Peux-tu dire, ô cruelle, que je ne t'aime pas

Translation by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873)

Canst thou, O cruel! say I love thee not

Language: English

Canst thou, O cruel! say I love thee not,
When I against myself with thee partake?
Do I not think on thee, when I forgot
Am of my self, all tyrant, for thy sake?
Who hateth thee that I do call my friend,
On whom frown'st thou that I do fawn upon,
Nay, if thou lour'st on me, do I not spend
Revenge upon myself with present moan?
What merit do I in my self respect,
That is so proud thy service to despise,
When all my best doth worship thy defect,
Commanded by the motion of thine eyes?
    But, love, hate on, for now I know thy mind,
    Those that can see thou lov'st, and I am blind.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 149 [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 CXLIX", 1864 [ medium voice or high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Nikolay Vasilyevich Gerbel (1827 - 1883) , no title ; composed by Mikhail Mikhailovich Ippolitov-Ivanov.
- Go to the text.

Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 149, first published 1857

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2010-08-13
Line count: 14
Word count: 119

Peux‑tu dire, ô cruelle, que je ne...

Language: French (Français) after the English

Peux-tu dire, ô cruelle, que je ne t'aime pas, 
quand contre moi-même je prends ton parti ? 
Est-ce que je ne pense pas à toi quand je m'oublie 
tout entier pour toi, ô despote ?
Quel ennemi as-tu que j'appelle mon ami ? 
Quel est celui auquel tu montres un front sévère 
que je flatte ? Si tu me menaces d'un orage, 
ne fais-je pas tomber ce châtiment sur moi-même en larmes subites ?
Quel mérite estimé-je en moi, 
qui soit assez superbe pour dédaigner ton service, 
lorsque ce que j'ai de plus noble adore tes défauts même, 
obéissant à un mouvement de tes yeux ?
  Mais non, hais-moi, amour ! je connais maintenant ton goût ; 
  tu aimes ceux qui voient clair, et je suis aveugle.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873), no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 149, 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. 149
- Go to the text page.

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: 2010-08-20
Line count: 14
Word count: 119