What is an aubade?

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An aubade is either a kind of poem sung at dawn, or a piece of music played in the morning. The word aubade means "dawn song" in French. In Provencal, this kind of poem is called an "alba."

Poetry

In French poetry of the Middle Ages and after, the aubade is sung at dawn by two lovers who must separate.

Regret

The poetic aubade is a work of regret, or sadness, that is usually in dialogue form.

Romeo and Juliet

The most famous example of an aubade in English is in Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" at the point where the lovers must part after their wedding night. Juliet begins with the line, "Wilt thou be gone? it is not yet near day."

Music

In the 17th and 18th centuries, an aubade was played in the morning for royalty or high-ranking authorities. Conversely, a serenade was played in the evening.

Composers

More recent composers (Bizet, Rimsky-Korsakov and Poulenc) have used the word aubade as the title for instrumental works not necessarily intended for morning performance.

Source:

Literary Terms: A Dictionary; Karl Beckson and Arthur Ganz; 1989

The New Harvard Dictionary of Music; Don Randel, editor; 1986

More Information:

"Aubade," a sonnet by William Shakespeare

An Aubade by John Donne

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What is an aubade?

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