Kilchurn Castle, dissolving into time. And fog.
2. The cloud-capp’d towers
The cloud-capp’d towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, it shall dissolve
And, like this insubstantial pageant, faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.
~ William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act IV, Scene I
The second of “Three Shakespeare Songs,” as composed by Ralph Vaughn Williams ♪♫•
Whenever anyone talks about Shakespeare and song in The Tempest, we seem to get stuck on “Full Fathom Five.” Just for a change, I figured I’d pull out another “song” in Vaghn Williams’ serie, and marvel again at the dire, depressing words… and yet, The Tempest remains one of my favorite plays. Its truths: all this will surely pass, we the stuff of dreams, and will, finally, sleep” round out a rather prosaic, matter-of-fact memento mori that I find… weirdly soothing. Nope, not depressing at all.