From you have I been absent in the spring,
When proud-pied April, dress'd in all his trim,
Hath put a spirit of youth in every thing,
That heavy Saturn laugh'd and leap'd with him.
Yet nor the lays of birds, nor the sweet smell
Of different flowers in odour and in hue,
Could make me any summer's story tell,
Or from their proud lap pluck them where they grew:
Nor did I wonder at the lily's white,
Nor praise the deep vermilion in the rose;
They were but sweet, but figures of delight,
Drawn after you, you pattern of all those.
Yet seem'd it winter still, and you away,
As with your shadow I with these did play.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), appears in Sonnets, no. 98 [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 Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "Sonnet XCVIII - From you have I been absent", op. 125 (Shakespeare Sonnets), Heft 1 no. 16 (1944-7) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Enid Luff , "From you have I been absent in the spring", 1978, published 1980, first performed 1978 [ mezzo-contralto solo, violin or flute, and piano ], from Three Shakespeare Sonnets, London: Primavera [sung text not yet checked]
- by Kirke Mechem (b. 1925), "From you have I been absent", op. 24 no. 2 (1964), published c1968 [ mixed chorus a cappella ], from Five Centuries of Spring, no. 2, Bryn Mawr, PA : Th. Presser Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet XCVIII", 1864-5 [ medium 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. 98, first published 1857
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-10-08
Line count: 14
Word count: 118
Ja daleko, moj drug, byl ot tebja vesnoj, Kogda aprel' v cvetach svoej odeždy novoj Vsemu peredaval pyl junošeskij svoj, Pričem s nim likoval i smerti bog surovoj. No ni pernatych chor, ni aromat cvetov, Č'ich venčikov vesnoj nam vid vsego dorože, Ne vozbuždajut dum vo mne, ni svetlych snov, Ni žaždy te cvety sryvat' na pyšnom lože. Ne udivljalsja ja lilejnoj belizne I rozy ne chvalil purpurovogo cveta, Zatem čto prelest' ich — krasa vesny i leta — Liš' kopiej tvoej javljalas' vsjudu mne. No vse že sneg krugom ležavšim mne kazalsja I imi, kak tvoej ja ten'ju, zabavljalsja.
About the headline (FAQ)
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Text 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), appears in Sonnets, no. 98
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), "Я далеко, мой друг, был от тебя весной", op. 45 no. 3 (1913) [ voice and piano ], from Сонеты В. Шекспира, no. 3, 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: 100