Sonnet: Silence | Silence | There is a silence where hath been no sound

by Thomas Hood (1799 - 1845)

There is a silence where hath been no...

Language: English

There is a silence where hath been no sound,
There is a silence where no sound may be,
In the cold grave--under the deep deep sea,
Or in wide desert where no life is found,
Which hath been mute, and still must sleep profound;
No voice is hush'd--no life treads silently,
But clouds and cloudy shadows wander free.
That never spoke, over the idle ground:
But in green ruins, in the desolate walls
Of antique palaces, where Man hath been,
Though the dun fox, or wild hyaena, calls,
And owls, that flit continually between,
Shriek to the echo, and the low winds moan, --
There the true Silence is, self-conscious and alone.

About the headline (FAQ)

First published in London Magazine, 1823

Text Authorship:

by Thomas Hood (1799 - 1845), "Sonnet: Silence" [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 John Chorbajian (b. 1936), "There is a silence", published 1971 [ satb chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
by John William Duarte (b. 1919), "Silence", published 1971 [ high voice and guitar ], from Five Quiet Songs [sung text not yet checked]
by Philip T. Lane (b. 1950), "Soliloquy IV", 1972, first performed 1972 [ voice, electronic tape ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Daan Manneke (b. 1939), "Silence", 1974 [ low voice and harpsichord or organ or piano ], from Five songs on English poems, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
by (James) Healey Willan (1880 - 1968), "Silence", 1899 [ voice and piano ], note: the manuscript may not be locatable [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-01-10
Line count: 14
Word count: 111