Robert Southey

Thalaba, the Destroyer Robert Southey

Robert Southey (1774-1843) was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the "Lake Poets", and Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843. Thalaba the Destroyer is an epic poem divided into twelve "books" with irregular stanza structures and unrhymed lines of poetry. The story describes how Thalaba, a child who comes into possession of a powerful magical ring, defeats the sorcerers who slaughtered his family.