Biography Category
Name :
Lord Byron
Date :
Views :
543
Category :
Birth Date :
22/01/1788
Birth Place :
London, England
Death Date :
1824
[b]Bryon[/b] came from two high-strung, out of control families with reputations for irresponsible behavior and violence. His father, an army captain and playboy known as "Mad Jack," ravished the fortunes of two heiresses. He left his second wife, Byron's mother, to raise their three-year-old son in poverty. She is said to have been passionate, arrogant, and somewhat crazy. Still, she showered her child with love and affection. [br /]
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The period of history between the years 1780 and 1830 is known as The Romantic Age. During this time frame, many of the most note worthy English writers turned their backs on the value systems, ideas and way way of life of the preceding Age of Reason and it’s emphasis on tradition, common sense, and reasonability. Romantics believed those ideas had caused a limitation of vision, creativity and idealism. Emphasis began being placed on the individual, rather than society as a whole. Both life and literanture took a more adventurous and imaginative approach.[br /]
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At the core of the Romantic Age was a poet like none since. His name was George Gordon, though he is most commonly referred to as Lord Byron.[br /]
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Strikingly attractive and known for his wicked reputation and free thinking, Byron embodied in his life and in his writings the figure afterward known as the "Byronic hero." A moody, scandalous individual, Byron was self-exiled from society after exhausting all possible forms of human excitement. Tormented by secret past sins, he represents the quintessential "bad boy."[br /]
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His poem, "When We Two Parted," is an excellent example of Byron’s poetry style and of the Romantic Age in general. It is full of passion and turbulence. It follows: [br /]
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"When we two parted [br /]
In silence and tears,[br /]
Half broken-hearted [br /]
To sever for years, [br /]
Pale grew thy cheek and cold,[br /]
Colder thy kiss;[br /]
Truly that hour foretold [br /]
Sorrow to this. [br /]
The dew of the morning [br /]
Sunk chill on my brow - [br /]
It felt like the warning[br /]
Of what I feel now. [br /]
Thy vows are all broken,[br /]
And light is thy fame; [br /]
I hear thy name spoken,[br /]
And share in its shame. [br /]
They name thee before me,[br /]
A knell to mine ear; [br /]
A shudder comes o'er me - [br /]
Why wert thou so dear?[br /]
They know not I knew thee, [br /]
Who knew thee too well - [br /]
Long, long shall I rue thee [br /]
Too deeply to tell. [br /]
In secret we met - [br /]
In silence I grieve,[br /]
That thy heart could forget,[br /]
Thy spirit deceive.[br /]
If I should meet thee [br /]
After long years,[br /]
How should I greet thee? -[br /]
With silence and tears."[br /]
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[br /]
[br /]
At the core of the Romantic Age was a poet like none since. His name was George Gordon, though he is most commonly referred to as Lord Byron.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Strikingly attractive and known for his wicked reputation and free thinking, Byron embodied in his life and in his writings the figure afterward known as the "Byronic hero." A moody, scandalous individual, Byron was self-exiled from society after exhausting all possible forms of human excitement. Tormented by secret past sins, he represents the quintessential "bad boy."[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
His poem, "When We Two Parted," is an excellent example of Byron’s poetry style and of the Romantic Age in general. It is full of passion and turbulence. It follows: [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
"When we two parted [br /]
In silence and tears,[br /]
Half broken-hearted [br /]
To sever for years, [br /]
Pale grew thy cheek and cold,[br /]
Colder thy kiss;[br /]
Truly that hour foretold [br /]
Sorrow to this. [br /]
The dew of the morning [br /]
Sunk chill on my brow - [br /]
It felt like the warning[br /]
Of what I feel now. [br /]
Thy vows are all broken,[br /]
And light is thy fame; [br /]
I hear thy name spoken,[br /]
And share in its shame. [br /]
They name thee before me,[br /]
A knell to mine ear; [br /]
A shudder comes o'er me - [br /]
Why wert thou so dear?[br /]
They know not I knew thee, [br /]
Who knew thee too well - [br /]
Long, long shall I rue thee [br /]
Too deeply to tell. [br /]
In secret we met - [br /]
In silence I grieve,[br /]
That thy heart could forget,[br /]
Thy spirit deceive.[br /]
If I should meet thee [br /]
After long years,[br /]
How should I greet thee? -[br /]
With silence and tears."[br /]
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Excitement, deception, eternal heart ache, shame, broken vows... It is unknown who Byron wrote the poem for. The piece leaves the reader wondering who could have inspired such deep emotion from this very exciting man.[br /]
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One particular poem allows the reader to glimpse Byron’s playful and seductive nature. He wrote it from the voice of an Italian nun to an English gentleman. It follows.
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One particular poem allows the reader to glimpse Byron’s playful and seductive nature. He wrote it from the voice of an Italian nun to an English gentleman. It follows.
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After several love affairs, he married the nobly born, very proper Annabella Milbanke in an attempt to gain respect and stability. After only a year of marriage, Annabella decided Byron was crazy and returned to her parents with their newborn daughter. The circumstances of their separation scandalized English society and resulted in Byron's decision, in 1816, to leave England forever.[br /]
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In spite of being "half mad during the time...between metaphysics, mountains, lakes, love inextinguishable, thoughts unutterable, and the nightmare of my own delinquencies," Byron produced some of the greatest poetry ever written.[br /]
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[b]Byron[/b] is not only a legend, but a paradox - a rebel and an aristocrat, an idealist and a cynic, a outrageous playboy to his countrymen and a hero to the Greeks, to whose war of liberation from Turkish rule his money and energies were committed during the months before his death.[br /]
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[b]Byron[/b] died from fever in 1824, at the premature age of thirty-six.[br /]
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Today, his passion lives on, seducing those who take the time to read his legendary works. His words - so seductive, full of suffering and deep, raw emotion - provide us with a straight glimpse into the soul of not only an exciting man, but an exciting period of history. [br /]
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In spite of being "half mad during the time...between metaphysics, mountains, lakes, love inextinguishable, thoughts unutterable, and the nightmare of my own delinquencies," Byron produced some of the greatest poetry ever written.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]Byron[/b] is not only a legend, but a paradox - a rebel and an aristocrat, an idealist and a cynic, a outrageous playboy to his countrymen and a hero to the Greeks, to whose war of liberation from Turkish rule his money and energies were committed during the months before his death.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]Byron[/b] died from fever in 1824, at the premature age of thirty-six.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Today, his passion lives on, seducing those who take the time to read his legendary works. His words - so seductive, full of suffering and deep, raw emotion - provide us with a straight glimpse into the soul of not only an exciting man, but an exciting period of history. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]Bryon[/b] came from two high-strung, out of control families with reputations for irresponsible behavior and violence. His father, an army captain and playboy known as "Mad Jack," ravished the fortunes of two heiresses. He left his second wife, Byron's mother, to raise their three-year-old son in poverty. She is said to have been passionate, arrogant, and somewhat crazy. Still, she showered her child with love and affection.[br /]
[br /]
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At the age of ten, the boy became the sixth Lord Byron when his great uncle died. Byron inherited a fortune and the estate of Newstead Abbey. He was soon enrolled at Harrow, where he was recognized as a fine athlete and leader, but a merely indifferent student. At seventeen, Byron entered Cambridge. He did well in both Latin and Greek, excelled in swimming and boxing, and had already fallen in love twice. After graduation, he took the customary Grand tour of Europe.[br /]
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Returning to London at the age of twenty-three, Byron published the first two cantos of "Childe Harold," which immediately shot him up the ladder of success and popularity.[br /]
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As a favorite of London society, Byron gained the reputation of being "mad, bad, and dangerous to know." He dressed as he felt a poet should and cultivated a deliberately mysterious air.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
At the age of ten, the boy became the sixth Lord Byron when his great uncle died. Byron inherited a fortune and the estate of Newstead Abbey. He was soon enrolled at Harrow, where he was recognized as a fine athlete and leader, but a merely indifferent student. At seventeen, Byron entered Cambridge. He did well in both Latin and Greek, excelled in swimming and boxing, and had already fallen in love twice. After graduation, he took the customary Grand tour of Europe.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Returning to London at the age of twenty-three, Byron published the first two cantos of "Childe Harold," which immediately shot him up the ladder of success and popularity.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
As a favorite of London society, Byron gained the reputation of being "mad, bad, and dangerous to know." He dressed as he felt a poet should and cultivated a deliberately mysterious air.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
"Away, away, your flattering arts[br /]
[br /]
May now betray some simpler hearts; [br /]
[br /]
And you will smile at their believing,[br /]
[br /]
And they shall weep at your deceiving." [br /]
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Then, the gentleman's answer to the nun:[br /]
[br /]
"Dear, simple girl, those flattering arts,[br /]
[br /]
From which thou'dst guard frail female hearts,[br /]
[br /]
Exist but in imagination -[br /]
[br /]
Mere phantoms of thine own creation;[br /]
[br /]
For he who views that witching grace,[br /]
[br /]
That perfect form, that lovely face,[br /]
[br /]
With eyes admiring, oh! believe me,[br /]
[br /]
He never wishes to deceive thee:[br /]
[br /]
Once in thy polish'd mirror glance,[br /]
[br /]
Thou'lt there descry that elegance [br /]
[br /]
Which from our sex demands such praises, [br /]
[br /]
But envy in the other raises: [br /]
[br /]
Then he who tells thee of thy beauty,[br /]
[br /]
Believe me, only does his duty: [br /]
[br /]
Ah! fly not from the candid youth; [br /]
[br /]
It is not flattery, - ‘tis truth." [br /]
[br /]
Byron certainly had a way with words![br /]
[br /]
But who was he? [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
May now betray some simpler hearts; [br /]
[br /]
And you will smile at their believing,[br /]
[br /]
And they shall weep at your deceiving." [br /]
[br /]
Then, the gentleman's answer to the nun:[br /]
[br /]
"Dear, simple girl, those flattering arts,[br /]
[br /]
From which thou'dst guard frail female hearts,[br /]
[br /]
Exist but in imagination -[br /]
[br /]
Mere phantoms of thine own creation;[br /]
[br /]
For he who views that witching grace,[br /]
[br /]
That perfect form, that lovely face,[br /]
[br /]
With eyes admiring, oh! believe me,[br /]
[br /]
He never wishes to deceive thee:[br /]
[br /]
Once in thy polish'd mirror glance,[br /]
[br /]
Thou'lt there descry that elegance [br /]
[br /]
Which from our sex demands such praises, [br /]
[br /]
But envy in the other raises: [br /]
[br /]
Then he who tells thee of thy beauty,[br /]
[br /]
Believe me, only does his duty: [br /]
[br /]
Ah! fly not from the candid youth; [br /]
[br /]
It is not flattery, - ‘tis truth." [br /]
[br /]
Byron certainly had a way with words![br /]
[br /]
But who was he? [br /]
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