Tell me where is fancy bred

Tell me where is fancy bred,
Or in the heart, or in the head?
Now begot, how nourished?
Reply, reply, reply.

It is engender'd in the eyes,
With gazing fed; and fancy dies
In the cradle where it lies.
Let us all ring fancy's knell:
I'll begin it, - Ding, dong, bell.

by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) , no title, from The Merchant of Venice, Act III, Scene 2

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) , "Fancy", 1964.
by Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) , "Fancy", FP. 174.
by Virgil Garnett Thomson (1896-1989) , "Tell me where is fancy bred", 1956/7, published 1961.
by Robert Matthew Walker (1946-) , "Tell me where is fancy bred?" [voice and piano], from Shakespeare Songs, no. ?

ITA Italian (Ferdinando Albeggiani)

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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