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by William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850)

Thou, whose exterior semblance doth belie
 (Sung text for setting by G. Finzi)
 See original
Language: English 
 ... 

Thou, whose exterior semblance doth belie
        Thy soul's immensity;
Thou best philosopher, who yet dost keep
Thy heritage, thou eye among the blind,
That, deaf and silent, read'st the eternal deep,
Haunted for ever by the eternal Mind, -- 
        Mighty Prophet! Seer blest!
        On whom those truths do rest
Which we are toiling all our lives to find,
In darkness lost, the darkness of the grave;
Thou, over whom thy immortality
Broods like the day, a master o'er a slave,
A Presence which is not to be put by;
        To whom the grave
Is but a lonely bed without the sense or sight
        Of day or the warm light,
A place of thought where we in waiting lie;
Thou little Child, yet glorious in the might
Of heaven-born freedom on thy being's height,
Why with such earnest pains dost thou provoke
The years to bring the inevitable yoke,
Thus blindly with thy blessedness at strife?
Full soon thy soul shall have her earthly freight,
And custom lie upon thee with a weight
Heavy as frost, and deep almost as life!

Composition:

    Set to music by Gerald Finzi (1901 - 1956), "Thou, whose exterior semblance doth belie", op. 29 no. 8, stanza 8 [ tenor, chorus, and orchestra ], from Intimations of Immortality, no. 8, note: this section is without music

Text Authorship:

  • by William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850), "Ode on Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood"

See other settings of this text.


Researcher for this page: Ahmed E. Ismail

This text was added to the website: 2005-12-31
Line count: 207
Word count: 1398

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