LORD BYRON BIOGRAFIA

The second generation of Romantic poetry.

The main themes of this period are: nature, sublime, and the prophet-poet. The main representatives are Lord Byron, Shelley and Keats.
Lord Byron (between Romanticism and satire)
Lord Byron was born in London in 1788. He was born lame and this gave him a sense of inferiority, although he was a man of great personal beauty. He attended Cambridge University. In 1807 he published Hours of Idleness, which was attacked by the “ Edinburgh Review” and he replied with the first of his satirical poems. In 1809 he set out on a long journey and when he returned to England, soon acquired great notoriety. Then he created, thanks to his work, the image for himself as a man tormented by melancholy and scepticism. (then, thanks to his work, he became a man tormented by melancholy and scepticism).

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage di Lord Byron: riassunto in inglese

GEORGE GORDON BYRON: BIOGRAFIA

In 1815 he married Anne Isabella Milbanke but she demanded a separation from her husband and there was a great scandal; Byron was ostracized by London society. He left England and spent the rest of his life abroad. He took part in some political corporations, such as the Carbonari in Italy. In 1824 he died for marsh fever.

She walks in beauty di Lord Byron: testo e traduzione

BYRON OPERE

His literary production consists of lyrics, narrative verse, verse dramas and satirical verse. He also wrote an autobiographical poem, “Child Harold’s Pilgrimage”, in Spenserian stanzas made up of nine lines.

Lord Byron: biografia e opere

DON JUAN LORD BYRON

His most successful work is “Don Juan”, a satirical poem divided into sixteen cantos. It is a humorous poem, full of wit and brilliance but also of pathos and tragedy. With this poem Byron attacks the false respectability and social codes of the time.

Features and themes. His personality and poetry are both romantic and satirical. He was himself a mixture of idealism and rationalism. And so we can distinguish “Byron the romantic” and “Byron the non-romantic”
Byron can be regarded as a romantic in:
-    His life: he was an aristocratic an handsome
-    His worship of liberty and rebellion
-    His titanism, i.e. the exaggeration of wild passions (The top rebel is a very important character)
-    His melancholy
-    His interest in history and nature
-    His taste for exoticism
-    His realization of the Byronic-hero

The Byronic Hero is a mysterious man. Nothing is known about his past except his lineage. He is taciturn and brooding. He can be compared to Milton’s Satan: both have a great courage and finally redeemed by their passion for a woman.