The Complete Works of William Shakespeare — Page 3
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Those hours that with gentle work did frame
Quelle ore che con gentile opera han formato
The lovely gaze where every eye doth dwell
Il bello sguardo dove ogni occhio si sofferma
Will play the tyrants to the very same,
Faranno da tiranni a quello stesso,
And that unfair which fairly doth excel:
E sfigureranno ciò che bellamente eccelle:
For never-resting time leads summer on
Poiché il tempo che mai non riposa conduce l'estate
To hideous winter and confounds him there,
Verso il tetro inverno e là la disperde,
Sap checked with frost and lusty leaves quite gone,
La linfa bloccata dal gelo e le foglie rigogliose del tutto scomparse,
Beauty o'er-snowed and bareness every where:
La bellezza coperta di neve e nudità ovunque:
Then were not summer's distillation left
Se allora non restasse la distillazione dell'estate
A liquid prisoner pent in walls of glass,
Prigioniera liquida rinchiusa in pareti di vetro,
Beauty's effect with beauty were bereft,
L'effetto della bellezza insieme alla bellezza sarebbe perduto,
Nor it nor no remembrance what it was.
Né essa né alcun ricordo di ciò che fu.
But flowers distilled though they with winter meet,
Ma i fiori distillati, anche se incontrano l'inverno,
Leese but their show, their substance still lives sweet.
Perdono solo il loro aspetto, la loro essenza vive ancora dolce.
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Then let not winter's ragged hand deface,
Dunque non lasciare che la mano ruvida dell'inverno deturpi,
In thee thy summer ere thou be distilled:
In te la tua estate prima che tu sia distillato:
Make sweet some vial; treasure thou some place,
Rendi dolce qualche fiala; custodisci tu qualche luogo,
With beauty's treasure ere it be self-killed:
Col tesoro della bellezza prima che si autodistrugga:
That use is not forbidden usury,
Quell'uso non è usura proibita,
Which happies those that pay the willing loan;
Che rende felici coloro che pagano il prestito volenteroso;
That's for thyself to breed another thee,
Questo è generare da te stesso un altro te,
Or ten times happier be it ten for one,
O dieci volte più felice se siano dieci per uno,
Ten times thyself were happier than thou art,
Dieci volte te stesso saresti più felice di quanto sei,
If ten of thine ten times refigured thee:
Se dieci tuoi figli ti riproducessero dieci volte:
Then what could death do if thou shouldst depart,
Allora cosa potrebbe fare la morte se tu dovessi andartene,
Leaving thee living in posterity?
Lasciandoti vivere nella posterità?
Be not self-willed for thou art much too fair,
Non essere testardo poiché sei assai troppo bello,
To be death's conquest and make worms thine heir.
Per essere conquista della morte e fare dei vermi il tuo erede.
Vocabulary
- ore
- Hours; periods of time during a day.
- che
- That; which; who (relative pronoun).
- con
- With; accompanied by or in company.
- gentile
- Gentle; kind; courteous in manner.
- opera
- Work; a musical dramatic composition.
- formato
- Formed; created; shaped or arranged.
- Il
- The (masculine singular definite article).
- bello
- Beautiful; handsome; lovely or attractive.
- sguardo
- Gaze; look; the act of looking.
- dove
- Where; in which place or location.
- ogni
- Every; each; all without exception.
- occhio
- Eye; organ of sight or vision.
- si
- Oneself; reflexive pronoun or impersonal marker.
- sofferma
- Dwells on; lingers; stops or pauses.
- Faranno
- Will make; shall do (future tense).
- da
- From; by; as or in the role of.
- tiranni
- Tyrants; cruel authoritarian rulers or despots.
- quello
- That; that one; the aforementioned thing.
- stesso
- Same; identical; the very same person.
- ciò
- That; this thing; what has been said.
- eccelle
- Excels; surpasses; is superior or outstanding.
- Poiché
- Since; because; for the reason that.
- il
- The (masculine singular definite article).
- tempo
- Time; weather; period or season of year.
- mai
- Never; at no time; ever (negation).
- non
- Not; negation marker in Italian sentences.
- riposa
- Rests; sleeps; stops working or ceases.
- conduce
- Leads; conducts; directs toward a destination.
- estate
- Summer; the warmest season of year.
- Verso
- Toward; in the direction of something.
- tetro
- Gloomy; dark; sad and depressing in mood.
- inverno
- Winter; the coldest season of year.
- là
- There; in that place or location.
- la
- The (feminine singular definite article).
- disperde
- Disperses; scatters; spreads out in different directions.
- La
- The (feminine singular definite article).
- linfa
- Sap; fluid that circulates in plants.
- bloccata
- Blocked; stopped; prevented from moving or flowing.
- dal
- From the; by the (contraction).
- gelo
- Frost; ice; freezing cold temperature condition.
- le
- The (feminine plural definite article).
- foglie
- Leaves; foliage of trees and plants.
- rigogliose
- Lush; luxuriant; abundant and flourishing in growth.
- del
- Of the; from the (contraction).
- tutto
- All; entirely; completely or wholly throughout.
- scomparse
- Disappeared; vanished; ceased to be visible.
- bellezza
- Beauty; aesthetic quality that is pleasing.
- coperta
- Covered; hidden; concealed from view.
- di
- Of; from; belonging to or associated.
- neve
- Snow; frozen precipitation that falls in winter.
- nudità
- Nudity; nakedness; state of being unclothed.
- ovunque
- Everywhere; anywhere; in all places without exception.
- Se
- If; in the event that or condition.
- allora
- Then; at that time; in that case.
- restasse
- Remained; would remain (subjunctive past tense).
- dell
- Of the; contraction of della or dello.
- Prigioniera
- Prisoner; captive female; one held in confinement.
- liquida
- Liquid; fluid; not solid or gaseous state.
- rinchiusa
- Shut up; enclosed; imprisoned or confined within.
- in
- In; within; inside or during time.
- pareti
- Walls; vertical structures dividing interior space.
- vetro
- Glass; transparent material used for windows.
- effetto
- Effect; result; consequence of an action.
- della
- Of the; from the (feminine form).
- insieme
- Together; in company; collectively or at same time.
- alla
- To the; at the (feminine form).
- sarebbe
- Would be; conditional form of essere.
- perduto
- Lost; missing; no longer in possession.
- Né
- Nor; and not; neither (conjunction).
- essa
- She; it; feminine singular pronoun.
- alcun
- Any; some; used before masculine singular nouns.
- ricordo
- Memory; remembrance; something recalled from past.
- fu
- Was; past tense of essere (to be).
- Ma
- But; however; yet; used for contrast.
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