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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
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):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Proverbe VII", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Walter A. Aue) , "Eine Welt zu sehn in dem Körnchen Sand", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Vedere un mondo in un grano di sabbia", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
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
Vedere un [il] mondo in un grano di sabbia, e un cielo in un fiore di campo, nel palmo della mano trattenere l'infinito e l'eternità in un'ora.
Authorship:
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2009 by Ferdinando Albeggiani, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in English by William Blake (1757 - 1827), no title, appears in Auguries of Innocence, no. 1
This text was added to the website: 2009-02-23
Line count: 4
Word count: 27