Rendete agli occhi mei, o fonte o fiume
Language: Italian (Italiano)
Available translation(s): ENG FRE LIT SPA
Rendete agli occhi [mei]1, o fonte o fiume,
L'onde della non vostra e salda vena,
Che più v'innalza e cresce, e con più lena
Che non è 'l vostro natural costume.
E tu, folt'aïr, che 'l celeste lume
Tempri a' [trist'occhi]2, de' sospir [mie]1 piena,
Rendigli al cor [mie]3 lasso e rasserena
Tua scura faccia al [mie]3 visivo acume.
Renda la terra i passi alle mie piante,
Ch'ancor l'erba germugli che gli è tolta,
E 'l suono eco, già sorda a' [mie]1 lamenti;
Gli sguardi agli occhi mie [tuo luce]4 sante,
Ch'io possa altra bellezza un'altra volta
Amar, po' che di me non ti contenti.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)
1 Britten: "miei"
2 Britten: "tristi occhi"
3 Britten: "mio"
4 Britten: "tue luci"
Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Carl Johengen) , "Sonnet XXXVIII", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Sonnet XXXVIII", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , "Sonetas XXXVIII", copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Juan Henríquez Concepción) , copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 105
Sonnet XXXVIII
Language: English  after the Italian (Italiano)
Give back to my eyes, o fountains and rivers,
the waves of powerful currents that are not yours,
which swell you and surge with such force
than was ever in your nature.
And you, dense air, heaven's light
obscuring from my sad eyes, full of sighs,
give them back to my weary heart, and lighten
your dark features to my sight.
Let the earth return to me the traces of my steps,
that the grass may grow where it was crushed;
give back the sounds, Echo, yet deaf to my laments;
their glances back to my eyes, you blessed pupils,
that I may sometime love some other beauty
since with me you are not satisfied.
Authorship:
- Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © by Carl Johengen, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 116