Now old desire doth in his deathbed lie, And young affection gapes to be his heir; That fair for which love groaned for and would die, With tender Juliet matched, is not now fair. Now Romeo is beloved and loves again, Alike bewitched by the charm of looks; But to his foe supposed he must complain, And she steal love's sweet bait from fearful hooks. Being held a foe, he may not have access To breathe such vows as lovers use to swear, And she as much in love, her means much less To meet her new beloved anywhere; But passion lends them power, time means, to meet, Temp'ring extremities with extreme sweet.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies, fourth Edition, London: Herringman, Brewster and Bentley, 1685. Appears in Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Prologue, page 310.
Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), appears in Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Prologue [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Alois Brandl (1855 - 1940) , no title ; composed by Boris Blacher.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ROM Romanian (Română) (Ștefan Octavian Iosif)
Researcher for this page: Melanie Trumbull
This text was added to the website: 2019-09-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 114
[Einstige Sehnsucht]1 liegt nun tot und kalt, Und junge Neigung [tritt]2 das Erbe an: Die Schöne, der sein krankes Seufzen [galt]3, [Mit Julia verglichen, ist]4 ein Wahn. Geliebt ist Romeo jetzt und liebt entgegen, Gefangen beide in der Blicke Maschen; Der Feindin muß er sich zu Füßen legen, Sie muß von spitzer Angel Liebe naschen. Als Feind betrachtet, darf er nicht zu ihr, Darf nicht, wie andre thun, ihr Liebe schwören; [Noch weniger darf sie der Herzbegier Nachgeben und ihn sehen und erhören. Doch Blut ist stark, und die gefäll'ge Zeit Mischt in ihr Unglück höchste Seligkeit.]5
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Shakespeares Dramatische Werke, ed. by Alois Brandl, Leipzig und Wien: Bibliographisches Institut, 1897, page 404.
1 Blacher: "Die einst'ge Sehnsucht, sie"2 Blacher: "tritt jetzt"
3 Blacher: "gilt"
4 Blacher: "ist im Vergleich zu Julia"
5 Blacher: "und sie, die seine Lieb' erwidert / kann zu ihrem Trauten lenken nicht die Schritte. / Doch Liebe stärkt sie, sie begünstigt Zeit, / mischt tiefste Not die höchste Seligkeit."
Authorship:
- by Alois Brandl (1855 - 1940), no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), appears in Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Prologue
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Boris Blacher (1903 - 1975), "Einstige Sehnsucht liegt nun tot und kalt", published 1963 [ voice and piano ], from Drei Chansons aus Shakespeares Romeo und Juliet, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Malcolm Wren [Guest Editor] , Melanie Trumbull
This text was added to the website: 2019-09-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 97