by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor...
Language: English
Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea
But sad mortality o'ersways their power,
How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea,
Whose action is no stronger than a flower?
O, how shall summer's honey breath hold out
Against the wrackful siege of batt'ring days,
When rocks impregnable are not so stout,
Nor gates of steel so strong, but Time decays?
O fearful meditation! where, alack,
Shall Time's best jewel from Time's chest lie hid?
Or what strong hand can hold his swift foot back?
Or who his spoil of beauty can forbid?
O, none, unless this miracle have might,
That in black ink my love may still shine bright.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), appears in Sonnets, no. 65 [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 Walter Aschaffenburg (b. 1927), "Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea", op. 14 no. 2 (1966-7), first performed 1967 [ tenor and piano ], from Three Shakespeare Sonnets, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "Sonnet LXV - Since brass, nor stone", op. 125 (Shakespeare Sonnets), Heft 1 no. 11 (1944-7) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Juliana Hall (b. 1958), "Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea ", 2000, first performed 2001 [ baritone and piano ], from Love's Pilgrimage -- 5 songs for Baritone and Piano, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet LXV", 1865 [ medium voice or high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Isabel Soveral (b. 1961), "Since brass, nor stone", 2007 [ soprano and electronics ], from Shakespeare's Cycle , no. 1 [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. 65, first published 1857
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-09-16
Line count: 14
Word count: 112