by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873)
Lord of my love, to whom in vassalage
Language: English
Available translation(s): ITA
Lord of my love, to whom in vassalage Thy merit hath my duty strongly knit, To thee I send this written embassage, To witness duty, not to show my wit: Duty so great, which wit so poor as mine May make seem bare, in wanting words to show it, But that I hope some good conceit of thine In thy soul's thought, all naked, will bestow it: Till whatsoever star that guides my moving, Points on me graciously with fair aspect, And puts apparel on my tottered loving, To show me worthy of thy sweet respect: Then may I dare to boast how I do love thee; Till then, not show my head where thou mayst prove me.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 26 [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 Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet XXVI", 1865. [medium voice and piano] [text not verified]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, from Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 26, published 1857
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , title 1: "Signore del mio amore, cui in fido vassallaggio", 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: 118
Lord de mon amour, toi dont le mérite a...
Language: French (Français)  after the English
Lord de mon amour, toi dont le mérite a impérieusement réduit mon dévouement en vasselage, je t'envoie cette ambassade écrite, comme hommage de mon attachement, non comme preuve de mon esprit ; Attachement si grand qu'un pauvre esprit comme le mien peut le faire paraître nu, manquant de mots pour le présenter. Mais j'espère que quelque bonne pensée l'abritera, tout nu qu'il est, au fond de ton âme, Jusqu'au jour où l'étoile inconnue, dont les mouvements me guident, jettera gracieusement sur moi quelque brillant rayon et parera mon amour déguenillé de façon à le rendre digne de ton ineffable attention. Alors j'oserai te dire hautement comme je t'aime ; jusque-là je ne m'exposerai pas à ce que tu me mettes à l'épreuve.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873), no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 26, 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. 26
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: 122