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by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation © by Ferdinando Albeggiani

So oft have I invoked thee for my Muse
Language: English 
Our translations:  ITA
So oft have I invoked thee for my Muse,
And found such fair assistance in my verse
As every alien pen hath got my use
And under thee their poesy disperse.
Thine eyes, that taught the dumb on high to sing
And heavy ignorance aloft to fly,
Have added feathers to the learned's wing
And given grace a double majesty.
Yet be most proud of that which I compile,
Whose influence is thine, and born of thee:
In others' works thou dost but mend the style,
And arts with thy sweet graces graced be;
      But thou art all my art, and dost advance
      As high as learning, my rude ignorance.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 78 [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 LXXVIII", 1865 [ 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. 78, 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: 110

Così spesso ti ho invocato come mia Musa
Language: Italian (Italiano)  after the English 
Così spesso ti ho invocato come mia Musa,
ricavando un così giusto sostegno al mio verso
che altre penne hanno  imitato il mio uso
e in tuo nome le loro rime hanno disperso.
Sotto il tuo sguardo, hanno imparato i muti a elevare canti
e la pesante ignoranza è volata in alto,
Hai arricchito di piume le ali dei sapienti
e conferito alla grazia un più maestoso volto.
Ma sii tu più orgoglioso per ciò che sto creando,
grazie al tuo influsso e che da te nasce:
nelle opere altrui stai solo correggendo
lo stile, abbellendo lo scritto con le tue dolci grazie;
Ma, quanto a me,  sei tutta la mia arte, che avanza
elevando in sapienza, la mia rozza ignoranza.

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), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 78
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2025-07-17
Line count: 14
Word count: 121

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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