by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873)
Why didst thou promise such a beauteous...
Language: English
Available translation(s): ITA
Why didst thou promise such a beauteous day, And make me travel forth without my cloak, To let base clouds o'ertake me in my way, Hiding thy bravery in their rotten smoke? 'Tis not enough that through the cloud thou break, To dry the rain on my storm-beaten face, For no man well of such a salve can speak, That heals the wound, and cures not the disgrace: Nor can thy shame give physic to my grief; Though thou repent, yet I have still the loss: The offender's sorrow lends but weak relief To him that bears the strong offence's cross. Ah! but those tears are pearl which thy love sheds, And they are rich and ransom all ill deeds.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 34 [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 Juliana Hall (b. 1958), "Why didst thou promise such a beauteous day ", 2000, first performed 2001 [ baritone and piano ], from Love's Pilgrimage -- 5 songs for Baritone and Piano, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet XXXIV", 1865 [ SAB chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 34, first published 1857
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Perché mi promettesti un giorno tanto sereno", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-08-11
Line count: 14
Word count: 120
Pourquoi, ami, m'as‑tu promis un si beau...
Language: French (Français)  after the English
Pourquoi, ami, m'as-tu promis un si beau jour et m'as-tu fait sortir sans mon manteau, si c'est pour laisser d'infimes nuages me surprendre en route et cacher ta splendeur dans leur fumée corrompue ? Il ne suffit pas que tu perces à travers le nuage pour sécher la pluie sur ma face battue des tempêtes : car nul ne peut bénir le baume qui cicatrise la blessure sans guérir la souffrance. Ton remords n'est pas un remède à ma douleur ; tous tes regrets ne réparent pas ma perte. Le chagrin de l'offenseur ne cause qu'un faible soulagement à celui qui porte la lourde croix de l'offense. Ah ! mais ces larmes sont des perles que ton affection répand, et ces riches perles sont la rançon de tous tes torts.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873), no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 34, 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. 34
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: 2010-08-17
Line count: 14
Word count: 130