by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by Jan Kasprowicz (1860 - 1926)
Like as the waves make towards the...
Language: English
Our translations: ITA
Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards do contend.
Nativity, once in the main of light,
Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown'd,
Crooked eclipses 'gainst his glory fight,
And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.
Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth
And delves the parallels in beauty's brow,
Feeds on the rarities of nature's truth,
And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow:
And yet to times in hope, my verse shall stand.
Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 60 [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 J. Carlowitz Ames , "Like as the waves", published 1908 [ medium voice and piano ], London: Vincent [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alan Dudley Bush (1900 - 1995), "Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore", op. 92 no. 2 (1980), first performed 1981 [ baritone and chamber orchestra ], from Two Shakespeare Sonnets, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "Sonnet LX - Like as the waves", op. 125 (Shakespeare Sonnets), Heft 1 no. 9 (1944-5) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Edmondstoune Duncan (1866 - 1920), "Like as the waves", published 1919 [ medium voice or high voice and piano ], in collection English Songs, Book III. Glasgow: Aird & Coghill [sung text not yet checked]
- by Stanley Grill (b. 1953), "Like as the waves", 2021 [ soprano, flute, clarinet, viola ], from Two Sonnets, no. 1, confirmed with an online score [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Stefan Lienenkämper , "Sonett 60", published 2006 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Vier Lieder nach Sonetten von W. Shakespeare, no. 4, Helmstadt : HH Musikverlag [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet LX", 1860, rev. 1861 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Hans Hübner , copyright © ; composed by Hans-Georg Burghardt.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 60, first published 1857
- GER German (Deutsch) (Richard Flatter) , appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- POL Polish (Polski) (Jan Kasprowicz) , "Sonet 60", appears in Z sonetów, no. 1, Warsaw, first published 1907
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-10-18
Line count: 14
Word count: 109
Sonet 60
Language: Polish (Polski) after the English
Jak szumne fale do morskiego brzegu, Tak do swych kresów płyną nasze chwile; Niema przystanku w tym mknącym szeregu: Jedna przed drugą w równej dąży sile. Wszystko, co wyszło ze światłości łona, Dojrzewa, w blaskach coraz większych rośnie, Aż ich promienie ciemna noc pokona: Czas swoje dary niszczy bezlitośnie. Czas kosą swoją młode ścina kwiaty, Czas bruzdy ryje na piękności czole, Cuda przyrody zmienia w swe objaty, Żadne się przed nim nie ostoi pole: Mych pieśni jednak, które sławią ciebie, Dłoń jego krwawa w mrokach nie pogrzebie.
Confirmed with Poeci angielscy, translated by Jan Kasprowicz, Księgarnia H. Antenberga, Warszawa 1907, page 45-46.
Text Authorship:
- by Jan Kasprowicz (1860 - 1926), "Sonet 60", appears in Z sonetów, no. 1, Warsaw, first published 1907 [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. 60
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 page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-08-16
Line count: 14
Word count: 87