Overview

Upon my first reading of Oscar Wilde’s poem Requiescat, I was captivated by the raw emotions evoked by Wilde’s imagery, which presented themselves as a scene from an opera: the tenor soloist baring his soul’s torment over the loss of his beloved at her graveside, backed by a chorus of his friends, family and townsfolk. Indeed, the composition directly reflects the interactions between the hero and the townsfolk that might take place in an opera–the tenor soloist taking the lead, with the chorus supportively echoing the tenor’s grief.

I would still, someday, like to complete the rest of this opera, but for now, we must remain content with this single, beautifully melancholy scene.

The Poem

Requiescat

Tread lightly, she is near
Under the snow,
Speak gently, she can hear
The daisies grow.

All her bright golden hair
Tarnished with rust,
She that was young and fair
Fallen to dust.

Lily-like, white as snow,
She hardly knew
She was a woman, so
Sweetly she grew.

Coffin-board, heavy stone,
Lie on her breast;
I vex my heart alone,
She is at rest.

Peace, peace; she cannot hear
Lyre or sonnet;
All my life’s buried here,
Heap earth upon it.

—Oscar Wilde (1856-1900)