by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873)
Is it thy will thy image should keep...
Language: English
Is it thy will thy image should keep open My heavy eyelids to the weary night? Dost thou desire my slumbers should be broken, While shadows like to thee do mock my sight? Is it thy spirit that thou send'st from thee So far from home into my deeds to pry, To find out shames and idle hours in me, The scope and tenor of thy jealousy? O, no! thy love, though much, is not so great: It is my love that keeps mine eye awake; Mine own true love that doth my rest defeat, To play the watchman ever for thy sake: For thee watch I whilst thou dost wake elsewhere, From me far off, with others all too near.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 61 [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 John Buller (1927 - 2004), "Is it thy will thy image should keep open" [ voice, flute, clarinet, string quartet, and harp ], from Of Three Shakespeare Sonnets, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Benjamin Burrows (1891 - 1966), "Sonnet LXI", 1928 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet LXI", 1865, rev. 1866 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 61, first published 1857
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-12-01
Line count: 14
Word count: 121
Est‑ce ta volonté que ton image tienne
Language: French (Français)  after the English
Est-ce ta volonté que ton image tienne mes lourdes paupières ouvertes à la nuit fastidieuse ? Désires-tu rompre mon sommeil, quand des ombres qui te ressemblent viennent se jouer de ma vue ? Est-ce ton esprit même que tu envoies hors de toi pour épier mes actes, pour me surprendre en de honteux et frivoles passe-temps, dans un élan impérieux de ta jalousie ? Oh ! non, ton amour, quel qu'il soit, n'est pas si grand ; c'est mon amour qui tient mes yeux éveilles ; oui, c'est mon amour profond qui ruine mon repos en se faisant sans cesse pour toi guetteur de nuit : Tu me fais faire le guet, tandis que tu veilles ailleurs, loin de moi et trop près de bien d'autres.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873), no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 61, 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. 61
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: 2010-08-17
Line count: 14
Word count: 126