by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873)
Who will believe my verse in time to...
Language: English
Available translation(s): ITA
Who will believe my verse in time to come, If it were fill'd with your most high deserts? Though yet heaven knows it is but as a tomb Which hides your life, and shows not half your parts. If I could write the beauty of your eyes, And in fresh numbers number all your graces, The age to come would say 'This poet lies; Such heavenly touches ne'er touch'd earthly faces.' So should my papers, yellow'd with their age, Be scorn'd, like old men of less truth than tongue, And your true rights be term'd a poet's rage And stretched metre of an antique song: But were some child of yours alive that time, You should live twice, in it, and in my rhyme.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 17 [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):
- by Ralph R. Guenther , "Who will believe my verse", 1960, first performed 1961 [soprano, flute, and violoncello], from Two Shakespearean Sonnets, no. 1. [text not verified]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet XVII", 1864-5. [medium voice and piano] [text not verified]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, from Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 17, published 1857
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , title 1: "Chi crederà ai miei versi in un tempo futuro", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (François Pierre Guillaume Guizot) , no title, from Oeuvres Complètes de Shakspeare Volume VIII, in Sonnets, no. 17, published 1863
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-10-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 124
Qui croira mon vers dans les temps à...
Language: French (Français)  after the English
Qui croira mon vers dans les temps à venir, si je le remplis de vos mérites transcendants ? Il n'est pourtant, le ciel le sait ! qu'un tombeau qui cache votre vie, et ne montre pas la moitié de vos qualités. Si je pouvais écrire la beauté de vos yeux et dénombrer toutes vos grâces en nombres immortels, l'avenir dirait : » Ce poëte ment, des touches si célestes n'ont jamais touché de terrestres visages. « Ainsi on se moquerait de mes papiers, jaunis par l'âge, comme de vieillards plus bavards que véridiques ; et la justice à vous rendue passerait pour furie poétique, et pour le refrain exagéré d'une antique chanson. Tandis que, si vous aviez un enfant vivant alors, vous vivriez doublement, en lui et dans mes rimes.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873), no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 17, first published 1857 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 17
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 ]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-08-16
Line count: 14
Word count: 130