Canst thou, O cruel! say I love thee not,
When I against myself with thee partake?
Do I not think on thee, when I forgot
Am of my self, all tyrant, for thy sake?
Who hateth thee that I do call my friend,
On whom frown'st thou that I do fawn upon,
Nay, if thou lour'st on me, do I not spend
Revenge upon myself with present moan?
What merit do I in my self respect,
That is so proud thy service to despise,
When all my best doth worship thy defect,
Commanded by the motion of thine eyes?
But, love, hate on, for now I know thy mind,
Those that can see thou lov'st, and I am blind.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 149 [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 CXLIX", 1864 [ medium voice or high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Nikolay Vasilyevich Gerbel (1827 - 1883) , no title ; composed by Mikhail Mikhailovich Ippolitov-Ivanov.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 149, first published 1857
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-08-13
Line count: 14
Word count: 120
Как ты могла сказать, что не любима мной, Когда из-за тебя враждую сам с собою, Когда лишь о тебе я думаю одной? Люблю ли я того, не занят кто тобою? Ласкаю ли я тех, кого не любишь ты? Когда же ты порой мне гневом угрожаешь, Не наполняю ль я — что ты, конечно, знаешь — Лишь вдохами своей душевной пустоты? Нет доблести во мне настолько недоступной, Чтоб пренебречь на миг служением тебе, Когда боготворит все лучшее во мне Поступок каждый твой, хотя бы и преступный. Но не люби меня: я вижу наконец, Что зрячих любишь ты, тогда как — я слепец.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotes1 Ippolitov-Ivanov: "мною не любима"; further changes may exist not shown. This change may be spurious; it appears to have been pasted onto the score in imslp.
Show a transliteration: Default | DIN | GOST
Note on TransliterationsText Authorship:
- by Nikolay Vasilyevich Gerbel (1827 - 1883), 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. 149
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Mikhail Mikhailovich Ippolitov-Ivanov (1859 - 1935), "Как ты могла сказать, что не любима мной", op. 45 no. 2 (1913) [ voice and piano ], from Сонеты В. Шекспира, no. 2, Moscow: P. Jurgenson [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2021-07-11
Line count: 14
Word count: 101