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Where art thou Muse that thou forget'st so long,
To speak of that which gives thee all thy might?
Spend'st thou thy fury on some worthless song,
Darkening thy power to lend base subjects light?
Return forgetful Muse, and straight redeem,
In gentle numbers time so idly spent;
Sing to the ear that doth thy lays esteem
And gives thy pen both skill and argument.
Rise, resty Muse, my love's sweet face survey,
If Time have any wrinkle graven there;
If any, be a satire to decay,
And make time's spoils despised every where.
Give my love fame faster than Time wastes life,
So thou prevent'st his scythe and crooked knife.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 100 [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 Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet C", 1864-6 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 100, 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: 2010-08-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 111
Dove sei tu Musa, che hai scordato da tempo di parlare di ciò che a te dona tutto il tuo potere? Con veemenza ti dedichi a qualche indegno canto la tua forza oscurando per temi d’ infimo valore ? Ritorna, smemorata, per tosto riscattare con rime più degne, il tempo che hai sprecato; Canta, per un orecchio che ben le sa apprezzare e alla tua penna sa offrire argomenti e talento. Svegliati, Musa indolente, il volto del mio amore osserva, verifica se il tempo qualche ruga vi ha inciso se tu la troverai, critica la decadenza, e fai che il Tempo, con i suoi effetti, venga ovunque inviso. Affrettati a dar fama, all’amor mio, prima che lo devasti il Tempo utilizzando la falce e il suo ricurvo coltello.
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.
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Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 100
This text was added to the website: 2025-07-16
Line count: 14
Word count: 127