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O! for my sake do you with Fortune chide,
The guilty goddess of my harmful deeds,
That did not better for my life provide
Than public means which public manners breeds.
Thence comes it that my name receives a brand,
And almost thence my nature is subdu'd
To what it works in, like the dyer's hand:
Pity me, then, and wish I were renew'd;
Whilst, like a willing patient, I will drink,
Potions of eisel 'gainst my strong infection;
No bitterness that I will bitter think,
Nor double penance, to correct correction.
Pity me then, dear friend, and I assure ye,
Even that your pity is enough to cure me.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 111 [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 CXI", 1864-6 [ 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. 111, first published 1857
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-08-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 110
Oh! per il mio bene, la Fortuna devi sgridare la dea colpevole delle mie cattive condotte che nulla di meglio alla mia vita seppe offrire che mezzi volgari fonte di maniere rozze. Da ciò deriva un marchio, in ogni mio lavoro impresso e pure sul mio nome, che mi è toccato subire, come resta imbrattata la mano del tintore: Abbi, allora, pietà e spera che io rinnovi me stesso, Al pari di un malato obbediente costretto più volte a trangugiare pozioni di aceto contro un’ infezione grave, altre amarezze non saranno così amare nessuna pena doppia, come tornare punito per lo stesso errore. Compatiscimi dunque, caro amico, e ti assicuro, che la tua pietà mi basterà come cura.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2025 by Ferdinando Albeggiani, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 111
This text was added to the website: 2025-07-16
Line count: 14
Word count: 118
