King Trisanku by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Viswamitra raises King Trisanku to Indra's realm by magic, but the offended gods hurl him downward, leaving him suspended between opposing powers. His predicament becomes an analogy for human hearts lifted by aspiration and pulled down by misgivings.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Allegorical Poetry, Mythological Poetry · 96 words
First lines
Viswamitra the Magician, / By his spells and incantations, / Up to Indra's realms elysian / Raised Trisanku, king of nations.
Indra and the gods offended / Hurled him downward, and descending / In the air he hung suspended, / With these equal powers contending.
Thus by aspirations lifted, / By misgivings downward driven, / Human hearts are tossed and drifted / Midway between earth and heaven.
Genres
- Allegorical Poetry — The final stanza compares the king's suspension between opposing powers to human hearts caught between aspirations and misgivings.
- Mythological Poetry — The rhymed stanzas recount a magician raising a king to Indra's realm and the gods casting him down.
Tags
aspiration · misgivings · magic · gods · heaven · allegory
What this Textopian page supports
King Trisanku is listed on Textopian as a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, dated Date unknown.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Allegorical Poetry, Mythological Poetry
- Length: 96 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
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