by John Donne (1572 - 1631)
The virgins
Language: English
The cold white snowie Nunnery, (Which, as thy mother, their high Abbesse, sent Their bodies back again to thee, As thou hadst lent them, clean and innocent), Though they have not obtain'd of thee, That or thy Church, or I, Should keep, as they, our first integrity; Divorce thou sin in us, or bid it die, And call chaste widowhead1 Virginity.
View original text (without footnotes)
1 or "widowhood".
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
1 or "widowhood".
Authorship:
- by John Donne (1572 - 1631), "The virgins", appears in A Litany, no. 12 [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 Andrew Downes (1950 - 2023), "The virgins", op. 11 no. 3 (1976), from Five Holy Songs, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 9
Word count: 62