by Edmund Spenser (1552 - 1599)
Sonnet 75
Language: English
One day I wrote her name upon the strand, But came the waves and washed it away: Again I wrote it with a second hand, But came the tide, and made my pains his prey. Vain man, said she, that doest in vain assay A mortal thing so to immortalize, For I myself shall like to this decay, And eek my name be wiped out likewise. Not so (quoth I), let baser things devise To die in dust, but you shall live by fame: My verse your virtues rare shall eternize, And in the heavens write your glorious name. Where whenas Death shall all the world subdue, Out love shall live, and later life renew.
Text Authorship:
- by Edmund Spenser (1552 - 1599), "Sonnet LXXV", appears in Amoretti and Epithalamion [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 Bo Holten (b. 1948), "Sonnet 75", 1969-3, first performed 1973 [ soprano and piano ], from 4 Engelske Sange, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2011-01-11
Line count: 14
Word count: 115