Haroun Al Raschid by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Haroun Al Raschid was an actual Abbasid caliph who ruled Baghdad around 800 AD and became well-known in Western culture through One Thousand and One Nights. Longfellow selected him because he epitomized worldly power and luxury — which makes his tears at the end even more poignant. If he can be humbled by the thought of death, it sends a message that resonates with everyone.

The verses Haroun reads serve as a memento mori—a reminder that death awaits everyone, even kings. The inner poem employs the ubi sunt technique (asking "where are they now?") to highlight that all the once-invincible rulers have disappeared, and it then addresses the reader directly to say: you will share the same fate.

"Lend" suggests that everything the world provides — wealth, beauty, pleasure, power — is fleeting and borrowed. You don’t genuinely possess any of it; it will eventually be reclaimed. It’s a subtle yet profound choice of words that reinterprets all human ambition as borrowing instead of ownership.

He cries because the poem reveals a truth he can't dispute. He has everything the world offers, and the verse recognizes that — but then it reminds him that it all ends in death. There’s no comfort given, no way out. His tears show that wisdom and power don’t shield you from this reality; they might even make it hit harder.

Ubi sunt translates from Latin to "where are they?" and signifies a longstanding poetic tradition of mourning the loss of remarkable individuals and things. This theme can be found in medieval European poetry, in the Old English poem The Wanderer, in Ecclesiastes, and throughout Arabic and Persian literature. Longfellow draws on this tradition with the lines, "Where are the kings, and where the rest / Of those who once the world possessed?"

It's not a sonnet. The poem uses rhyming couplets and has a steady iambic tetrameter rhythm (four beats per line). This paired structure creates a measured, almost chant-like quality — each couplet hits like a clear, decisive statement. The form fits the subject: straightforward, unavoidable, with no space to escape.

The poem conveys that death is the one certainty that power, wealth, or beauty can't alter. You can relish all that life has to offer — Longfellow's inner poem encourages that — but it's crucial to remember that it eventually comes to an end. The image of one of history's mightiest rulers shedding tears at this truth gives the message a universal resonance instead of a preachy tone.

The frame allows Longfellow to show rather than tell. Instead of simply writing a poem about mortality, he presents a great man reading such a poem and experiencing a profound emotional response. Haroun's reaction provides the emotional weight. This approach also creates a sense of distance — the wisdom originates from an ancient book, rather than Longfellow preaching directly to the reader.