Lalla Rookh, a long poem replete with quaint characters, dramatic events, references to the oriental grandeur, and beauty of melody, can be read not only as a whole, but also for delightful and memorable passages, and this is what all great long poems fundamentally are. For a full appreciation of the poem the reader has to seek help from many reference books and particularly the notes given at the end of the poem. Thomas Moore’s waking dreams of the alien lands and peoples are made authentic by the annotations that serve as a source of great information about the legendary east.
