by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873)
O from what power hast thou this...
Language: English
O from what power hast thou this powerful might With insufficiency my heart to sway? To make me give the lie to my true sight, And swear that brightness doth not grace the day? Whence hast thou this becoming of things ill, That in the very refuse of thy deeds There is such strength and warrantise of skill That, in my mind, thy worst all best exceeds? Who taught thee how to make me love thee more The more I hear and see just cause of hate? O, though I love what others do abhor, With others thou shouldst not abhor my state: If thy unworthiness rais'd love in me, More worthy I to be belov'd of thee.
V. Giannini sets lines 9-10
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 150 [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 David Leo Diamond (1915 - 2005), "O from what power hast thou this powerful might", 1964, published 1967 [ high voice and piano ], from We Two, no. 5, New York : Southern [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Vittorio Giannini (1903 - 1966), "Who taught thee how to make me love thee more", copyright © 1953, lines 9-10, from opera The Taming of the Shrew, Act III ; New York : Ricordi [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet CL", 1866 [ 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. 150, first published 1857
Researcher for this page: Barbara Miller
This text was added to the website: 2005-08-31
Line count: 14
Word count: 118
Oh ! de quelle puissance tiens‑tu cette...
Language: French (Français) after the English
Oh ! de quelle puissance tiens-tu cette faculté toute-puissante de dominer mon cœur du haut de ton insuffisance, de me forcer à donner un démenti à l'évidence et à jurer que le jour brille de moins d'éclat que toi ? D'où tires-tu le charme que tu prêtes aux choses mauvaises ? Comment dans le rebut même de tes actions y a-t-il tant de force et tant de prestige qu'à mes yeux tes défauts sont supérieurs à toutes les perfections ? Par quel art te fais-tu aimer de moi d'autant plus que j'apprends et que je vois en toi de nouveaux sujets de haine ? Oh ! quoique j'aime ce que d'autres abhorrent, tu ne devrais pas comme d'autres voir ma condition avec horreur. Si ton indignité m'a inspiré l'amour, je n'en suis que plus digne d'être aimé de toi.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873), no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 150, first published 1857 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 150
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2009-12-05
Line count: 14
Word count: 133