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Unthrifty loveliness, why dost thou spend Upon thy self thy beauty's legacy? Nature's bequest gives nothing, but doth lend, And being frank she lends to those are free: Then, beauteous niggard, why dost thou abuse The bounteous largess given thee to give? Profitless usurer, why dost thou use So great a sum of sums, yet canst not live? For having traffic with thy self alone, Thou of thy self thy sweet self dost deceive: Then how when nature calls thee to be gone, What acceptable audit canst thou leave? Thy unused beauty must be tombed with thee, Which, used, lives th' executor to be.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 4 [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), "Unthrifty loveliness", op. 112 no. ? (1985), first performed 1986 [medium-high voice], from Shakespeare Sonnets, Set 2 [text not verified]
- by Thomas A. Hyde , "Unthrifty loveliness", 1974. [low voice and piano] [text not verified]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet IV", 1864. [medium voice and piano] [text not verified]
- by David Winkler , "Sonnet IV", 1982 [SATB quartet and piano], from Cycle for Several Voices and Piano, no. 4. [text not verified]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François Pierre Guillaume Guizot) , no title, from Oeuvres Complètes de Shakspeare Volume VIII, in Sonnets, no. 4, published 1863
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , title unknown, copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, from Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 4, published 1857
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-10-07
Line count: 14
Word count: 104
Grazia sperperatrice, perché consumi Solo per te il lascito della tua bellezza? La Natura dà in prestito e non concede doni, e solo a chi è generoso, generosa presta: Quindi, mio bello avaro, perché fai abuso Del regalo sontuoso che ti fu dato da dare? Arido usuraio, perché fai uso Di così grandi ricchezze, e non vivi neppure? Ché facendo commercio con te stesso soltanto, solo il tuo dolce te stesso riesci a ingannare: E quando Natura ti dirà che è arrivato il momento Con quale rendiconto ti potrai congedare? La tua non usata bellezza sarà con te seppellita, vivrà come tua erede se invece l'avrai usata.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2009 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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- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 4
This text was added to the website: 2009-05-25
Line count: 14
Word count: 107