by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt (1819 - 1892)
So is it not with me as with that Muse
Language: English
Our translations: ITA
So is it not with me as with that Muse, Stirred by a painted beauty to his verse, Who heaven itself for ornament doth use And every fair with his fair doth rehearse, Making a couplement of proud compare With sun and moon, with earth and sea's rich gems, With April's first-born flowers, and all things rare, That heaven's air in this huge rondure hems. O! let me, true in love, but truly write, And then believe me, my love is as fair As any mother's child, though not so bright As those gold candles fixed in heaven's air: Let them say more that like of hearsay well; I will not praise that purpose not to sell.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 21 [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 XXI", 1865 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Adolf Wallnöfer (1854 - 1946), "Sonet 21", op. 78 no. 4, published 1904 [ tenor and piano ], from 5 Sonnette von William Shakespeare, no. 4, Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt (1819 - 1892) , no title ; composed by Adolf Wallnöfer.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 21, first published 1857
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Non mi appartiene quella Musa poetica", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-10-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 117
Wohl gleicht nicht meine Muse jenem Lied
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Wohl gleicht nicht meine Muse jenem Lied, Das an [geschminkter]1 Schönheit sich begeistert, Den Himmel selbst als Schmuck herniederzieht, Und bildlich alles Schönen sich bemeistert [In Anhäufungen]2 prunkender Vergleiche Mit Sonn' und Mond, der blühenden Lenzesflur, [Kleinodien]3 aus dem Erd' und Wasserreiche, Und allen Seltenheiten der Natur. Wahr wie mein Lieben sei auch mein Gedicht: Drum glaub' mir, meine Liebe ist so schön, [Den Schönsten gleich -- wenn auch so strahlend nicht]4 Wie [jene goldnen Stern']5 in Himmelshöhn. [Mehr sage wer nach Hörensagen liebt; Mein Lied rühmt nicht was es nicht käuflich giebt.]6
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Wallnöfer: "gemalter"
2 Wallnöfer: "In tollem Suchen"
3 Wallnöfer: "Mit Schätzen"
4 Wallnöfer: "Wie irgendeine, wenn auch so schön nicht"
5 Wallnöfer: "jene Stern'"
6 Wallnöfer: "Lass and're stolzer sich in Worten zeigen, / Ich rühme nicht, doch lieb' ich, was mein eigen!"
Text Authorship:
- by Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt (1819 - 1892), no title [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. 21
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Adolf Wallnöfer (1854 - 1946), "Sonet 21", op. 78 no. 4, published 1904 [ tenor and piano ], from 5 Sonnette von William Shakespeare, no. 4, Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, also set in English [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-12-05
Line count: 14
Word count: 98