by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by Marianne von Schrutka
When I have seen by Time's fell hand...
Language: English
When I have seen by Time's fell hand defac'd
The rich-proud cost of outworn buried age;
When sometime lofty towers I see down-raz'd,
And brass eternal slave to mortal rage;
When I have seen the hungry ocean gain
Advantage on the kingdom of the shore,
And the firm soil win of the watery main,
Increasing store with loss, and loss with store;
When I have seen such interchange of state,
Or state itself confounded, to decay;
Ruin hath taught me thus to ruminate --
That Time will come and take my love away.
This thought is as a death which cannot choose
But weep to have, that which it fears to lose.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 64 [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 LXIV - When I have seen", op. 125 (Shakespeare Sonnets), Heft 1 no. 10 (1944-7) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ned Rorem (1923 - 2022), "Sonnet LXIV", 2002 [ medium voice, violin, cello, and piano ], from Aftermath, no. 5, Boosey & Hawkes [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet LXIV", 1865 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Marianne von Schrutka ; composed by Mathilde von Kralik.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 64, first published 1857
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-08-11
Line count: 14
Word count: 111
64. Sonett von Shakespeare
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Seh' ich vergang'ner Welten stolze Pracht grausam entstellt, zersplittert vor mir liegen, erhab'nen Bau der Erde gleichgemacht und ew'ges Erz des Menschen Sklav' in Kriegen, seh' ich den gier'gen Ozean hungrig fasse ein Stück vom Land, des Ufers Königtum, und Boden abgetrotzt den Wassermassen, Gewinn - Verlust, Verlust - Gewinn nicht ruh'n, schau' solchen Wechselgang der Stoffe ich und allen Stoff selbst unterganggeweiht, dann lässt Betrachtung dieser Trümmer mich erkennen: Nichts schützt meine Lieb' vor Zeit. Gedanke, bitter wie der Tod. Es treibt, zu weinen, dass man hat, was nicht uns bleibt.
Text Authorship:
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 64
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Mathilde von Kralik (1857 - 1944), "64. Sonett von Shakespeare", 1934 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website: 2025-02-26
Line count: 14
Word count: 90