by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873)
Lo, as a careful housewife runs to catch
Language: English
Our translations: ITA
Lo, as a careful housewife runs to catch
One of her feather'd creatures broke away,
Sets down her babe, and makes all swift dispatch
In pursuit of the thing she would have stay;
Whilst her neglected child holds her in chase,
Cries to catch her whose busy care is bent
To follow that which flies before her face,
Not prizing her poor infant's discontent;
So runn'st thou after that which flies from thee,
Whilst I thy babe chase thee afar behind;
But if thou catch thy hope, turn back to me,
And play the mother's part, kiss me, be kind;
So will I pray that thou mayst have thy 'Will,'
If thou turn back and my loud crying still.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 143 [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 CXLIII", 1866 [ 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. 143, 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: 2010-08-13
Line count: 14
Word count: 119
Vois comme la femelle inquiète s'élance...
Language: French (Français) after the English
Vois comme la femelle inquiète s'élance pour rattraper un de ses poussins envolés, et, laissant là le nouveau-né, se précipite à tire-d'aile à la poursuite de celui qu'elle voudrait retenir. Vois comme le petit abandonné la cherche partout et pleure après sa mère, dont l'unique souci est d'atteindre celui qui fuit devant elle, sans s'occuper de la douleur de son pauvre nourrisson. Tu cours, toi aussi, après celui qui fuit loin de toi, tandis que moi, ton marmot, je te poursuis de loin en arrière. Au moins, si tu attrapes celui que tu espères, retourne vers moi, et fais comme une mère ; embrasse-moi, sois bonne. Je souhaiterai que tu obtiennes ton désir, si tu reviens calmer les lamentations de Will.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873), no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 143, first published 1857 [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. 143
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 text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-08-20
Line count: 14
Word count: 120