by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
When I have seen by Time's fell hand...
Language: English
When I have seen by Time's fell hand defac'd The rich-proud cost of outworn buried age; When sometime lofty towers I see down-raz'd, And brass eternal slave to mortal rage; When I have seen the hungry ocean gain Advantage on the kingdom of the shore, And the firm soil win of the watery main, Increasing store with loss, and loss with store; When I have seen such interchange of state, Or state itself confounded, to decay; Ruin hath taught me thus to ruminate -- That Time will come and take my love away. This thought is as a death which cannot choose But weep to have, that which it fears to lose.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 64 [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 Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "Sonnet LXIV - When I have seen", op. 125 (Shakespeare Sonnets), Heft 1 no. 10 (1944-7) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ned Rorem (1923 - 2022), "Sonnet LXIV", 2002 [ medium voice, violin, cello, and piano ], from Aftermath, no. 5, Boosey & Hawkes [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet LXIV", 1865 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Marianne von Schrutka ; composed by Mathilde von Kralik.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 64, first published 1857
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-08-11
Line count: 14
Word count: 111