en plein midi, évoqué les vents mutins, soulevé entre la verte mer et la voûte azurée une guerre rugissante, mis le feu au redoutable tonnerre qui gronde, et brisé le grand chêne de Jupiter avec sa propre foudre : vous à l’aide de qui j’ai ébranlé les promontoires aux fortes bases, arraché par les racines le pin et le cèdre, et impérieusement obligé les tombeaux à réveiller leurs dormeurs, à s’ouvrir et à les laisser aller, de par mon art tout-puissant ; soyez témoins ! cette orageuse magie, je l’abjure ici ! Je ne réclame plus de vous, et c’est mon dernier ordre, qu’une musique céleste, qui agisse à mon gré sur les sens de ceux que je soumets à son charme aérien. Et puis je briserai ma baguette, je l’ensevelirai à plusieurs brassées dans la terre, et, à une profondeur que la sonde n’a jamais atteinte, je noierai mon livre.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873), no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in The Tempest, Act V, Scene 1 (Prospero)
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: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2016-02-08
Line count: 25
Word count: 241