''Lalla Rookh'' is a romantic work by Irish poet

Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852), was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist who was widely regarded as Ireland's "National poet, national bard" during the late Georgian era. The acclaim rested primarily on the popularity of his ''I ...

, first published in 1817. The title refers to the fictional heroine of the

frame tale A frame story (also known as a frame tale, frame narrative, sandwich narrative, or intercalation) is a literary technique that serves as a companion piece to a story within a story, where an introductory or main narrative sets the stage either fo ...

, depicted as the daughter of the 17th-century

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

emperor

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

. It consists of four

narrative poems Narrative poetry is a form of poetry that tells a story, often using the voices of both a narrator and characters; the entire story is usually written in metered verse. Narrative poems do not need to rhyme. The poems that make up this genre may ...

with a connecting tale in prose. The work was a resounding success, and its popularity gave rise to many ships being named "Lalla Rookh" during the 19th century. It also played an instrumental role in making

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

(called ''Cashmere'' in the poem) a household name in the

English-speaking world The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English language, English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the ...

. The poem remains one of the great works of orientalist poetry and has been regularly adapted into films, musicals, operas, and other media.

Name and background

The name Lalla Rookh or Lala-Rukh ( ''laleh rox'' or ''rukh'') means "tulip-cheeked" and is an endearment frequently used in Persian poetry. Lalla Rookh has also been translated as "rosy-cheeked"; however, the first word derives from the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

word for tulip, ''laleh'', and a different word, ''laal'', means rosy, or

ruby Ruby is a pinkish-red-to-blood-red-colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapph ...

. Tulips were first cultivated in Persia, probably in the 10th century, and remain a powerful symbol in Iranian culture, and the name Laleh is a popular girl's name. ''Rukh'' also translates as "face". Moore is believed to have drawn inspiration from ''

The Garden of Knowledge ''The Garden of Knowledge'' is an illustrated manuscript of the collection of stories in the Persian about the love between the fictional Mughal Prince Jahandar Shah and his queen Bahrewar Banu, originally written by Inayatullah Kambu in the 17t ...

'' by Inayatullah Kamboh (1608–1671). He set his poem in a sumptuous

oriental The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

setting on the advice of

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

. The work was completed in 1817 while Moore was living in a house in the countryside of

Hornsey Hornsey () is a district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Haringey. It is an inner-suburban, for the most part residential, area centred north of Charing Cross. It adjoins green spaces Queen's Wood to the west and Alexand ...

, Middlesex, and the house was renamed, possibly by Moore himself, after the poem. Lalla Rookh is a fictional daughter of Emperor Aurangzeb; he had no daughter of this name.

Overview

The plot is framed by a romantic narrative featuring the princess's journey and encounters. The aged King of

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

abdicated in favour of his son, which caused an Indian ruler to arrange a marriage between his daughter Lalla Rookh and the new ruler. Lalla Rookh travels to meet her betrothed, but falls in love with Feramorz, a poet posing as a humble singer in her entourage. Feramorz charms the princess with his ability to compose poetry. The bulk of the work consists of four interpolated tales sung by the poet: "The Veiled Prophet of Khorassan" (loosely based upon the story of

Al-Muqanna Al-Muqanna ( "The Veiled", died c. 783) born Hashim, (Arabic: هاشم), was an 8th-century political and military leader who operated in modern Iran. He led an anti-Islamic rebellion against the Abbasid Caliphate and claimed to be a prophet. He wa ...

), "Paradise and the Peri", "The Fire-Worshippers", and "The Light of the Harem". When Lalla Rookh enters the palace of her bridegroom, she swoons away, expecting to do her duty in marrying a man she has never met. She awakens with rapture to find that the poet she loves is there. The king had disguised himself as a slave to test whether his bride-to-be loved him for who he truly was.

Allegorical meaning

Scholars have stated Moore, a friend of the executed Irish rebel

Robert Emmet Robert Emmet (4 March 177820 September 1803) was an Irish Republican, orator and rebel leader. Following the suppression of the United Irish uprising in 1798, he sought to organise a renewed attempt to overthrow the British Crown and Prote ...

, depicts in the poem "disguised versions of the French Revolution and the Irish Rebellion of 1798, ndcondemns the former but justifies the latter".

Adaptations

''Lalla Rookh'' inspired several musical settings, including a

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

Frederic Clay Frederic Emes Clay (3 August 1838 – 24 November 1889) was an English composer known principally for songs and his music written for the stage. Although from a musical family, for 16 years Clay made his living as a civil servant in HM Treasury ...

W. G. Wills William Gorman Wills (28 January 182813 December 1891), usually known as W. G. Wills, was an Irish dramatist, novelist and painter. Early life and career Wills was born at Blackwell lodge in Kilmurry, near Thomastown, County Kilkenny, Thomasto ...

(1877) featuring the famous song "I'll Sing Thee Songs of Araby". ''The Fire-Worshippers'' is a 1892 "dramatic cantata" by

Granville Bantock Sir Granville Ransome Bantock (7 August 186816 October 1946) was a British composer of classical music. Biography Granville Ransome Bantock was born in London. His father was an eminent Scottish surgeon.Hadden, J. Cuthbert, 1913, ''Modern Music ...

based on one of the tales, and Bantock also wrote a 6-part adaptation of the whole poem for piano solo in 1919. It is also the basis of the

operas Opera is a form of Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a li ...

''Lalla-Rûkh'', festival pageant (1821) by

Gaspare Spontini Gaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini (14 November 177424 January 1851) was an Italian opera composer and conductor from the classical era. During the first two decades of the 19th century, Spontini was an important figure in French ''opera'', and ...

, partly reworked into ''Nurmahal oder das Rosenfest von Caschmir'' (1822), '' Lalla-Roukh'' by

Félicien David Félicien-César David (13 April 1810 – 29 August 1876) was a French composer. Biography Félicien David was born in Cadenet, and began to study music at the age of five under his father, whose death when the boy was six left him an impoverish ...

(1862), '' Feramors'' by

Anton Rubinstein Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein (; ) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who founded the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. He was the elder brother of Nikolai Rubinstein, who founded the Moscow Conservatory. As a pianist, Rubinstein ran ...

(1863), and '' The Veiled Prophet'' by

Charles Villiers Stanford Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was ed ...

(1879). One of the interpolated tales, '' Paradise and the Peri'', was set as a choral-orchestral work by

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

(1843). Lines from the poem form the lyrics of the song "Bendemeer Stream". The poem was translated into German in 1846 as ''Laleh-Rukh. Eine romantische Dichtung aus dem Morgenlande'', by

Anton Edmund Wollheim da Fonseca Anton may refer to: People *Anton (given name), a list of people with the given name *Anton (surname), a list of people with the surname Places *Anton Municipality, Bulgaria **Anton, Sofia Province, a village *Antón District, Panama **Antón, ...

, was possibly the most translated poem of its time. '' Lala Rookh'', a 1958 Indian

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

-language romantic-drama film by Akhtar Siraj, was based on Moore's poem.

Legacy

The poem, which earned the highest price ever thus far for a poem (£3,000), enhanced Moore's reputation considerably at the time. The popularity of the poem and its subsequent adaptations gave rise to many ships being named '' Lalla Rookh'' during the 19th century. Alfred Joseph Woolmer painted "Lalla Rookh" in 1861, depicting Hinda, daughter of the

Emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

of Arabia, in a tower overlooking the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

, based on the story called "The Fire-Worshippers" in the poem. It is now housed in the

Leicester Museum & Art Gallery The Leicester Museum & Art Gallery (until 2020, New Walk Museum and Art Gallery) is a museum on New Walk in Leicester, England, not far from the city centre. It opened in 1849 as one of the first public museums in the United Kingdom. Leicest ...

. It is also credited with having made

(spelt ''Cashmere'' in the poem) "a household term in

Anglophone The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...

societies", conveying the idea that it was a kind of

paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

(an old idea going back to

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

and

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

texts in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

. The

Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm The Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm (M.O.V.P.E.R.), often known as "The Grotto," is a Masonic body founded in 1889 by Herman LeRoy Fairchild and the members of Hamilton Lodge in Hamilton, New York. M.O.V.P.E.R. describes ...

(founded 1889), often known as "the Grotto", a

social group In the social sciences, a social group is defined as two or more people who interact with one another, share similar characteristics, and collectively have a sense of unity. Regardless, social groups come in a myriad of sizes and varieties. F ...

with membership restricted to

Master Masons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, and its female auxiliary, the Daughters of Mokanna (founded 1919), also take their names from Thomas Moore's poem. The Veiled Prophet Organization of

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, founded in 1878 by

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

and Alonzo Slayback created a mythology for a secret society and borrowed the name "The Veiled Prophet of Khorassan". A tomb in

Hassanabdal Hasan Abdal ( Punjabi; ) is a city in the Attock District of Punjab Province in Pakistan. Located 40 km northwest of the country's capital city, Islamabad, Hassan Abdal is the headquarters of Hasan Abdal Tehsil (sub-district). As home of ...

, Pakistan, dating from the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

, is known as the tomb of Princess Lalarukh. Some historians and others say that there is a woman called Lalarukh from the household of Emperor

Humayun Nasir al-Din Muhammad (6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), commonly known by his regnal name Humayun (), was the second Mughal emperor, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Northern India, and Pakistan from ...

buried here after dying on a journey from Kashmir, while others claim that she was the daughter of Emperor Aurangzeb. The tomb was first recorded as the Tomb of Lady Lalarukh in 1905, which historians suggest was derived from Moore's popular work and named by British officers in the time of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. In

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

's 1871/1872 novel ''

Middlemarch ''Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life'' is a novel by English author George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Ann Evans. It appeared in eight installments (volumes) in 1871 and 1872. Set in Middlemarch, a fictional English Midlands town, in 1829 ...

'', it is said of the character Rosamond Vincy, "Her favourite poem was 'Lalla Rookh'" (Chapter 16).

References

External links

* * – Summarises the four narratives. * Text of
Paradise and the Peri

''Lalla Rookh''
prepared for the web by Fran Pritchett. * * The Complete Poems of Sir Thomas More, including ''Lalla Rookh'' {{Authority control Poetry by Thomas Moore Works set in the Mughal Empire Irish poems Narrative poems 1817 poems Poems adapted into films