When Thomas Moore first conceived of writing his long Oriental poem,

, he was already a poet of some popularity. By early 1812, when the “long poem” is first mentioned in his correspondence, four numbers of the increasingly successful and popular

had been published. He had also composed a number of collections of short poems, satires and musical works, and had recently completed the libretto for a comic opera entitled

. Evidently seeking a challenge, Moore decided to embark on a lengthier and more ambitious project, fusing two phenomena that had recently begun to capture the imagination of the reading public: the long poem and the Oriental setting.

In his letters from the years of 1812 and 1813, Moore strikes a consistently positive

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Citation: Tonra, Justin. "Lalla Rookh". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 September 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=24841, accessed 23 November 2024.]