Artfully simple, this poem can be enjoyed for its pristine surface, but also suggests a melancholy allegory
The Silver Swan
The silver Swan, who, living, had no Note,
When Death approached, unlocked her silent throat,
Leaning her breast upon the reedy shore,
Thus sang her first and last, and sang no more:
“Farewell, all joys! O Death, come close mine eyes!
More Geese than Swans now live, more Fools than Wise.”
The Silver Swan is the title of a lastingly popular madrigal composed by Orlando Gibbons, and originally printed in 1610 in his First Set of Madrigals and Motets in Five Parts. The authorship of the poem, too, is sometimes attributed to Gibbons, without much evidence. His patron, Christopher Hatton, is another possible contender. Most informed commentators have wisely settled for Anon.
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The silver Swan, who, living, had no Note,
When Death approached, unlocked her silent throat,
Leaning her breast upon the reedy shore,
Thus sang her first and last, and sang no more:
“Farewell, all joys! O Death, come close mine eyes!
More Geese than Swans now live, more Fools than Wise.”
The Silver Swan is the title of a lastingly popular madrigal composed by Orlando Gibbons, and originally printed in 1610 in his First Set of Madrigals and Motets in Five Parts. The authorship of the poem, too, is sometimes attributed to Gibbons, without much evidence. His patron, Christopher Hatton, is another possible contender. Most informed commentators have wisely settled for Anon.
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