Chapter 4 Byron

Chapter 4 Byron

George Gordon Byron was born in an impoverished noble family in London in 1788, a year before the French revolution .His father was a captain

nicknamed “Mad Jack ,”who had squandered away the money of the poet’s mother and then deserted her .For some years mother and son lived in

loneliness and poverty in Scotland. His mother, a passionate woman, patted and abused him alternately. Byron was born with a clubfoot, and in the

frequent family scenes his mother called him ”you lame brat .” so the poet’s early years had been far from happy.

While a student ,Byron published his first collection of poems ,entilled Hours of Idleness(1807) ,dealing with childish recollections and early friendship, and showing the influence of 18th century traditions .

With obstinate determination he set to work, to show what he was

worth .for months he worked and worked ,all night long ,at his reply. It came two years later ,in the form of a satire ,English Bards and Scotch Reviewers, in which the Edinburgh Review and its supporters were taken to task . Byron was a staunch champion of the people’s cause.later,he again raised his voice in defence of the oppressed workers in his well-known Song for the Luddites(1816).

A few days after Byron delivered his parliamentary speech ,the first two cantos of his Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1809) were published .They

immediately won great popularity. Byron said, “I awoke one morning to find myself famous .” in the ensuing years ,several narrative poems appeared .They are Giaour (1813), the Bride of Abydos(1813),the Corsair(1814),Lara(1813),Parisina (1816) and The Siege of Corinth (1816).These poems have an oriental setting and are sometimes

called ”oriental tales.”In them appear the” Byronic heroes ,”who are men with fiery passions and unbending will and express the poet’s own ideal of

freedom.These heroes rise against tyranny and injustice ,but they are merely lone fighters striving for personal freedom and some individualistic ends . During the period ,Byron also wrote a great number of lyrical pieces ,Hebrew Melodies(1815)being the most notable .

Byron first went to Switzerland , where he made acquaintance with Shelley .the two poets visited the castle of Chillon ,in which the Swiss revolutionary Bonnivard (1496-1570)had been imprisoned for several

years .shortly afterwards Byron worte the famous Sonnet on Chillon and the narrative poem the prisoner of Chillon (1816).in Switzerland he also wrote Man fred ,a poetical drama ,and other poems .

He finished Childe Harold ,wrote his masterpiece Don Juan (see),Cain, a poetical drama ,The Prophecy of Dante and The Vision of Judgement, all in Italy.

The defeat of the Carbonari Uprising (1821)was a heavy blow to Byron .He resolved to devote his life to open fight against reaction. In 1823 he went to Greece and plunged into the struggle for the national independence of that country .He commanded 500 warriors and selected the most dangerous post for himself. After several months’ hard work under bad weather ,Byron fell ill .His fever grew serious .On April 19,1824,Byron died ,shouting in

delirium:”forward! forward! follow me!”Byron’s death was deeply mourned by the Greek people and by all progressive people throughout the world.

This long poem contains four cantos . It is written in the Spenserian stanza , i.e.,a 9-line stanza rhymed ababbcbcc , in which the first eight lines are in iambic pentameter while the ninth in iambic hexameter . The poem tells of Childe (= a youth of noble birth ) Harold’s travels in Europe . Harold is a young aristocrat whose “world-weariness” bespeaks his loathing for English high society . He leaves his country to escape from the society he fears and hates . Being solitary and melancholy , he seeks the companionship of mountains and seas ……

The first canto deals with Portugal and Spain . The poet praises Portugal as the “delicious land ” where “fruits of fragrance blush on every tree , ” but he feels acutely the poverty of the oppressed people . Then he depicts the Spaniards in their struggle against foreign aggression .

The second canto decribes Albania and Greece .The author paints pictures of the “dark blue sea , ” moonlit nights and places famous in ancient history . He laments over the fallen state of “fair Greece , ” reminds the Greeks of their heroic past , and encourages them to strive for liberty with their own arms : …….

The third canto was written 6 or 7 years later than the first two cantos . During the long interval , the poet suffered so much from the venom and spite of the high society that his heart was ……

In a dream during the voyage the poet speaks to his daughter Ada , whom he left in England and could never see again : ……

The fourth canto sings of Italy and the Italian people who have given the world great writers and thinkers like Petrarch , Dante , Boccaccio , Tasso and Galileo . Byron exposes the reactionary rulers of Europe , and specially the Holy Alliance . His ardent love of liberty and his firm belief in the people’s final triumph find expression in such lyrical outbursts: …….

Don Juan was written in Italy during the year 1818-1823 . It is 16000 lines

long , in 16 cantos , and written in ottava rima , each stanza containing 8 iambic pentameter lines rhymed abababcc . The story of the poem takes place in the latter part of the 18th century . Don Juan , its hero , is a Spanish youth of noble birth . The vicissitudes of his life and his adventures in many countries are described against varied social backgrounds , and he is seen to

take part in different historical events , thus giving a broad panorama of contemporary life.