← The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare — Page 2

English → Fr THE SONNETS Level 9/10

Look in thy glass and tell the face thou viewest,

Regarde dans ton miroir et dis au visage que tu y vois,

Now is the time that face should form another,

Que le moment est venu pour ce visage d'en former un autre,

Whose fresh repair if now thou not renewest,

Dont la fraîche beauté, si tu ne la renouvelles maintenant,

Thou dost beguile the world, unbless some mother.

Tu trompes le monde et prives quelque mère de sa bénédiction.

For where is she so fair whose uneared womb

Car où est celle si belle dont la matrice inculte

Disdains the tillage of thy husbandry?

Dédaigne le labour de ton art du mari ?

Or who is he so fond will be the tomb

Ou quel homme est si fou pour devenir le tombeau

Of his self-love to stop posterity?

De son amour-propre au point d'arrêter la postérité ?

Thou art thy mother's glass and she in thee

Tu es le miroir de ta mère et elle, en toi,

Calls back the lovely April of her prime,

Rappelle le bel avril de sa jeunesse,

So thou through windows of thine age shalt see,

Ainsi toi, à travers les fenêtres de ton vieil âge, tu verras,

Despite of wrinkles this thy golden time.

Malgré les rides, ce tien temps doré.

But if thou live remembered not to be,

Mais si tu vis sans vouloir être rappelé,

Die single and thine image dies with thee.

Meurs célibataire et ton image meurt avec toi.

Unthrifty loveliness why dost thou spend,

Ô beauté prodigue, pourquoi dépenses-tu,

Upon thyself thy beauty's legacy?

Sur toi-même l'héritage de ta beauté ?

Nature's bequest gives nothing but doth lend,

Le legs de la nature ne donne rien mais prête,

And being frank she lends to those are free:

Et étant généreuse, elle prête à ceux qui sont libéraux :

Then beauteous niggard why dost thou abuse,

Alors, bel avare, pourquoi abuses-tu,

The bounteous largess given thee to give?

De la généreuse largesse qui te fut donnée pour la donner ?

Profitless usurer why dost thou use

Inutile usurier, pourquoi emploies-tu

So great a sum of sums yet canst not live?

Une si grande somme de sommes sans pourtant pouvoir en vivre ?

For having traffic with thyself alone,

Car en ne faisant commerce qu'avec toi-même,

Thou of thyself thy sweet self dost deceive,

Tu te trompes toi-même de ton doux moi,

Then how when nature calls thee to be gone,

Alors, quand la nature t'appellera à partir,

What acceptable audit canst thou leave?

Quel bilan acceptable pourras-tu laisser ?

Thy unused beauty must be tombed with thee,

Ta beauté inutilisée devra être mise en tombe avec toi,

Which used lives th' executor to be.

Tandis qu'employée, elle vivrait pour en être l'exécutrice.

Vocabulary

Regarde: Look; second person singular imperative of regarder.
dans: In, inside; common French preposition of location.
ton: Your; masculine singular possessive adjective.
miroir: Mirror; a reflective surface for seeing oneself.
et: And; basic coordinating conjunction joining elements.
dis: Say, tell; imperative of dire, second person singular.
au: To the, at the; contraction of à and le.
visage: Face; the front part of a person's head.
que: That, which; subordinating conjunction or relative pronoun.
tu: You; informal second person singular subject pronoun.
y: There, in it; adverbial pronoun replacing a place.
vois: See; present tense of voir, second person singular.
Que: That; introduces a subordinate clause or exclamation.
le: The; masculine singular definite article.
moment: Moment; a short period or point in time.
est: Is; third person singular present tense of être.
venu: Come; past participle of venir, indicating arrival.
pour: For, in order to; preposition indicating purpose.
ce: This, that; demonstrative pronoun or adjective.
d': Of, from; elided form of de before a vowel.
en: In, of it; preposition or adverbial pronoun.
former: To form, create; to shape or make something new.
un: A, an; masculine indefinite article or number one.
autre: Other, another; refers to a different person or thing.
Dont: Whose, of which; relative pronoun indicating possession.
la: The; feminine singular definite article.
fraîche: Fresh, cool; adjective describing newness or coolness.
beauté: Beauty; the quality of being attractive or pleasing.
si: If, so; conditional conjunction or intensifying adverb.
ne: Not; negative particle used with pas or alone.
renouvelles: Renew; second person singular present of renouveler.
maintenant: Now; adverb indicating the present moment in time.
Tu: You; informal second person singular subject pronoun.
trompes: Deceive, cheat; second person singular of tromper.
monde: World; the earth or all of humanity collectively.
prives: Deprive; second person singular present of priver.
quelque: Some, a certain; indefinite adjective indicating vagueness.
mère: Mother; a female parent or maternal figure.
de: Of, from; extremely common French preposition.
sa: His, her, its; feminine singular possessive adjective.
bénédiction: Blessing; a prayer or wish for good fortune.
Car: Because, for; conjunction giving a reason or cause.
où: Where; relative adverb or interrogative of place.
celle: The one, she; feminine singular demonstrative pronoun.
belle: Beautiful; feminine adjective describing great attractiveness.
dont: Whose, of which; relative pronoun indicating possession.
matrice: Womb, matrix; the uterus or original mold.
inculte: Uncultivated, fallow; not tilled or developed land.
Dédaigne: Disdains, scorns; third person singular of dédaigner.
labour: Plowing, tilling; the act of working the land.
art: Art, skill; creative skill or a craft mastered.
du: Of the; masculine singular contraction of de and le.
mari: Husband; a married man in relation to his wife.
Ou: Or; conjunction presenting an alternative option.
quel: What, which; masculine interrogative or exclamatory adjective.
homme: Man; an adult male human being.
fou: Foolish, crazy; adjective describing irrational behavior.
devenir: To become; infinitive indicating a change of state.
tombeau: Tomb, grave; a structure enclosing a burial site.
De: Of, from; common preposition with many uses.
son: His, her, its; masculine singular possessive adjective.
amour: Love; a deep feeling of affection or attachment.
propre: Own, clean; meaning one's own or physically clean.
point: Not at all, point; negation or a specific spot.
arrêter: To stop, arrest; to halt movement or an action.
postérité: Posterity; future generations descended from one person.
es: Are; second person singular present tense of être.
ta: Your; feminine singular possessive adjective.
elle: She, her; third person feminine singular pronoun.
toi: You; emphatic or disjunctive second person pronoun.
Rappelle: Recall, remind; imperative of rappeler, call back.
bel: Beautiful, handsome; masculine adjective before a vowel.
avril: April; the fourth month of the year.
jeunesse: Youth; the period of being young and vigorous.
Ainsi: Thus, so; adverb indicating manner or consequence.
à: To, at, in; extremely common French preposition.
travers: Through, across; used in à travers meaning through.
les: The; plural definite article for all genders.
fenêtres: Windows; openings in a wall fitted with glass.
vieil: Old; masculine adjective before a vowel, meaning aged.
âge: Age; the length of time a person has lived.
verras: Will see; second person singular future of voir.
Malgré: Despite, in spite of; preposition indicating contrast.
rides: Wrinkles; lines or folds in aging skin.
tien: Yours; masculine possessive pronoun meaning belonging to you.
temps: Time, weather; duration or atmospheric conditions.
doré: Golden, gilded; adjective describing a golden appearance.
Mais: But; coordinating conjunction expressing contrast or opposition.
vis: Live; imperative or past historic of vivre.
sans: Without; preposition indicating absence or lack.
vouloir: To want; infinitive of the verb meaning to wish.
être: To be; the fundamental verb of existence or identity.
rappelé: Recalled, remembered; past participle of rappeler.
Meurs: Die; imperative of mourir, second person singular.
célibataire: Single, unmarried; a person without a spouse or partner.
image: Image, picture; a visual representation of someone or something.
meurt: Dies; third person singular present tense of mourir.
avec: With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means.
Ô: O, oh; interjection used in poetic address or exclamation.
prodigue: Prodigal, wasteful; one who spends extravagantly and recklessly.
pourquoi: Why; interrogative adverb asking for a reason.
dépenses: Spend, expenses; to use money or resources wastefully.
Sur: On, upon; preposition indicating position above a surface.
même: Same, even; adjective or adverb emphasizing identity.
l': The; elided definite article before a vowel or h.
héritage: Heritage, inheritance; property or legacy passed from ancestors.
Le: The; masculine singular definite article.
legs: Legacy, bequest; something left to another by will.
nature: Nature; the natural world or innate character of things.
donne: Gives; third person singular present tense of donner.
rien: Nothing; negative pronoun indicating the absence of anything.
mais: But; coordinating conjunction expressing contrast or opposition.
prête: Lends; third person singular present of prêter.
Et: And; basic coordinating conjunction joining elements together.
étant: Being; present participle of être, indicating a state.
généreuse: Generous; feminine adjective describing a giving nature.
ceux: Those, the ones; masculine plural demonstrative pronoun.
qui: Who, that, which; relative or interrogative pronoun.
sont: Are; third person plural present tense of être.
libéraux: Liberal, generous; plural adjective describing open-handed people.
Alors: Then, so; adverb indicating consequence or a moment.
avare: Miser, greedy; a person excessively reluctant to spend.
abuses: Abuse, misuse; second person singular of abuser.
largesse: Generosity; liberal and generous giving to others.
te: You, yourself; second person singular reflexive or object pronoun.
fut: Was; third person singular simple past of être.
donnée: Given; feminine past participle of donner.
donner: To give; infinitive meaning to present or hand over.
Inutile: Useless, pointless; adjective describing something serving no purpose.
usurier: Usurer; one who lends money at exorbitant interest rates.
emploies: Use, employ; second person singular present of employer.
Une: A, one; feminine singular indefinite article.
grande: Large, great; feminine adjective indicating size or importance.
somme: Sum, amount; a quantity of money or total.
sommes: Are, sums; first person plural of être or noun.
pourtant: Yet, however; adverb expressing contrast or surprise.
pouvoir: To be able to; modal infinitive indicating possibility.
vivre: To live; infinitive meaning to be alive or exist.
faisant: Making, doing; present participle of faire.
commerce: Trade, commerce; the activity of buying and selling.
qu': That, than, which; elided form of que.
doux: Sweet, gentle, soft; adjective describing softness or mildness.
moi: Me, I; emphatic or disjunctive first person pronoun.
quand: When; conjunction or adverb of time.
t': You; elided form of te before a vowel.
appellera: Will call; third person singular future of appeler.
partir: To leave, depart; infinitive meaning to go away.
Quel: What, which; masculine interrogative or exclamatory adjective.
bilan: Balance sheet, assessment; a summary of accounts or results.
acceptable: Acceptable; adjective meaning satisfactory or good enough.
pourras: Will be able to; second person singular future of pouvoir.
laisser: To leave, let; infinitive meaning to allow or abandon.
Ta: Your; feminine singular possessive adjective.
inutilisée: Unused; feminine past participle meaning not put to use.
devra: Will have to; third person singular future of devoir.
mise: Put, placed; feminine past participle of mettre.
tombe: Tomb, grave; a burial site or the act of falling.
Tandis: While, whereas; used in tandis que to show contrast.
employée: Used, employed; feminine past participle of employer.
vivrait: Would live; third person singular conditional of vivre.
exécutrice: Executor (female); a woman who carries out a testament.

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