by William Blake (1757 - 1827)
I seize the sphery harp. I strike the...
Language: English
I seize the sphery harp. I strike the strings. At the first sound the Golden sun arises from the deep And shakes his awful hair, The Eccho wakes the moon to unbind her silver locks, The golden sun bears on my song And nine bright spheres of harmony rise round the fiery king. They sing unceasing to the notes of my immortal hand. The solemn silent moon Reverberates the living harmony upon my limbs, The birds & beasts rejoice & play, And every one seeks for his mate to prove his inmost joy. Now my left hand I stretch to earth beneath, And strike the terrible string. I wake sweet joy in dens of sorrow & I plant a smile In forests of affliction, And wake the bubbling springs of life in regions of dark death.
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Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), no title, appears in Vala, or The Four Zoas, in Night the Second, from a song sung by Enitharmon [author's text not yet checked 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 Gwyn Pritchard (b. 1948), "Enitharmon", 1973, rev. 1984-5 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Joop Voorn (1932 - 2021), "Song of Enitharmon", 1980, published 1980 [ mixed chorus and orchestra ], Amsterdam: Donemus [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-01-26
Line count: 16
Word count: 136