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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
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-10-08
Line count: 14
Word count: 118
Sono stato lontano da te anche in primavera Quando Aprile superbo e variopinto, tutto a festa vestito, infonde in ogni cosa nuova giovinezza, al punto che anche il pesante Saturno danza divertito. E tuttavia né il canto degli uccelli, né i dolci effluvi di corolle diverse per odore e colore, mi hanno indotto a celebrare l’estate con poemi estivi, o a staccare steli dal grembo di un prato in fiore. E neppure ho ammirato del giglio il candore o il profondo vermiglio che colora la rosa; non erano altro che dolci e deliziose figure, raffiguranti te, modello di ogni cosa. Lontano ancora da te, per me era inverno lo stesso e tutte quelle delizie soltanto un tuo riflesso.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2025 by Ferdinando Albeggiani, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), appears in Sonnets, no. 98
This text was added to the website: 2025-07-16
Line count: 14
Word count: 118