by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873)
He is about it
Language: English
He is about it:
The doors are open; and the surfeited grooms
Do mock their charge with snores:
I have drugg'd their possets,
That death and nature do contend about them,
Whether they live or die...
[...]
I laid their daggers ready;
He could not miss 'em. Had he not resembled
My father as he slept, I had done't...
[...]
Why did you bring these daggers from the place?
They must lie there: go carry them; and smear
The sleepy grooms with blood...
[...]
Infirm of purpose!
Give me the daggers: the sleeping and the dead
Are but as pictures: 'tis the eye of childhood
That fears a painted devil. If he do bleed,
I'll gild the faces of the grooms withal;
For it must seem their guilt.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), appears in Macbeth, excerpts from Lady Macbeth's speeches, Act II, Scene 2 [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):
- [ None yet in the database ]
This text (or a part of it) is used in a work
- by Joseph Horovitz (b. 1926), "Lady Macbeth", subtitle: "A Scena", 1970, Composer's note: The composer has selected the words from the speeches of Lady Macbeth. This selection is intended to portray the development of this character, from early aspirations to grandeur, to later power and finally to guilt and madness. The implication is that the Scena begins after Lady Macbeth has read the report of Macbeth's victory at the start of the play..
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2016-01-09
Line count: 21
Word count: 129
Il est à l’œuvre
Language: French (Français) after the English
Il est à l’œuvre ; les portes sont ouvertes, et les grooms gorgés narguent leur office par des ronflements. J’ai drogué leur potion du soir, si bien que la mort et la nature disputent entre elles s’ils vivent ou s’ils meurent. [...] il a dû forcément les trouver… S’il n’avait pas ressemblé dans son sommeil à mon père, j’aurais fait la chose… [...] Donne-moi les poignards. Les dormants et les morts ne sont que des images ; c’est l’œil de l’enfance qui s’effraie d’un diable peint. S’il saigne, je dorerai de son sang la figure de ses gens, car il faut qu’ils semblent coupables.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873), no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), appears in Macbeth, excerpts from Lady Macbeth's speeches, Act II, Scene 2
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 page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2016-01-09
Line count: 16
Word count: 102