The four chords Britten used in Act II of A Midsummer Night's Dream are remarkably similar to those used in the setting of "Sonnet to Sleep" (Keats) in the Serenade, the differences being a reversal of the first two chords, re-spacing, and re-scoring. Both works are concerned with the subject of sleep, thus lending added weight to the possibility of self-borrowing. However, upon Roseberry's inquiry, he and Britten discovered that the similarity was completely subconscious. The chords in the opera were developed in a conscious effort to use all twelve tones in a four-chord theme to be used for dramatic and structural purposes, while those in the Serenade came, according to Britten, "as a kind of harmonic overtone to the cello phrase."

Works: Britten: A Midsummer Night's Dream, "Sonnet to Sleep" from the Serenade.

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Nikola D. Strader