Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
If you wish to reprint translations, please use the Reprint Basket (upper right hand corner).
Reminder: You must always use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Poor soul, the centre of my sinful earth,
[...] these rebel powers array,
Why dost thou pine within and suffer dearth,
Painting thy outward walls so costly gay?
Why so large cost, having so short a lease,
Dost thou upon thy fading mansion spend?
Shall worms, inheritors of this excess,
Eat up thy charge? Is this thy body's end?
Then soul, live thou upon thy servant's loss,
And let that pine to aggravate thy store;
Buy terms divine in selling hours of dross;
Within be fed, without be rich no more:
So shall thou feed on Death, that feeds on men,
And Death once dead, there's no more dying then.
About the headline (FAQ)
Note for line 2: some editions repeat the words "My sinful earth" at the beginning of this line; the original words have been lost.
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 146 [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 Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "Sonnet CXLVI - Poor soul", op. 125 (Shakespeare Sonnets), Heft 1 no. 24 (1944-7) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet CXLVI", 1864 [ high 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. 146, 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) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-08-11
Line count: 14
Word count: 110
Povera anima mia, centro del mio corpo d’argilla di peccati pieno […] rivestito da tante brame ribelli, perché tu languisci e soffri miseria all’interno mentre le tue pareti esterne così riccamente adorni? Perché pagare un prezzo così alto per un breve affitto di una dimora che già inizia a crollare? Saranno i vermi, eredi di cotanto spreco, a divorare tutto? Non è forse questo il modo in cui il corpo tuo deve finire? Nutriti invece, anima mia, delle privazioni del tuo servo e lascialo languire per accrescere le tue scorte; vendi ore di polvere e compra tempo divino, saziati dentro e cessa ogni sfarzo esteriore: Così sarà proprio la Morte, divoratrice di vite, che ti nutrirà e divorata la Morte, questa scomparirà.
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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 146
This text was added to the website: 2025-07-16
Line count: 14
Word count: 122