To see a world in a grain of sand | To see a World in a Grain of Sand

To see a World in a Grain of Sand

Language: English

Available translation(s): FRE GER GER ITA

To see [a]¹ World in a Grain of Sand,
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand,
And Eternity in an hour.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Coulthard: "the"; further changes may exist not noted

Text Authorship:

by William Blake (1757 - 1827), no title, appears in Auguries of Innocence, no. 1 [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 Ronald A. Beckett , "To see the World in a Grain of Sand", 2011 [ voice and piano ], from Songs of the Spirit, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
by Frederick Matthias Breydert (b. 1909), "To see the world", published c1950, from Four Rounds, no. 2, Boston, Boston Music Co. [sung text not yet checked]
by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Proverb VII", op. 74 no. 13, from Songs and Proverbs of William Blake, no. 13 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Brian John Chapple (b. 1945), "To see a world in a grain of sand", 1972, published 1979, first performed 1977 [ tenor or high voice and piano ], from Five Blake Songs, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
by William W. Colson (b. 1945), "From Auguries of Innocence", 1967, first performed 1967 [ voice, piano ], from Three Blake Songs, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
by Jean Coulthard (1908 - 2000), "Auguries of Innocence", published c1969 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Mary Ruth Brink Berger Inwood (b. 1928), "To see a World in a Grain of Sand", c1975 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Six Choral Pieces for SATB [sung text not yet checked]
by William Joseph Maloof (b. 1933), "From Auguries of Innocence", 1968, first performed 1973 [ SSATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Kass McAuliffe (b. 1951), "To see a world", 1971 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Charles Wesley Rasely (1921 - 1996), "To see a world in a grain of sand", published c1970 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], New York, Plymouth Music Co. [sung text not yet checked]
by Geoffrey Turton Shaw (1879 - 1943), "To see a world in a grain of sand ", published 1927 [ contralto and piano ], London, J. B. Cramer [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (b. 1948) , "Прорицание", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission ; composed by Elena Olegovna Firsova.

Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 4
Word count: 29

Help us stay free of annoying ads