Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Ballade of Dead Cities" by Andrew Lang presents a somber contemplation on the ephemerality of human achievements, specifically cities. Lang employs the ballade form, an Old French verse form typically composed of three eight-line stanzas and a shorter concluding stanza or envoy. This piece offers a profound meditation on the cyclical nature of time, the inevitability of decay, and the transience of human civilizations.

The poem starts with evocative images of great cities, including Carthage, Babel, Corinth, and Orchomenos, reduced to dust and ruins. These places were once renowned for their wealth, power, and culture, but they are now rendered as a "dream half-told," suggesting their incomplete legacy and inevitable oblivion.

The second stanza carries forward the image of decay, as the marble turns to "a crust" and the granite "crumbles into mould." This serves as a poignant metaphor for the deterioration of civilization over time, not just the physical structures but the cultural, social, and moral foundations too.

In the third stanza, Lang includes both 'evil and just' among the forces erased by time, implying that time and nature remain indifferent to the moral values or deeds of a civilization. This stanza also introduces Thebes, a city connected to Greek mythology, and Caer-Is, a Welsh city said to be drowned and its bells heard beneath the waves. Both cities add to the roster of lost civilizations and fortify the poem's central theme.

The concluding envoy, addressed to a 'Prince,' suggests a leader or any figure of authority and wealth. Here, Lang asserts that all cities, irrespective of their grandeur or accomplishments, are doomed to the same fate of decay, obliterating all traces of 'crime, mirth, wealth, and toil.'

"Ballade of Dead Cities" captures Lang's philosophical perspective on the fleeting nature of human accomplishments and the inevitable march of time, which reduces even the greatest civilizations to mere ruins and memories. His verse serves as a reminder of our own mortality and the transient nature of all human creations. It also urges us to contemplate what legacy we will leave behind, recognizing that even our most substantial achievements may one day turn into dust.

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