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Mine eye hath play'd the painter and hath steel'd, Thy beauty's form in table of my heart; My body is the frame wherein 'tis held, And perspective it is best painter's art. For through the painter must you see his skill, To find where your true image pictur'd lies, Which in my bosom's shop is hanging still, That hath his windows glazed with thine eyes. Now see what good turns eyes for eyes have done: Mine eyes have drawn thy shape, and thine for me Are windows to my breast, where-through the sun Delights to peep, to gaze therein on thee; Yet eyes this cunning want to grace their art, They draw but what they see, know not the heart.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 24 [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 Gerard van Hulst , "Mine eye hath play'd the painter", op. 164 (Three Shakespeare-Songs) no. ? (1977) [ baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Roxanna Panufnik (b. 1968), "Mine Eye", 1999 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], Peters Edition [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet XXIV", 1865 [ baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
- by John Philip William Dankworth (1927 - 2010), "Duet of Sonnets", 1964, copyright © 1964 [ voice, instrumental ensemble (jazz ensemble) ], in Shakespeare & All That Jazz; text follows Sonnet 23, then Sonnet 24, and then both simultaneously
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Pierre Jean Jouve (1887 - 1976) , first published 1955, copyright © ; composed by René Jacques Koering.
- 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.]
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Karl Joseph Simrock (1802 - 1876) , "Sonnet XXIV" ; composed by Heinzpeter Helberger.
- 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. 24, first published 1857
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "S'è fatto, l'occhio mio, pittore", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-10-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 120
S'è fatto, l'occhio mio, pittore ed ha tracciato la tua bella figura sul quadro del mio cuore, il mio corpo è cornice, dove quel quadro è inserito e, se lo osservi bene, non v'è dipinto migliore. Perché solo con sguardo d'artista puoi comprendere appieno e riconoscere dove la tua immagine vera pende appesa, in perfetto dipinto nella bottega del mio seno, che ha gli occhi tuoi per vetri alla finestra. Osserva ora come i nostri occhi si aiutino a vicenda: Dipinto hanno i miei occhi il tuo sembiante e i tuoi per me sono finestre al mio cuore, che attraversa il Sole per spiare dentro, godendo nell'ammirare te. E tuttavia all'arte dell'occhio qualcosa manca pure, ritrae quello che vede, ma non conosce il cuore.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2012 by Ferdinando Albeggiani, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 24
This text was added to the website: 2012-02-11
Line count: 14
Word count: 124