Hello Readers ! This bog is Written as a Part of assignment Writing Of Semester -1. This blog is Inspired by Dr. Dilip sir Barad, Department Of English , MKBU. In this Blog I am going to discuss about a topic - '' George Gordon Byron as a Romantic Poet. "
Name :- Hetal Samirbhai Pathak
Batch :- M.A Sem - 1 ( 2022 - 2024 )
Enrollment No. :- 4069206420220022
Roll No. :- 10
Subject Code :- 22393
Paper No. - 103
Paper Name :- Literature of the Romantics
E - mail address :- hetalpathak28@gmail.com
Submitted to :- Smt. S.B.Gardi , Department of English -
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji, Bhavnagar University
Date of Submission :- 7th November, 2022
' George Gordon Byron as a Romantic Poet ' :-
Content of my Assignment:-
- Introduction of Romantic Poetry
- George Gordon Byron
- His Poems
- Lord Byron as a Romantic Poet
- Themes of his Poems
- Conclusion
- Work Cited
° Introduction of Romantic Poetry :-
Romanticism Or Romantic Poetry - literary, artistic and Philosophical movement that began
in Europe in the 18th Century and lasted roughly Until the mid 19th Century. In its intense
Focus on the individual Consciousness, it was both a Continuation of and a reaction against
the Enlightenment.
Romanticism era Or Period emphasised the individual, the Subjective, the Imaginative , the
Spontaneous and the transcendental. Among its attitudes were a depended appreciation on the
beauties of Nature. English romantic Poetry had reached its Zenith in the Works of John Keats ,
Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley.
This age is Considered as an ' Age of Poetry '. The glory of the age is in the Poetry Of Scott,
Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron , Keats and Others. Romantic Poets Prefer more naturalistic
things rather than new and Contemporary things.
George Gordon , Lord Byron :-
Lord Byron , in Full George Gordon Byron was a British Romantic Poet and Satirist Whose
Poetry and Personality Captured the imagination of Europe. His life Span was from 1788 - 1824.
There are two distinct Sides to Byron and his Poetry, One good and the other bad ; and those
Who write about him generally describe One Side or the Other in Superlatives. Thus One Critic
Speaks of his ;
" Splendid and imperishable excellence of Sincerity and Strength. "
Byron is a man Who leads an irregular life, Poses as a Romantic hero , makes himself Out much
Worse than he really is, and takes delight in Shocking not only the Conventions but the ideals
of English Society. His Poetry Of this First Period is generally , though not always, Shallow
and insincere in thought, and declamatory or bombastic in expression. Byron's Poetry is
generally less Shadow and rhetorical, and though he still Parades his feelings in Public , he
Often Surprises us by being manly and Sincere. The real tragedy of Lord Byron 's life is that he
died just as he was beginning to Find himself.
Life :-
Lord Byron Was born in London in the Year 1788, the Year Preceding the French Revolution.
We Shall Understand him better , and Judge him more Charitably. His Father Was a dissipated
Spendthrift Of Unspeakable morals. His mother was a Scotch heiress , Passionate and
Unbalanced. The Father deserted his Wife after Squandering her Fortune; and the boy was brought Up by the mother Who alternately
Petted and abused him. ' In his eleventh Year the death of a granduncle left him heir to
Newstead Abbey and to the baronial title of One of the Oldest houses in England. He was
Singularly handsome ; and a lameness resulting From a deformed foot lent a Suggestion
of Pathos to his make - Up.
All this , With his Social Position , his Pseudo - heroic Poetry and his dissipated life, - Over
Which he Contrived to throw a veil Of romantic Secrecy - made him a magnet Of attraction to
many thoughtless Young men and Foolish Women , Who made the downhill Path both easy
and rapid. We Can Clearly Understand that Naturally he was generous, and Easily led by
affection. He is therefore largely a Victim Of his Own Weakness and Unfortunate
Surroundings.
Byron 's School life , like his infancy, is Sadly marked by Vanity, Violence and rebellion
against every Form of Authority; Yet it was not Without its hours of nobility and generosity.
Walter Scott describes him by Saying that ;
" A man of real goodness of heart , and the Kindest and best Feelings, miserably thrown away by his
Foolish Contempt Of Public Opinion . ''
The adulation Of Lord Byron lasted only a Few Years in England. In the Year - 1815 he married
Miss Milbanke , an English heiress , Who abruptly left him a Year later. With womanly reserve
she kept Silence ; but the Public was not Slow to imagine Plenty of reasons for the Separation.
This together with the Fact that men had begun to Penetrate the Veil of romantic Secrecy with
Which Byron Surrounded himself and Found a rather brassy idol beneath , turned the tide
of Public Opinion against him.
In the Year - 1824 Lord Byron Went to Greece, to give himself and a large Part of his Fortune
to help that Country in its Struggle For liberty against the Turks. How far he was led by his
desire for Posing as a hero and how far by a Certain Vigorous Viking Spirit that was Certainly
in him , Will never be Known. The Greeks welcomed him and made him a leader , and for
a Few months he found himself in the midst of a Wretched Squabble of lies , Selfishness,
insincerity , Cowardice, and intrigue , instead of the heroic Struggle For liberty which he had
anticipated. He died of Fever in the Year - 1824. One of his last Poems , Written there on his
thirty - Sixth birthday, a Few months before he died , expresses his Own View of his
disappointing life by Saying that ;
" My days are in the yellow leaf , The Flowers and Fruits of love are gone : The worm , the canker ,
and the grief are mine alone. "
So From these lines we can understand that his life was full of Sorrow and grief.
Education and Literary Career :-
Lord Byron attended Trinity College in Cambridge , intermittently From October 1805 Until
July 1808. When he received a M.A degree. Byron - the most Flamboyant and notorious of the
major English romantic Poets. Living extravagantly, he began to amass the debts that Would
bedevil him for Years. In Southwell , Where his mother had moved in the Year - 1803. He
Prepared his Verses for Publication.
In November 1806 , he distributed it around Southwell. His First book Of Poetry -
' Fugitive Pieces ' printed at his expense and anonymously, Collects the Poem inspired by his
early infatuation, Friendships and Experience at Harrow, Cambridge and Elsewhere.
A revised and expurgated Selection of Verses appeared in January 1807 as ' Poems on various
Occasions ' in an edition of 100 Copies , also Printed Privately and anonymously.
' Hours of Idleness ' by Lord Byron was Published in the month of June.
In the Year - 1809 Byron when only twenty one years of age, Started on a tour of Europe
and the Orient. The Poetic results of this trip were the First two Cantos of ' Childe Harold's
Pilgrimage ' , With their Famous descriptions of romantic Poetry,and Scenery. The Work made
him instantly Popular and his Fame Overshadowed Scott's Completely. As he Says himself;
" I awoke One morning to Find myself Famous. "
The Worst element in Byron at this time Was his insincerity, his Continual Posing as the hero
Of his Poetry. His best Works were translated and his Fame Spread almost as rapidly on the
Continent as in England. Even Gothe was deceived , and declared that ;
" A man So Wonderful in Character had never before appeared in literature and Would
never appear again."
So, This is how We can Understand that the literary Career of Lord Byron Flourished during
the Age of Romanticism.
His Works :-
In reading Byron it is Well to remember that he has been a disappointment and embittered
man , not only in his Personal life , but also in his expectation of a general transformation
of human Society. As he Pours Out his Own feelings Chiefly on his Poetry he is the most
expressive Writer of his age in Voicing the discontent of a multitude of Europeans Who were
disappointed at the Failure Of the French Revolution to Produce an entirely new Form Of
Government and Society. One Who Wishes to Understand the Whole Scope of Byron's Genius
and Poetry will do well to begin with his Works of Poems.
Famous Poems :-
The Famous Poems of Lord Byron are as below or Under :-
' Hours of Idleness ' - 1807
' Childe Harold's Pilgrimage' - 1812
' She Walks in beauty ' - 1814
' Beppo ' - 1818
' Don Juan ' - 1819
Lord Byron as a Romantic Poet :-
George Gordon , Lord Byron began Writing Poetry in his First book of verse at the age of 18
and he Continued to write and Publish Poetry until his ultimately death at 36. Although a
lifelong Poet , Lord Byron did not Consider Poetry his primary Vacation; he saw himself as
a man destined to achieve greatness Primarily through helping and the Oppression of Various
Peoples including the Spanish and especially the Greeks.
Byron's Poetry is characterised by the experiment and focuses on emotion Common among
Romantic Poets. He often tempers his avant - garde Selection of subjects with poetic forms which
hark back to older days , Such as heroic verse , Spenserian Stanzas and a rigid rhyme Scheme
to invoke the Classical world he lived in.
Lord Byron 's Poetry also is intensely Personal , Usually filled with autobiographical references.
This self - Portrait is Often Coupled with a sense of the larger World 's Political , moral ,
historical or even natural Situation. Thus , Byron makes his internal Journey either a reflection
of or a cause for the external world 's circumstances.
Byron was Concerned not only with the traditions of Poetry , but also with his legacy in the
Poetic world. This helps explain his extensive self - reference in his works. The reader can develop Some understanding of Byron 's self Concept by looking at his Protagonists.
Through his Poetry, Lord Byron Sought to create a Persona Who possessed qualities. He
may have thought the real - world that George Gordon , Lord Byron lacked.
' Themes of his Poems ' :-
Following are some Important themes in Lord Byron 's poems. They are given below.
So Let's discuss them in detail.
Liberty :-
Several of Lord Byron's Poems , Particularly those based on his travels raise the Problem
of Oppression throughout Europe and defend the necessity of human liberty. His Poem -
' Childe Harold's Pilgrimage' Often digresses into long tirades against Oppressors. These
Poetic reflections bear witness to Byron's experience with battlefields of old , Such as
Waterloo as Present Struggles Such as the Greek Struggle against Ottoman / Turkish
Occupation. Perhaps his most Powerful Statement against Oppression is Found in ' The Prisoner
of Chillon . ' In which he traces the eventual and mental Oppression of a Patriot Who Stood
against the Oppression of his People. To Lord Byron liberty is a right of all human beings ,
While the denial of liberty is one of mankind's greatest Failings.
The Power of Nature :-
To Byron , Nature was a Powerful Complement to human emotion and Civilization. Unlike
Wordsworth who idealised nature and essentially deified it. Byron saw nature more as a
Companion to humanity. Certainly Natural beauty was often Preferable to human evil and
the Problems attendant Upon Civilization , but Byron also recognised nature's dangerous and
harsh elements.
His Poem - ' Childe Harold's Pilgrimage' looks to nature as a refuge from human Conflict ,
but sees there amid the avalanches and Volcanoes the Seething Fury of the natural World.
The Folly of ' love ' :-
Throughout his life Lord Byron Sought the Perfect Object of his affections Which
Paradoxically made him a Fickle and Unstable lover to marry Women and men. His Poetry
reflects this tension although Usually with the Weight being on the Side of Capricious love
. He idealises Women. He Knows in his Opening Stanzas to the First three Cantos of
' Childe Harold's Pilgrimage'. However , the fact that each canto has a different Woman as
its muse Points to infidelity on the part of Byron's Creative genius.
His Poem - ' She Walks in beauty ' Perhaps his most Famous Poem dedicated to an individual
Woman , extols the Virtues of a woman with whom lord Byron was never romantically involved.
This theme recurs throughout Byron's poetry. Finally In ' Don Juan ' Byron mocks the ideal of
love even as his hapless Protagonist falls into various women ' s beds.
Realism in literature :-
Although he was a romantic Poet Byron Saw much of his best Work as descriptions of reality
as it exists , not how it is imagined. Thus, the Subjects of many of his Poems come from history
and Personal experience. ' The Prisoner of Chillon' was inspired by real life imprisonment.
While , 'Childe Harold's Pilgrimage' is more of a biographical travelogue than an adventure tale.
So we can Clearly Understand that these are Some important and major themes in Lord Byron's
Poetry.
Conclusion :-
To Conclude my topic I would like to say that Lord Byron's Personal life was full of griefs and
Sorrows. But , he made his Contribution during the age of Romanticism with his best Works of
Poetry. We can Considered him an important literary Figure and Poet of Romantic age or era.
Work Cited :-
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/. Accessed 7 November 2022.
https://www.gradesaver.com/. Accessed 7 November 2022.
Long, William J. English Literature. AITBS, 2017. Accessed 7 November 2022.
[Word Counts :- 2162]
[Images :- 3]
Thank You…
No comments:
Post a Comment