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Thalaba the Destroyer
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Thalaba the Destroyer
Thalaba the Destroyer is an 1801 epic poem composed by Robert Southey. The origins of the poem can be traced to Southey's school boy days, but he did not begin to write the poem until he finished composing Madoc at the age of 25. Thalaba the Destroyer was completed while Southey travelled in Portugal. When the poem was finally published by the publisher Longman, it suffered from poor sales and only half of the copies were sold by 1804.
The poem is divided into twelve "books" with irregular stanza structures and unrhymed lines of poetry. The story describes how a group of sorcerers work to destroy the Hodeirah family in an attempt to prevent a prophecy of their future doom from coming true. However, a young child named Thalaba is able to escape from the slaughter. After one of the sorcerers hunts down Thalaba to kill him, the sorcerer is defeated by a great storm and his powerful magical ring comes into Thalaba's possession. With the ring, Thalaba travels across the Middle East to find a way to defeat the evil sorcerers. In the end, Thalaba is able to stay true to Allah and is guided by the prophet Mohammad in destroying the sorcerers.
Southey uses the poem to describe various superstitions and myths, with a heavy reliance on repetition of various themes that link the myths together. Critics gave the work mixed reviews, with some emphasising the strong morality within the work or the quality of the poetry. However, other critics felt that the lack of a strong lyrical structure and the use of Middle Eastern myths detracted from the poem.
The basis for Southey wishing to write long poems came from his private reading of literature while attending Westminster School as a boy. In Summer 1799, Southey completed writing Madoc and began working on Thalaba. He started to work with Coleridge, and both Coleridge's "Kubla Khan" and Thalaba shared many sources. He then travelled to Burton where he continued to write the poem, which he called a romance at the time. Thalaba's idea came from the tale "Maugraby" by Jacques Cazotte in the Continuation of the Arabian Nights (1798-1789)
He soon after travelled to Portugal in April 1800 where he planned to finish Thalaba and send it back to England for publication. By July, he was able to complete the poem and in October the poem was edited and ready for publication. John Rickman served as Southey's agent in selling the book. Although finished, Southey continued to work on fixing the end of the poem until January 1801 after receiving suggestions from his friends. After Portugal went to war with France and Spain, Southey left the country and he returned to England in June 1801. The poem was published in 1801 by Longman with 1,000 copies, but only sold half by 1804. A revised edition was published in 1809.
The poem is a twelve-book work with irregular stanzas and lines that are not rhymed. The poem deals with Harun al-Rashid and a group of sorcerers at Domdaniel that live under the sea. It was foretold that Thalaba, a Muslim, would be God's champion and conquer the sorcerers. To pre-empt the prophecy, the sorcerers kill the Hodeirah family. Unknown to them, Thalaba was able to escape from harm with his mother Zeinab. They flee through the desert and arrive at Irem, a ruined city. After Zeinab dies, Thalaba is raised by a leader of Irem named Moath. The sorcerers find out that Thalaba is still alive, and Abdaldar, one of their members, goes to find out Thalaba's location. When Abdaldar arrives, he is stopped by a simoom, a sand storm, and his magic ring is lost. Thalaba finds the ring, which grants him great power.
A demon comes to steal the ring from Thalaba, but he is stopped by the young boy. This allows Thalaba to demand information about the sorcerers and why his family was killed. Time passes and Thalaba settles into a pastoral life at Irem and plans to marry Moath's daughter, Oneiza. However, Thalaba decides that his duty prohibits him from such actions, and he leaves to fulfill his destiny. However, the sorcerer Lobaba tricks Thalaba and tries to steal the ring. After many failed attempts, Lobaba tries to convince Thalaba to harness the ring's magic power, which would bring Thalaba harm. Instead, Thalaba argues against the use of magic in general and realises that Lobaba is evil. Although Thalaba attempts to kill Lobaba and fails by the sorcerer's magic, a storm comes and destroys the sorcerer.
Thalaba travels past Baghdad onto the ruins of Babylon to find Haruth and Maruth, two angels that know about magic. While searching for them, he runs across Mohareb, an evil warrior. Mohareb offers to take Thalaba through the city and they travel through the cave of Zohak. Zohak, an individual punished to have snakes constantly eat at his brain, tries to stop them before Mohareb distracts him. The two continue to travel into the dwelling of Haruth and Maruth and, when Mohareb finds out that Thalaba is not evil, attacks him. However, the ring protects Thalaba. After Mohareb claims that magic was the only reason why Thalaba lives, Thalaba decides to get rid of the ring into a pit before the two resume fighting. Soon after, Mohareb is also thrown into the pit and Thalaba is able to ask the angels what he needs to defeat his enemies. He is simply told "faith".
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Thalaba the Destroyer
Thalaba the Destroyer is an 1801 epic poem composed by Robert Southey. The origins of the poem can be traced to Southey's school boy days, but he did not begin to write the poem until he finished composing Madoc at the age of 25. Thalaba the Destroyer was completed while Southey travelled in Portugal. When the poem was finally published by the publisher Longman, it suffered from poor sales and only half of the copies were sold by 1804.
The poem is divided into twelve "books" with irregular stanza structures and unrhymed lines of poetry. The story describes how a group of sorcerers work to destroy the Hodeirah family in an attempt to prevent a prophecy of their future doom from coming true. However, a young child named Thalaba is able to escape from the slaughter. After one of the sorcerers hunts down Thalaba to kill him, the sorcerer is defeated by a great storm and his powerful magical ring comes into Thalaba's possession. With the ring, Thalaba travels across the Middle East to find a way to defeat the evil sorcerers. In the end, Thalaba is able to stay true to Allah and is guided by the prophet Mohammad in destroying the sorcerers.
Southey uses the poem to describe various superstitions and myths, with a heavy reliance on repetition of various themes that link the myths together. Critics gave the work mixed reviews, with some emphasising the strong morality within the work or the quality of the poetry. However, other critics felt that the lack of a strong lyrical structure and the use of Middle Eastern myths detracted from the poem.
The basis for Southey wishing to write long poems came from his private reading of literature while attending Westminster School as a boy. In Summer 1799, Southey completed writing Madoc and began working on Thalaba. He started to work with Coleridge, and both Coleridge's "Kubla Khan" and Thalaba shared many sources. He then travelled to Burton where he continued to write the poem, which he called a romance at the time. Thalaba's idea came from the tale "Maugraby" by Jacques Cazotte in the Continuation of the Arabian Nights (1798-1789)
He soon after travelled to Portugal in April 1800 where he planned to finish Thalaba and send it back to England for publication. By July, he was able to complete the poem and in October the poem was edited and ready for publication. John Rickman served as Southey's agent in selling the book. Although finished, Southey continued to work on fixing the end of the poem until January 1801 after receiving suggestions from his friends. After Portugal went to war with France and Spain, Southey left the country and he returned to England in June 1801. The poem was published in 1801 by Longman with 1,000 copies, but only sold half by 1804. A revised edition was published in 1809.
The poem is a twelve-book work with irregular stanzas and lines that are not rhymed. The poem deals with Harun al-Rashid and a group of sorcerers at Domdaniel that live under the sea. It was foretold that Thalaba, a Muslim, would be God's champion and conquer the sorcerers. To pre-empt the prophecy, the sorcerers kill the Hodeirah family. Unknown to them, Thalaba was able to escape from harm with his mother Zeinab. They flee through the desert and arrive at Irem, a ruined city. After Zeinab dies, Thalaba is raised by a leader of Irem named Moath. The sorcerers find out that Thalaba is still alive, and Abdaldar, one of their members, goes to find out Thalaba's location. When Abdaldar arrives, he is stopped by a simoom, a sand storm, and his magic ring is lost. Thalaba finds the ring, which grants him great power.
A demon comes to steal the ring from Thalaba, but he is stopped by the young boy. This allows Thalaba to demand information about the sorcerers and why his family was killed. Time passes and Thalaba settles into a pastoral life at Irem and plans to marry Moath's daughter, Oneiza. However, Thalaba decides that his duty prohibits him from such actions, and he leaves to fulfill his destiny. However, the sorcerer Lobaba tricks Thalaba and tries to steal the ring. After many failed attempts, Lobaba tries to convince Thalaba to harness the ring's magic power, which would bring Thalaba harm. Instead, Thalaba argues against the use of magic in general and realises that Lobaba is evil. Although Thalaba attempts to kill Lobaba and fails by the sorcerer's magic, a storm comes and destroys the sorcerer.
Thalaba travels past Baghdad onto the ruins of Babylon to find Haruth and Maruth, two angels that know about magic. While searching for them, he runs across Mohareb, an evil warrior. Mohareb offers to take Thalaba through the city and they travel through the cave of Zohak. Zohak, an individual punished to have snakes constantly eat at his brain, tries to stop them before Mohareb distracts him. The two continue to travel into the dwelling of Haruth and Maruth and, when Mohareb finds out that Thalaba is not evil, attacks him. However, the ring protects Thalaba. After Mohareb claims that magic was the only reason why Thalaba lives, Thalaba decides to get rid of the ring into a pit before the two resume fighting. Soon after, Mohareb is also thrown into the pit and Thalaba is able to ask the angels what he needs to defeat his enemies. He is simply told "faith".
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