Tell me, where is fancy bred?

General information

Lyricist: William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act III,Sc 2

Settings by composers

• Ann Sheppard Mounsey Bartholomew SATB
• George Alexander Macfarren SATB
• Ciro Pinsuti SATB

Texts and Translations

English text

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

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.