by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
When forty winters shall besiege thy...
Language: English
Our translations: ITA
When forty winters shall besiege thy brow, And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field, Thy youth's proud livery so gazed on now, Will be a totter'd weed of small worth held: Then being asked, where all thy beauty lies, Where all the treasure of thy lusty days; To say, within thine own deep sunken eyes, Were an all-eating shame, and thriftless praise. How much more praise deserv'd thy beauty's use, If thou couldst answer 'This fair child of mine Shall sum my count, and make my old excuse,' Proving his beauty by succession thine! This were to be new made when thou art old, And see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it cold.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 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):
- by Michael G. Cunningham (b. 1937), "When forty winters", op. 87 no. ?, from Shakespeare Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by David Llewellyn Green , "When forty winters shall besiege thy brow", published 1986 [ mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano ], from Five Songs of Sorrow and Reconciliation, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edward James Harper (b. 1941), "When forty winters shall besiege thy brow", 1964 [ alto and SSAATB chorus a cappella ], from Three Shakespeare Sonnets, no. 1, partson [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet II", 1864 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gloria Swisher , "When forty winters", first performed 1983 [ soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by David Winkler , "Sonnet II", 1982 [ SATB quartet and piano ], from Cycle for Several Voices and Piano, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Claude Duboscq (1897 - 1938) ; composed by Claude Duboscq.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
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- Also set in Hungarian (Magyar), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by József Csire.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François Pierre Guillaume Guizot) , no title, appears in Œuvres Complètes de Shakspeare Volume VIII, in Sonnets, no. 2, first published 1863
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 2, first published 1857
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-10-07
Line count: 14
Word count: 115