by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873)
Is it for fear to wet a widow's eye
Language: English
Available translation(s): ITA
Is it for fear to wet a widow's eye, That thou consum'st thy self in single life? Ah! if thou issueless shalt hap to die, The world will wail thee like a makeless wife; The world will be thy widow and still weep That thou no form of thee hast left behind, When every private widow well may keep By children's eyes, her husband's shape in mind: Look what an unthrift in the world doth spend Shifts but his place, for still the world enjoys it; But beauty's waste hath in the world an end, And kept unused the user so destroys it. No love toward others in that bosom sits That on himself such murd'rous shame commits.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 9 [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 Juriaan Andriessen (1925 - 1996), "Sonnet no. 9", published 1970 [alto; one musician for chalumeau and/or clarinet and percussion; one for viola da gamba and percussion; and one for clavicembalo, portatief [org], and percussion], from To Wet a Widow's Eye [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
- by Stefan Lienenkämper , "Sonett 9", published 2006 [mezzo-soprano and piano], from Vier Lieder nach Sonetten von W. Shakespeare, no. 2, Helmstadt : HH Musikverlag [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet IX", 1865. [medium voice and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
- by David Winkler , "Sonnet IX", 1982 [SATB quartet and piano], from Cycle for Several Voices and Piano, no. 9. [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François Pierre Guillaume Guizot) , no title, appears in Oeuvres Complètes de Shakspeare Volume VIII, in Sonnets, no. 9, first published 1863
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 9, first published 1857
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "E' forse per timore di pianto vedovile", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-10-08
Line count: 14
Word count: 118
Est‑ce par crainte de mouiller l'œil...
Language: French (Français) after the English
Est-ce par crainte de mouiller l'œil d'une veuve que tu te consumes dans une vie solitaire ? Ah ! si tu viens à mourir sans enfants, la création te pleurera, comme une épouse son époux. La création sera ta veuve, et se désolera toujours de ce que tu n'aies pas laissé d'image de toi derrière toi : tandis qu'il est donné à toute veuve de retrouver dans le visage de ses enfants les traits de son mari. Écoute ! ce qu'un prodigue dépense dans ce monde ne fait que changer de place, car le monde en jouit toujours ; mais la beauté stérile a sa fin dans ce monde, et c'est la détruire que de ne pas l'employer. L'amour d'autrui n'est pas dans le cœur de celui qui commet sur lui-même ce suicide honteux.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship
- by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873), no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 9, first published 1857 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 9
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 text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-08-16
Line count: 14
Word count: 134