Poet/poetic source: Anonymous poet
Poetic form/text type: ottava rima
Music composer: Luca Marenzio (c.1553-1599)
Music source: Madrigali a4, 5, e 6 voci (Giacomo Vincenti, Italy, 1588)
| Original Italian | Translation |
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Come ogni rio che d'acqua dolci e chiare porge tributo al mare, giunto in quelle voragini profonde in amari si cangia e torbid'onde: Così ogni ben ch'è buono per natura, giunto nel mar della mia pena dura, si cangia in male amaro, e divien tale per l'amaro infinito del mio male. |
Like every river whose water, sweet and clear, offers tribute to the sea, arriving in those deep abysses turns into bitter, murky waves: So every good that is good by its nature, when reaching the sea of my inexorable pain, is transformed into bitter evil, and becomes such because of the infinite bitterness of my pain. |