Born on January 22, 1788 in London Son of Captain John Byron and

Catherine Gordon Could swim, box, and ride horses,

although born with a clubfoot Fame – publication of the first 2 cantos

of Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812-18) Married Annabella Millbanke in 1815 –

daughter named Ada - b. 1815

Catherine Gordon

Annabella Millbanke

Ada

Unhappy marriage Known to have had an affair with his half

sister Augusta Leigh - numerous affairs with both men and women

Created concept of the 'Byronic hero‘ considered to be a Romantic NOT

particularly through style of writing but rather the incarnation of “Romantic”

Contracted a fever and died on April 19, 1824 , a few months after his 36th birthday

Augusta Leigh

Lord Byron on his deathbed as depicted by Joseph-Denis Odevaere

The plot of the poem

poem established Byron's European reputation. describes the voyage and the reflections of a pilgrim (Childe Harold, the

archaic title Childe a youth of gentle birth) turned from an empty life of pleasure now seeking spiritual rebirth.

The first 2 cantos describe his journey through Portugal, Spain, the Ionian Isles, and Albania.

The conclusion of the second canto, a lament that Greece is subject to the tyranny of the Turks – interesting in the light of Byron's subsequent participation in the Greek struggle for freedom,

The plot of the poem

Canto Ⅲ brings the pilgrim to Belgium, the Rhineland, and Switzerland. In each place, he reflects on historical associations – i.e., Waterloo where

Napoleon's ambitions were finally frustrated. The passage in which Harold recreates the battle of Waterloo is one of the

best-known passages in the poem. The description of Alpine scenery in this canto is admirable. The opening

lines of the canto have a peculiar pathos, addressed by Byron to his little daughter whom he had not seen since she was five weeks old and never again to see.

famous are the lines introducing Harold's characteristics – most important point about Harold is that he is a typical Byronic Hero.

The Byronic Hero

men in rebellion against society. lonely individualists, proud and willful. Beneath cynicism and disdain for society in general, are deep

sadness and a pathetic feeling of hopelessness. revolutionary figures rising single-handed against government or

religious, social or moral convention. Such heroes are usually persons with strong passions,

unconquerable wills and inexhaustible energyusually disillusioned in contemporary society and long for a better

life among simpler people less affected by civilization. enemies are generally feudal rulers or Oriental despots. The conflict is one of revolutionary individuals against worn out

social systems and conventions. Characteristics of the Byronic Hero can best be illustrated in the

selected readings.

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage is Romantic in the lavish descriptions and in its emotionalism. Romantic in its emphasis on individualism. Through the presentation of Harold, Byron shows his

emphasis on individualism and love of nature as well as his hatred for and revolt against oppression. Childe Harold – like Byron - is at odds with the world. They suffer. They are blessed (or cursed) with a

sensitivity denied to ordinary mortals. They long for freedom as well as seeking liberty for those who are less fortunate than they are. They love nature and past grandeur – deeply dissatisfied with the present society.

NB - The poem gives us insight into Byron's way of relating to the world. Childe Harold — and the poet who

tells us of the journeys of Childe Harold — is a conscious “literary” creation. In Childe Harold's Pilgrimage

we see Byron inclined to discuss seriously with the reader. ie – adoption of the Spenserian stanza,

traditional form, for a deeply personal topic – his view of the world.

To Ianthe Not in those climes where I have late been straying,

Though Beauty long hath there been matchless deem'd;Not in those visions to the heart displayingForms which it sighs but to have only dream'd,Hath aught like thee in truth or fancy seem'd:Nor, having seen thee, shall I vainly seekTo paint those charms which varied as they beam'd --To such as see thee not my words were weak;To those who gaze on thee what language could they speak?Ah! may'st thou ever be what now thou art, 10Nor unbeseem the promise of thy spring,As fair in form, as warm yet pure in heart,Love's image upon earth without his wing,And guileless beyond Hope's imagining!

And surely she who now so fondly rearsThy youth, in thee, thus hourly brightening,Beholds the rainbow of her future years,Before whose heavenly hues all sorrow disappears.

Young Peri of the West!-'tis well for meMy years already doubly number thine; 20My loveless eye unmov'd may gaze on thee,And safely view thy ripening beauties shine;Happy, I ne'er shall see them in decline,Happier, that while all younger hearts shall bleed,Mine shall escape the doom thine eyes assignTo those whose admiration shall succeed,But mixed with pangs to Love's even loveliest hours decreed.

Oh! let that eye, which, wild as the Gazelle's,Now brightly bold or beautifully shy,Wins as it wanders, dazzles where it dwells, 30Glance o'er this page; nor to my verse denyThat smile for which my breast might vainly sigh,Could I to thee be ever more than friend:This much, dear maid, accord; nor question whyTo one so young my strain I would commend,But bid me with my wreath one matchless lily blend.

Such is thy name with this my verse entwin'd;And long as kinder eyes a look shall castOn Harold's page, Ianthe's here enshrin'dShall thus be first beheld, forgotten last: 40My days once number'd, should this homage pastAttract thy fairy fingers near the lyreOf him who hail'd thee, loveliest as thou wast,Such is the most my memory may desire;Though more than Hope can claim, could Friendship less require?

NATU

RE

In the first Spenserian stanza of this excerpt, the narrator begins by describing the serenity one encounters when absorbed in Nature.

later goes on to mention that being enveloped in Nature causes him to relish it more, and in encountering it, he begins to feel inexpressible emotions.

NATURE

2nd stanza, Narrator directly addresses the Ocean. Childe Harold remarks that the Ocean is taken for granted. He

proclaims that Man’s dominance ends where the shore ends and that shipwrecks are the Ocean’s doing.

Man is indeed nothing in comparison when he is submerged in the depths of the endless sea.

3rd stanza, Childe Harold admires the Ocean for all it has done for him.

He recollects as a child - playing in the sea waves. Points out that if the waves were violent he drew a pleasing

fear from it all. Since he trusted his life to the sea, he had no real fear of it all.

4th – 5th stanza Byron becomes the narrator. In stanza four, he refers that it is time the

poem ends. When he began the Cantos , that spirit within

him, is no more. That glow that lit his spirit is now “fluttering, faint and low” (36).

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, There is a rapture on the lonely shore, There is society, where none intrudes, By the deep sea, and music in its roar: I love not man the less, but Nature more, From these our interviews, in which I steal From all I may be, or have been before, To mingle with the Universe, and feel What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal.

common poetic theme - the desire for wild, lonely places strikes a responsive chord in most people, whether a

wish to be 'closer to nature' or a sense of beauty that cities and people do not satisfy.

Or perhaps it is an extension of (or the cause of) a wanderlust that pervades the entire poem.

“There is a pleasure… There is a rapture… There is society… (1)”

“From these our interviews, in which I steal… From all I may be, or have been before… (6)”

“My task is done – my song hath ceased – my theme has died… (28)” Smoother transitions- Byron’s parallelism occurs mostly

around the beginning of the stanzas, which helps smooth the transition from one stanza to the next.

Emphasis on the ocean and man’s relentless nature- Man is depicted as a brutal force that can only be stopped by the calm, “watery plain” of the ocean.

Emphasis on Byron’s love of the ocean

“…upon the watery plain the wrecks are all thy deed, nor doth remain a shadow of man’s ravage… (14)”

The personification gives life to the ocean, gives it something to place blame on. Byron gives the ocean life so he can accuse it of being just as bad as humanity sometimes, without the conquering aspect.

“…without a grave, unknell’d, uncoffin’d, and unknown. (18)” Heavy emphasis on feeling of dread. This example in

the second stanza gives off a pervading sense of fear, adding onto the helpless feeling in the second stanza.

“He wore his sandal-shoon, and scallop-shell… (43)” Emphasis on the ocean. The second example of

alliteration mentions several beach related items such as shells, scallops, and sandals, reinforcing the ocean theme.

“When, for a moment, like a drop of rain… (16)”

Byron’s simile in the second stanza of the poem serves to, again, further the water/ocean imagery. He describes the raindrop as “sinking to the depths,” and he says this after blaming the ocean for wrecking ships, perhaps saying that the water bears a heavy burden, just as much as humanity does.