Lord Byron (1788-1824)
Born with deformed feet, Byron is more discussed as a man and underestimated as a poet.
On leaving Cambridge, Byron pursued adventure in Iberia, Malta and the Turkish empire. These travels contributed to the first two cantos of Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage-published in 1812.
‘I woke on morning and found myself famous’, Byron wrote, but the fame was no accident. He never stopped writing, nor being guilty, unrepentant and famous. The poetic autobiographer mentions his love for his daughter and his half-sister, but chiefly displays his sensibility via a travelogue.
Byron worked a crowd with romances and dramatic poems in fluent verse, posting as himself. Only his liberalism, egotism and skepticism were sincere. Having woken up famous, Byron became more than famous. After flinging herself at him, Lady Caroline described him as ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know.
Byron’s distinction and originality is found in his anti-romantic Don Juan. He did not think that the Romantic revolution invalidated rational criticism.
He sealed his European reputation as a rebel by his death while supporting the Greek revolt against the Turks.