by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873)
Mine eye hath play'd the painter and...
Language: English
Our translations: ITA
Mine eye hath play'd the painter and hath steel'd, Thy beauty's form in table of my heart; My body is the frame wherein 'tis held, And perspective it is best painter's art. For through the painter must you see his skill, To find where your true image pictur'd lies, Which in my bosom's shop is hanging still, That hath his windows glazed with thine eyes. Now see what good turns eyes for eyes have done: Mine eyes have drawn thy shape, and thine for me Are windows to my breast, where-through the sun Delights to peep, to gaze therein on thee; Yet eyes this cunning want to grace their art, They draw but what they see, know not the heart.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 24 [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 Gerard van Hulst , "Mine eye hath play'd the painter", op. 164 (Three Shakespeare-Songs) no. ? (1977) [ baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Roxanna Panufnik (b. 1968), "Mine Eye", 1999 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], Peters Edition [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet XXIV", 1865 [ baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
- by John Philip William Dankworth (1927 - 2010), "Duet of Sonnets", 1964, copyright © 1964 [ voice, instrumental ensemble (jazz ensemble) ], in Shakespeare & All That Jazz; text follows Sonnet 23, then Sonnet 24, and then both simultaneously
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Pierre Jean Jouve (1887 - 1976) , first published 1955, copyright © ; composed by René Jacques Koering.
- 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.]
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Karl Joseph Simrock (1802 - 1876) , "Sonnet XXIV" ; composed by Heinzpeter Helberger.
- 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. 24, first published 1857
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "S'è fatto, l'occhio mio, pittore", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-10-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 120
Mon œil s'est fait peintre et a fait...
Language: French (Français) after the English
Mon œil s'est fait peintre et a fait resplendir la forme de ta beauté sur le tableau de mon cœur ; ma personne est le cadre qui l'enferme ; et c'est un chef-d'œuvre de perspective : Car, habileté suprême, c'est dans le peintre même qu'il faut regarder pour trouver ton vivant portrait, pendu dans l'échoppe de mon cœur, dont les fenêtres ont tes yeux pour vitres. Vois donc comme tes yeux et les miens s'aident réciproquement ! Mes yeux ont dessiné tes traits, et tes yeux sont les fenêtres de mon cœur, à travers lesquelles le soleil aime à se glisser pour t'y contempler. Pourtant il manque à mes yeux une science pour embellir leur art. Ils ne dessinent que ce qui se voit ; ils ne connaissent pas mon cœur.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873), no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 24, 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. 24
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: 126