by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873)
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Language: English
Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove: O no! it is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle's compass come: Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
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Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 116 [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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "Sonnet 116", 1983 [ medium-high voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Herbert Bielawa (b. 1930), "For a wedding", 1975 [ tenor or soprano and pipe organ ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rudolf Bruči , "Let me not to the marriage of true minds", 1987 [ voice and piano ], from Love and Time [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "Sonnet CXVI - Let me not to the marriage", op. 125 (Shakespeare Sonnets), Heft 1 no. 22 (1944-5) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Deryck Cooke , "Sonnet CXVI", 1944-5, from Ten Shakespeare Sonnets [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jean Coulthard (1908 - 2000), "Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments", 1947, first performed 1970, from Three Shakespeare Sonnets [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alfred Matthew Hale (1875 - 1960), "Sonnet 116" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Lee Hoiby (1926 - 2011), "Sonnet 116", 1991 [ voice and piano ], from Sonnets and Soliloquies, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Michael Huebner and by Richard D. Lake , "The marriage of true minds", 1969 [ three-part chorus, trio, harpsichord, guitar ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Christopher James , "Shakespeare's Sonnet CXVI: Let me not to the marriage...", 1977 [ soprano and organ ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Björn Johansson , "Let me not to the marriage of true minds" [ tenor and string quartet ], from ...notes of Music [sung text not yet checked]
- by Leslie Kondorossy (1915 - 1989), "Let me not to the marriage of true minds", op. 138 no. ?, from Five Shakespeare Sonnets [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rex Le Lacheur , "Love is not love", published 1974 [ SSA chorus and piano ], from Three Shakespearian Trios [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joan Littlejohn (b. 1937), "Sonnet 116", 1960-80 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Bryony Phillips , "Marriage of true minds", 1982, first performed 1983 [ soprano and violin ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Solomon Pimsleur (1900 - 1962), "Let me not to the marriage of true minds", op. 100 no. ? [ SATB chorus and orchestra ], from Shakespearean sonnet cycle [sung text not yet checked]
- by David A. Roth , "Love's constancy", 1966 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johan Selnes , "Sonnett" [ satb chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet CXVI", 1864 [ medium voice or high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Max Sofsky , "Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 - Let me not...", 1973 [ high voice unaccompanied ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gloria Swisher , "Let me not to the marriage of true minds" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Godfrey Winham , "Let me not to the marriage of true minds", 1957-60, published 1978, first performed 1961 [ soprano and piano ], from To prove my love, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Lee Zarchen , "Shakespeare sonnet: no. 116", 1983 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Czech (Čeština), a translation by Jan Vladislav ; composed by Jan Hanuš.
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- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt (1819 - 1892) , "Nichts kann den Bund zwei treuer Herzen hindern" ; composed by Anton Beer-Walbrunn.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Franz Alfons Wolpert (1917 - 1978) ; composed by Franz Alfons Wolpert.
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 116, first published 1857
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Sonett CXVI", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Mai non avvenga che io ponga impedimento", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-05-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 109
N'apportons pas d'entraves au mariage de...
Language: French (Français)  after the English
N'apportons pas d'entraves au mariage de nos âmes loyales. Ce n'est pas de l'amour que l'amour qui change quand il voit un changement, et qui répond toujours à un pas en arrière par un pas en arrière. Oh ! non ! l'amour est un fanal permanent qui regarde les tempêtes sans être ébranlé par elles ; c'est l'étoile brillant pour toute barque errante, dont la valeur est inconnue de celui même qui en consulte la hauteur. L'amour n'est pas le jouet du Temps, bien que les lèvres et les joues roses soient dans le cercle de sa faux recourbée ; l'amour ne change pas avec les heures et les semaines éphémères, mais il reste immuable jusqu'au jour du jugement. Si ma vie dément jamais ce que je dis là, je n'ai jamais écrit, je n'ai jamais aimé.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873), no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 116, 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. 116
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