by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873)
When most I wink, then do mine eyes best...
Language: English
When most I wink, then do mine eyes best see, For all the day they view things unrespected; But when I sleep, in dreams they look on thee, And darkly bright, are bright in dark directed. Then thou, whose shadow shadows doth make bright, How would thy shadow's form form happy show To the clear [day]1 with thy much clearer light, When to unseeing eyes thy shade shines so? How would, I say, mine eyes be blessed made By looking on thee in the living day, When in dead night thy fair imperfect shade Through heavy sleep on sightless eyes doth stay? All days are nights to see till I see thee, And nights bright days when dreams do show thee me.
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View original text (without footnotes)1 Britten: "days"
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 43 [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 Edward Applebaum (b. 1937), "When most I wink, then do mine eyes best see", 1975, published 1982 [ soprano, alto, baritone, SSSAAABarBarBar chorus, and chamber orchestra ], from Cantata Concertante: "When dreams do show thee me", no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by David Bowerman (b. 1936), "When most I wink" [ voice and piano ], confirmed with a CD booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Frank Bridge (1879 - 1941), "When most I wink", 1901 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "When most I wink, then do mine eyes best see", op. 60 no. 8, from Nocturne for tenor solo, seven obligato instruments and string orchestra, no. 8 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Bernard van Dieren (1887 - 1936), "Sonnet XLIII", 1916 [ baritone and orchestra ], from Diaphony (Diafonia), no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet XLIII", 1865 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carlos Claudio Spies (1925 - 2020), "When most I wink, then do mine eyes best see", 1976-7, first performed 1978 [ satb quartet and piano ], from Five Sonnet-Settings, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Lex Zwaap (1919 - 1988), as Lex van Delden, "When most I wink", op. 72 (Drie sonnetten van Shakespeare) no. 1 (1961) [ contralto and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by François Pierre Guillaume Guizot (1787 - 1874) ; composed by Henri-Pierre Poupard, as Henri Sauguet.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Quan més parpellejo, millor hi veuen els meus ulls", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 43, first published 1857
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Più io li tengo chiusi, più i miei occhi son chiari", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 122
C'est surtout quand mes yeux se ferment...
Language: French (Français)  after the English
C'est surtout quand mes yeux se ferment qu'ils voient le mieux, car tout le jour ils tombent sur des choses indifférentes ; mais, quand je dors, ils te contemplent en rêve et, s'éclairant des ténèbres, deviennent lucides dans la nuit. Ô toi, dont l'ombre rend si lumineuses les ombres, quelle apparition splendide formerait ta forme réelle à la clarté du jour agrandie de ta propre clarté, puisque ton ombre brille ainsi aux yeux qui ne voient pas ! Oui, quel éblouissement pour mes yeux de te regarder à lumière vive du jour, puisque dans la nuit sépulcrale l'ombre imparfaite de ta beauté apparaît ainsi à travers le sommeil accablant à mes yeux aveuglés ! Tous les jours sont nuits pour moi tant que je ne te voie pas ; et ce sont de brillants jours que les nuits où le rêve te montre à moi.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873), no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 43, 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. 43
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: 2010-08-17
Line count: 14
Word count: 141