Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: [Sometime]1 too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd; But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st; Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to [time thou growest]2: [So long]3 as men [can]4 breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
J. Dankworth sets lines 1-8
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Wilkinson: "Sometimes"
2 Aikin: "times thou grow'st"
3 Wilkinson: "As long"
4 Aikin: "shall"
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 18 [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 Lora Aborn (1907 - 2005), "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Julius C. Adams , "Sonnett", 1972, copyright © 1972 [ low voice and piano ], [sic] for the title [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Arthur Aikin (1857 - 1939), "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?", published 1911 [ voice and piano ], confirmed with a CD booklet ; Stainer & Bell [sung text checked 1 time]
- by David Andrews , "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?", 1963, published 1969 [ tenor or soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edward Applebaum (b. 1937), "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?", 1975, published 1982 [ soprano, alto, baritone, SSSAAABarBarBar chorus, and chamber orchestra ], from Cantata Concertante: "When dreams do show thee me", no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Neil Ardley , "Shall I compare thee", 1974, published 1974 [ duet for 2 sopranos and instrumental ensemble ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Walter Aschaffenburg (b. 1927), "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day ", op. 14 no. 1 (1966-7), first performed 1967 [ tenor and piano ], from Three Shakespeare Sonnets, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "Sonnet XVIII - "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"", 2002 [ high voice or medium voice and piano ], from Five Sonnets, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Melinda Bargreen , "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day", 2017 [ tenor or baritone and piano ], from In Fields Where Roses Fade, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alan Dudley Bush (1900 - 1995), "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?", op. 92 no. 1 (1980), first performed 1981 [ baritone and chamber orchestra ], from Two Shakespeare Sonnets, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mary Grant Carmichael (1851 - 1935), "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?", published 1898, London: Ashdown [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "Sonnet XVIII - Shall I compare", op. 125 (Shakespeare Sonnets), Heft 1 no. 2 (1944-7) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Leslie Crabtree (b. 1941), "Sonnet XVIII", 2005 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Philip William Dankworth (1927 - 2010), "Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day", 1964, lines 1-8 [ voice and piano ], confirmed with a concert programme booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
- by David Leo Diamond (1915 - 2005), "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day", 1964, published 1967 [ high voice and piano ], from We Two, no. 1, New York : Southern [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Emma Lou Diemer (b. 1927), "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day", 1972-3 [ high voice and piano ], from A Miscellany of Love Songs, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wolfgang Fortner (1907 - 1987), "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?", 1981, published c1982 [ tenor and piano ], from Widmungen : aus den Sonetten von William Shakespeare, no. 4, Mainz ; New York : Schott [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ernest Gold (1921 - 1999), "Shall I compare thee?" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ralph R. Guenther , "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?", 1960, first performed 1961 [ soprano, flute, and violoncello ], from Two Shakespearean Sonnets, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Juliana Hall (b. 1958), "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?", 2000, first performed 2001 [ baritone and piano ], from Love's Pilgrimage -- 5 songs for Baritone and Piano, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by C. E. (Charles Edward) Horn (1786 - 1849), "Shall I compare thee?", published 1864 [sung text not yet checked]
- by J. Frederick Keel (1871 - 1954), "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frederick Kelley (1881 - 1916), "Shall I compare thee?", op. 1 no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frederick Septimus Kelly (1881 - 1916), "Shall I compare thee", op. 1 (Two Songs) (1901), published 1912 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John La Montaine (1920 - 2013), "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Huub de Lange (b. 1955), "Shall I compare thee", published 2005 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Three Shakespeare Songs, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Noël Lee (1924 - 2013), "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?", 1996 [ bass-baritone, clarinet, horn, and contrabass ], from Sonnets de soleil, de sanglots - Four Songs from Shakespeare, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Leonard J[ordan] Lehrman (b. 1949), "Sonnetina #5", op. 45 (1978) [ tenor or soprano with viola/clarinet/harp/guitar/marimba ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Kenneth Leighton (1929 - 1988), "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?", from 5 Shakespeare Songs, no. 2, available from the Kenneth Leighton Trust, e-mail jo (DOT) leighton (AT) blueyonder (DOT) co (DOT) uk  [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Stefan Lienenkämper , "Sonett 18", published 2006 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Vier Lieder nach Sonetten von W. Shakespeare, no. 3, Helmstadt : HH Musikverlag [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nils Lindberg (b. 1933), "Shall I compare thee" [ chorus ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Enid Luff , "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?", 1978, published 1980, first performed 1978 [ mezzo-contralto solo, violin or flute, and piano ], from Three Shakespeare Sonnets, London: Primavera [sung text not yet checked]
- by Roxanna Panufnik (b. 1968), "Shall I compare thee to a Summer's Day", 2016, first performed 2016 [ soprano, cello and piano ], from Summer to Winter, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?", from Four Sonnets of Shakespeare, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928 - 2016), "XVIII (Shall I compare thee to a summer's day)", op. 14 no. 3 (1952), published 1973, first performed 1953 [ soprano and piano ], from Three Sonnets of Shakespeare, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet XVIII", 1863-4 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carlos Claudio Spies (1925 - 2020), "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?", 1976-7, first performed 1978 [ satb quartet and piano ], from Five Sonnet-Settings, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ludmilla Ulehla (b. 1923), "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Stephen Wilkinson (b. 1919), "Eternal summer" [ voice and piano ], from Eternal Summer, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, [adaptation] ; composed by Zane Randall Stroope.
- Also set in Japanese (日本語), a translation by Tsubouchi Shōyō (1859 - 1935) ; composed by Elliot Weisgarber.
- 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 Russian (Русский), a translation by Nikolay Vasilyevich Gerbel (1827 - 1883) , no title ; composed by Mikhail Mikhailovich Ippolitov-Ivanov.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (L. A. J. Burgersdijk)
- FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 18, first published 1857
- FRE French (Français) (François Pierre Guillaume Guizot) , no title, appears in Œuvres Complètes de Shakspeare Volume VIII, in Sonnets, no. 18, first published 1863
- GER German (Deutsch) (Ludwig Reinhold Walesrode) , first published 1840
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Dovrei paragonarti ad un giorno d'estate?", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- RUS Russian (Русский) (Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky) , "Сонет 18", written 1914
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 114
Сравню ли я тебя с весенним днем? Нет, ты милее длительной красою: Злой вихрь играет нежным лепестком, Весна проходит краткой полосою. Светило дня то шлет чрезмерный зной, То вдруг скрывается за тучей мрачной… Нет красоты, что, строгой чередой Иль случаем, не стала бы невзрачной. Твоя ж весна не ведает теней, И вечный блеск ее не увядает. Нет, даже смерть бессильна перед ней! На все века твой образ просияет. Пока есть в людях чувства и мечты, Живет мой стих, а вместе с ним и ты!
Show a transliteration: Default | DIN | GOST
Note on TransliterationsText Authorship:
- by Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1850 - 1916), "Сонет 18", written 1914 [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. 18
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: 2019-05-24
Line count: 14
Word count: 84