by Thibaut Ier de Navarre (1201 - 1253)
Translation by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803)

Las ! si j'avois pouvoir d'oublier
Language: French (Français) 
Las ! si j'avois pouvoir d'oublier
Sa beauté, sa beauté, son bien dire,
Et son très-doux, très-doux regarder,
  Finirois mon martyre :
Mais las ! mon cœur je n'en puis ôter,
  Et grand affolage
  M'est d'espérer :
  Mais tel fervage
  Donne courage
  A tout endurer.
Et puis, comment, comment oublier
Sa beauté, sa beauté, son bien dire,
Et son très-doux, très-doux regarder ?
  Mieux aime mon martyre.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Annales poétiques, ou Almanach des Muses, depuis l'origine de la Poésie Françoise, tome premier, Paris, Delalain, 1778, page 9. A footnote in this edition is attached to the end of line 6 as follows: Grand affolage, grande folie.


Text Authorship:

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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2014-07-10
Line count: 14
Word count: 62

Altfranzösisches Sonnet
 (Sung text for setting by O. Raif)
 See original
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the French (Français) 
Our translations:  CAT DUT ENG FRE ITA SPA
Ach, könnte, könnt' ich vergessen Sie!
  Ihr schönes, liebliches Wesen,
Den Blick, die freundliche Lippe, die!
  Vielleicht ich möchte genesen!
Doch ach! mein Herz, mein Herz kann es nie!
Und doch ist's Wahnsinn, zu hoffen Sie!
     ... 
Und dann, wie kann ich vergessen Sie,
  Ihr schönes, liebliches Wesen,
Den Blick, die freundliche Lippe, die!
  Viel lieber nimmer genesen!

Composition:

    Set to music by Oskar Raif (1847 - 1899), "Altfranzösisches Sonnet", op. 8 (Zwei Lieder) no. 1, published 1877 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Barth

Text Authorship:

Based on:

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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Een sonnet", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Oh, could I only forget her", copyright ©
  • ENG English [singable] (Anonymous/Unidentified Artist) , "A sonnet"
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Sonnet", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Un sonetto", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • SPA Spanish (Español) (Alfonso Sebastián) , copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website: 2003-11-09
Line count: 13
Word count: 77