The Masque of Pandora

Hephæstus fashions Pandora from clay, and Zeus gives her life; Prometheus refuses her as a gift from the gods, but his brother Epimetheus welcomes and loves her. Left alone when the brothers depart, she is urged by deceptive dreams to open a forbidden chest, releasing suffering upon mankind while Hope remains inside. Pandora confesses and asks for death, but Epimetheus shares the blame and offers continued love and a new life; the Eumenides insist on retribution and purification.

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Dramatic Poetry, Classical mythology · 8 chapters · 7,462 words

First lines

HEPHÆSTUS (standing before the statue of Pandora.) / Not fashioned out of gold, like Hera's throne, / Nor forged of iron like the thunderbolts / Of Zeus omnipotent, or other works / Wrought by my hands at Lemnos or Olympus, / But moulded in soft clay, that unresisting / Yields itself to the touch, this lovely form / Before me stands, perfect in every part. / Not Aphrodite's self appeared more fair, / When first upwafted by caressing winds / She came to high Olympus, and the gods / Paid homage to her beauty. Thus her hair / Was cinctured; thus her floating drapery / Was like a cloud about her, and her face / Was radiant with the sunshine and the sea.

• Open reader

Genres

• Dramatic Poetry — Named speakers deliver verse dialogue, while choruses of Graces, Fates, dreams and Eumenides accompany Pandora's creation, temptation and confession.
• Classical mythology — Zeus animates the woman fashioned by Hephæstus, Hermes brings her to the Titan brothers, and her opening of the chest releases evils upon mankind.

Tags

Greek mythology · verse drama · forbidden knowledge · divine gifts · curiosity · hope · retribution

What this Textopian page supports

The Masque of Pandora is listed on Textopian as a play by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, dated Date unknown.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

• Work type: Play
• Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• Date: Date unknown
• Language: English
• Genres: Dramatic Poetry, Classical mythology
• Length: 7,462 words
• Structure: 8 chapters, 165 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

Good citation fit

• Work identity for The Masque of Pandora by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
• Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
• Readability and classroom-planning context
• Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph

Contents

• The Workshop of Hephestus
• Olympus
• Tower of Prometheus on Mount Caucasus
• The Air
• The House of Epimetheus
• In the Garden
• The House of Epimetheus
• In the Garden

More by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

• Pleasant it was, when Woods were Green
• Hymn to the Night
• A Psalm of Life
• The Reaper and the Flowers
• The Light of Stars
• Footsteps of Angels
• Flowers
• The Beleaguered City
• All works by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow