Byron
...05. Byron told his friend, Thomas Medwin that all his “fables about the celestial nature of women” originated from the “perfection” his imagination created in Mary Chaworth (Greenfield 42). In 1880, the death of his cousin Margaret Parker inspired his “On the Death of a Young Lady.” Throughout his life, poetry would serve as a catharsis of strong emotion. From 1807 to 1816, he composed “The Adieu”, “Stanzas to a Lady On Leaving England” and “The Dream.” In 1803, Byron prepared his verses for publication in Southwell where his mother moved. In 1804, Byron began a correspondence with his half sister, Augusta, who was five years older than he. As he grew apart from his often-violent mother, he drew closer to Augusta. At Trinity College and Cambridge University from July of 1805 to July of 1808, he received an M.A. degree. He developed a love for a choirboy two years younger than he named John Endleston. In London, he enjoyed fencing and boxing lessons, the theater and gambling over “intellectual pursuits” (Greenfield 43). It was in living extravagantly in London that he accumulated debts that would follow him for years to come. In November of 1806, he distributed around Southwell his first book of poetry, which was inspired by early infatuations, friendships, and experiences at Harrow, Cambridge and elsewhere. In January of 1807 he received criticism about the “frank eroticism” of certain lines by his literary advisor, Rev. John Thomas Becher. He revised and expurgated certain lines and published “Poems on Various Occasions” (Greenfield 44). In February of 1808, a Whig Journal, The Edinburgh Review, published negative criticism against Byron. Byron was infuriated. He composed British Bards, an avengement and satire against those critics. Bryon writes, “Time was, ere yet in these degenerate days / Ignoble themes obtain'd mistaken praise” (Clements 764). In the Dictionary of Literary Biography, John R. Greenfield states that in March of 1809, Byron took a seat in the House of Lords. By July of 1809, Byron, still in debt, began a tour of the eastern Mediterranean. He sailed from England to Albania. In Albania, he met an effective ruler named Ali Pasha who later represented the ruthless villain Byron later drew up as “Lambro” in Don Juan. He fell in love with the 12-year-old daughter of Trasia Macri, whom he lodged with, Theresa. Theresa served as inspiration for his “Maid of Athens.” In 1810, Byron vented anti-Turkish sentiments in “The Isles of Greece” and in Don Juan, Childe Harold Canto II and “The Curse of Minerva.” Byron was sorry for the Greeks enslavement and despoliation by the Turks. He finished Child Harold in Turkey. The second Canto incorporated adventures in Albania and his thoughts in Greece. During two months in Constantinople, his distaste for the Turks grew. In March of 1811, he wrote two poems attacking Lord Elgin for pillaging Greece’s heritage. Both of these poems exemplify Byron’s sympathy of Greece, the people and their culture. Upon returning to England, he entered into a period of prolonged mourning with the death of his mother and of John Endleston. These deaths were the inspiration for “To Thyrza”, “Away, away, ye Notes of Woe”, “One struggle more” and “I am Free.” In January of 1812, Byron resumed a seat in the House of Lords where he often took unpopular stances. Later in the year, Publisher, John Murray, published Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. Five hundred copies sold out in 3 days. Byron said, “I awoke one morning and found myself famous” (Greenfield 47). It received acclaim from critics. Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage can be read as Byron’s travelogue of his Mediterranean and eastern tour from 1809 – 1811. In Child Harold’s Pilgrimage, there are similarities between the character of “Harold” and Byron, although Byron labeled him as a fictitious character. “In Harold, Bryon had created a new and significant character type which reappeared in almost all his heroes” (Greenfield 48). “Harold” is considered the first Byronic Hero. The Byronic Hero is described as exhibiting “melancholy guilt for secret sin, pride, defiance, restlessness, alienation, revenge, remorse, moodiness along with noble virtues such as honor, courage, and pure love for a gentle woman…Meditating on ruins, death, and the vanity of life. The Byronic Hero is the man of feeling, concerned with the suffering caused by war or oppression” (Clements 764). “Harold” reflects Byron’s occasional melancholy and loneliness. In April 1814, Augusta gave birth to a little girl, Elizabeth Medora, “Ada.” Hebrew Melodies held much personal religious appeal for Byron. Several of his verses are reflective of the Old Testament and are often described as reflective love song pieces, such as “She walks in Beauty.” It was written after Byron saw a cousin at a party wearing a mourning dress with spangles on it. In 1815 Byron began drinking fanatically, which led to irrational behavior. Lady Byron concluded her husband was mentally ill and listed his symptoms to physicians. In Don Juan, “Donna Inez” is based on Lady Byron. Byron writes, “ She called some druggist and physicians / and tried to prove her loving lord was mad” (Greenfield 51). In February, Lady Byron and Ada, his daughter, left Byron. In March and April, terms for legal separation were agreed upon Byron, as usual turned to poetry to purge his broodings and guilt of the separation, Augusta, and his exile. The catharsis assumed a form new to him, blank-verse drama, where he would write in dialogue. Saddened by the departure of his daughter, Byron themes reflect his sorrow and loneliness. Byron left England never to return. He met with Shelley in Ostend....