El Dorado

Type of Work and Date of Publication

"Eldorado" is a four-stanza poem published for the first time on April 21, 1849, in Flag of Our Union.

Theme

Life is a journey on which people search for wealth, fame, joy, courage, approval, adventure, acceptance, God, a solution to a complex problem, and so on. However, no one ever reaches his goal. If an entrepreneur makes $1 million or $10 million, he then wants to make $100 million. If a scientist reconciles quantum mechanics with Einsteinian relativity, he then wants to prove the superstring theory. If a mystic finds a reflection of God in a sunset or the smile of a leper, he then wants to search creation further for another revelation. After Alexander the Great conquered half the world on his march from Greece to India, legend says he sat down and cried, for he had no more worlds to conquer. He wanted the adventure to continue. Man is meant to seek. If he finds, he dies. So, like the knight in the poem, he must “ride, boldly ride.”

Who Is the Knight?

The knight represents everyone who travels the journey of life.

Eldorado: Kingdom of Gold

Eldorado (or El Dorado) is Spanish for “the gilded one.” Spanish explorers coined the term in the early 1500's to refer to a legendary South American tribal chief in northern South America. According to tales the Spaniards heard, this ruler presided over a kingdom rich in gold and precious gems. It was said that he covered his body with gold dust during festivals, then later washed it off in a lake. The “golden city” in which he was believed to reside was called Omagua (or Omoa). As time passed, the kingdom itself came to be called Eldorado, and explorers from Spain, Portugal, Germany, and England searched northern reaches of the continent to find the kingdom and its fabulous treasures. None of the expeditions succeeded. Subsequently, Eldorado was used to refer to any place or any enterprise promising to yield wealth or opportunity.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere of "Eldorado"...