by William Blake (1757 - 1827)
The golden net
Language: English
Three Virgins at the break of day: "Whither, young man, whither away Alas for woe! alas for woe!" They cry, and tears for ever flow. The one was cloth'd in flames of fire, The other cloth'd in iron wire, The other cloth'd in tears and sighs Dazzling bright before my eyes. They bore a Net of golden twine To hang upon the branches fine. Pitying I wept to see the woe That Love and Beauty undergo, To be consum'd in burning fires And in ungratified desires, And in tears cloth'd night and day Melted all my soul away. When they saw my tears, a smile That did Heaven itself beguile, Bore the Golden Net aloft As on downy pinions soft, Over the Morning of my day. Underneath the net I stray, Now entreating Burning Fire Now entreating Iron Wire, Now entreating Tears and Sighs -- O! when will the morning rise?
Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "The golden net" [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 Ole Carsten Green (b. 1922), "The golden net", op. 27c no. 11 (1973). [mezzo-soprano, flute, viola, and violoncello] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
- by Benjamin Lees, né Benjamin George Lisniansky (1924 - 2010), "The golden net", 1998. [soprano, counter-tenor, tenor, and bass] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
- by Robert Parris (b. 1924), "The golden net", 1968. [chamber orchestra] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
- by Ethel Lillian (Boole) Voynich (1864 - 1960), "The golden net", 194-? [tenor or baritone and SSA chorus a cappella] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-04-15
Line count: 26
Word count: 150