by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Sonnet LXXXVII Matches original text
Language: English
Our translations: ITA
Farewell! thou art too dear for my possessing, And like enough thou know'st thy estimate: The charter of thy worth gives thee releasing; My bonds in thee are all determinate. For how do I hold thee but by thy granting, And for that riches where is my deserving? The cause of this fair gift in me is wanting, And so my patent back again is swerving. Thyself thou gavest, thy own worth then not knowing, Or me, to whom thou gavest it, else mistaking; So thy great gift, upon misprision growing, Comes home again, on better judgment making. Thus have I had thee, as a dream doth flatter, In sleep a King, but waking no such matter.
Composition:
- Set to music by Leslie Crabtree (b. 1941), "Sonnet LXXXVII", 2002 [ voice and piano ]
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 87
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 87, first published 1857
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Addio! Troppo sei caro per il mio possesso", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2004-08-09
Line count: 14
Word count: 117