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Alphonso of Castile

From Poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson

This poem, from Ralph Waldo Emerson's collected Poems (nineteenth century), presents a dramatic monologue in the voice of Alphonso X of Castile, the thirteenth-century monarch known as 'the Wise.' The historical Alphonso was famed for his astronomical tables and his remark that had he been present at the creation, he might have offered God some useful advice on the arrangement of the heavens. Emerson seizes on that audacity to construct a philosophical argument about decline, divine governance, and the concentration of human vitality. The poem reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. It is worth the reader's time because it dramatises a perennial tension: whether excellence is best pursued by distributing resources widely or concentrating them intensely, and what role divine or natural order plays in human flourishing. Emerson does not endorse Alphonso's proposal; he uses the king's voice to explore an argument and its premises.

Band

Silver · First-year university levelTypical starting range: adult

Length

long · about 1536 words in 3 sections · 1 picture

Source

Poems, Ralph Waldo Emerson

First published

see the About page in the reader

Regions

Canada · United States

Included formats

• · Web reader and PDF
• · EPUB for e-readers
• · Home-print sheet
• · Folded booklet
• · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
• · Worksheet
• · Quick Check (10 questions) with answer key
• · Read-aloud script
• · Teacher’s Edition (members)

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