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Percy Bysshe Shelley
Aug. 4, 1792to
July 8, 1822
TitlesFirst LinesLast Lines
Other Works
Wake The Serpent NotTo___ . (When passion's trance is overpast...)The Tower Of FamineLoveEveningThe Sepulchre Of MemoryTo___. (I fear thy kisses, gentle maiden,...)To ConstantiaTo [Harriet]. (Yet look on me...)The World's WanderersOn DeathTo A StarTo Harriet (Thy look of love ...)Wine Of The FairiesLove The Universe To-dayThe Birth Of PleasureSong. (Rarely, rarely, comest thou...)Fragment: To The MoonWedded SoulsDeathTo Jane: The Keen Stars Were Twinkling
by Percy Bysshe Shelley
I.
The keen stars were twinkling,
And the fair moon was rising among them,
Dear Jane!
The guitar was tinkling,
But the notes were not sweet till you sung them
Again.
II.
As the moon's soft splendour
O'er the faint cold starlight of Heaven
Is thrown,
So your voice most tender
To the strings without soul had then given
Its own.
III.
The stars will awaken,
Though the moon sleep a full hour later,
To-night;
No leaf will be shaken
Whilst the dews of your melody scatter
Delight.
IV.
Though the sound overpowers,
Sing again, with your dear voice revealing
A tone
Of some world far from ours,
Where music and moonlight and feeling
Are one.
First published in full, 1839, 2nd edition.
Source:
The Lyrics and Shorter Poems of Percy Bysshe ShelleyCopyright 1907, reprinted 1913
London: J.M. Dent and Sons, Ltd.
New York: E.P. Dutton and Co.
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