O! how much more doth beauty beauteous seem
By that sweet ornament which truth doth give?
The rose looks fair, but fairer [we it]1 deem
[For]2 that sweet odour, which doth in it live.
The canker blooms have full as deep a dye
As the perfumed tincture of the roses,
Hang on such thorns, and play as wantonly
When summer's breath their masked buds discloses:
But, for [their]3 virtue only is their show,
They live unwoo'd, and unrespected fade;
Die [to]4 themselves. Sweet roses do not so;
Of their sweet deaths, are sweetest odours made:
And so of you, beauteous and lovely youth,
When that shall fade, by verse distills your truth.
F. Lygon sets lines 1-12
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)See also Mobile for Shakespeare by Roman Haubenstock-Ramati
1 Faith: "it we"
2 Faith: "By"
3 omitted by Faith.
4 Faith: "unto"
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 54 [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 Bruce Faith (b. 1926), "Sonnet LIV" [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Frederick Lygon , "Oh how much more doth beauty beauteous seeme", published [1866], lines 1-12 [ ATTB chorus and piano ], glee; London : Novello ; from the score: "2nd prize Catch Club, 22 June 1866" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ann Sheppard Mounsey (1811 - 1891), "Oh! how much more doth beauty", op. 11 no. 5, published 1836? [ vocal duet for 2 sopranos with piano ], from Six duets in canon for two soprano voices, with an accompaniment for the piano forte, no. 5, London : T. E. Purday [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet LIV", 1864 [ medium voice 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. 54, first published 1857
- GER German (Deutsch) (Richard Flatter) , appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Sonetto LIV", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Barbara Miller
This text was added to the website: 2005-06-22
Line count: 14
Word count: 116
Um wie viel mehr erscheint die Schönheit schön Durch jenen Goldglanz, den die Treue zeigt: So wie die Rosen ihren Reiz erhöhn Durch jenen Duft, der ihrem Prunk entsteigt. Die Heckenrose ist von gleicher Pracht Wie ihre Schwester, die in Fülle sprießt; Hangt auch am Dornzweig, spielt im Wind und lacht, Wenn die dem Kuß des Sommers sich erschließt. Doch all ihr Preis und Ruhm ist ihr Gesicht: Sie lebt nur sich, und wenn sie welkt und endet, Stirbt sie nur sich; die süße Rose nicht, Die selbst im Tod noch süßen Hauch entsendet. So soll mein Lied, wenn Lenz und Lust verblühten, Den reinen Dufthauch deiner Treue hüten.
About the headline (FAQ)
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Confirmed with Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten Übersetzt von Richard Flatter, Walter Krieg Verlag, Wien-Bad Bocklet-Zürich, 1954, 2nd edition (1st edition 1936), page 91.
Text Authorship:
- by Richard Flatter (1891 - 1960), appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936 [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. 54
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 page: Volkmar Henschel
This text was added to the website: 2021-02-24
Line count: 14
Word count: 109