by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873)
What potions have I drunk of Siren tears
Language: English
What potions have I drunk of Siren tears,
Distill'd from limbecks foul as hell within,
Applying fears to hopes, and hopes to fears,
Still losing when I saw myself to win!
What wretched errors hath my heart committed,
Whilst it hath thought itself so blessed never!
How have mine eyes out of their spheres been fitted,
In the distraction of this madding fever!
O benefit of ill! now I find true
That better is, by evil still made better;
And ruin'd love, when it is built anew,
Grows fairer than at first, more strong, far greater.
So I return rebuk'd to my content,
And gain by ill thrice more than I have spent.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 119 [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 David Llewellyn Green , "What potions have I drunk of Siren tears", 1986 [ mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano ], from Five Songs of Sorrow and Reconciliation, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet CXIX", 1864-6 [ high 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. 119, first published 1857
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-08-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 114
Que de fois je me suis abreuvé de larmes...
Language: French (Français) after the English
Que de fois je me suis abreuvé de larmes de sirène, distillées d'alambics aussi noirs que l'enfer ! appliquant les craintes sur les espérances, les espérances sur les craintes, perdant toujours à chacune de mes victoires ! Quelles misérables erreurs mon cœur a commises, alors qu'il se croyait au comble du bonheur ! Comme mes yeux ont été jetés hors de leur sphère, dans la distraction de cette fièvre délirante ! Ô bénéfice du mal ! j'ai reconnu ainsi que le pire fait paraître le bien meilleur, et que l'amour en ruine, une fois restauré, reparaît plus beau, plus fort, plus grand qu'il n'était d'abord. Ainsi, je reviens par rebut à mon bonheur, et je gagne par le mal trois fois plus que je n'ai perdu.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873), no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 119, 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. 119
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: 2010-08-19
Line count: 14
Word count: 121