by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873)
Where art thou Muse that thou forget'st...
Language: English
Where art thou Muse that thou forget'st so long, To speak of that which gives thee all thy might? Spend'st thou thy fury on some worthless song, Darkening thy power to lend base subjects light? Return forgetful Muse, and straight redeem, In gentle numbers time so idly spent; Sing to the ear that doth thy lays esteem And gives thy pen both skill and argument. Rise, resty Muse, my love's sweet face survey, If Time have any wrinkle graven there; If any, be a satire to decay, And make time's spoils despised every where. Give my love fame faster than Time wastes life, So thou prevent'st his scythe and crooked knife.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 100 [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 Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet C", 1864-6. [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. 100, published 1857
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-08-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 111
Où donc es‑tu, muse, pour oublier si...
Language: French (Français)  after the English
Où donc es-tu, muse, pour oublier si longtemps de parler de celui qui te donne toute ta puissance ? Depenses-tu ta furie à quelque indigne chant, couvrant d'ombre ta poésie pour mettre la lumière sur de vils sujets ? Reviens, muse oublieuse, et vite rachète par de nobles accents le temps si futilement passé ; chante à l'oreille de celui qui estime tes lais et qui donne à ta plume talent et argument. Debout, muse rétive. Vois, sur le doux visage de mon bien-aimé, si le temps n'a pas gravé quelque ride. S'il l'a fait, couvre ses ravages de ta satire, et fais de ses trophées la risée de l'univers. Donne la gloire à mon ami plus vite que le temps ne lui retire la vie, et pare ainsi les coups de sa faux crochue.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873), no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 100, 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. 100
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: 2010-08-18
Line count: 14
Word count: 135