Lord George Gordon Byron 1788-1824 Achievements  Considered the most notorious of the major romantic poets.  He is regarded as one of the greatest British poets and remains widely read and influential, both in the English-speaking world and beyond.  He attended many schools and colleges.  Had many famous/well known poems including, When We Two Parted, Darkness, The Eve of Waterloo and There Be None of Beauty’s Daughters. Interesting Facts  It was alleged he had sex with over 250 women over the course of a year while in Venice.  He fell in love with a man named John Edleston while at school.  He fell ill a few days before he planned to attack a Turkish Fortress. He died before he could attack the Fortress.  He was born with a club foot and became extremely sensitive about his lameness. More Interesting Facts  Byron was beaten as a child and this may have     caused some of his crazy ways as an adult. He owned a bear, fox, monkeys, parrot, eagle, crocodile, falcon, peacock, badger, and his favorite his Newfoundland dog named Boatswain. He was accused of having sex with animals but it was never proven. He changed his name on more than one occasion. He had many affairs throughout his entire life. Lord Byron  Due to his crazy life his poetry is a little bit overlooked.  He was somewhat of a sex addict because he would have sex with anything he could get his hands on.  He was a guy who based everything in his life off of sex, meaning everything he did was about sex or for sex. Early Life  His first loves were for 2 of his distant cousins.  He changed his name multiple times in order to claim his wife’s estate, his mother- in- law’s estate and to become a noble.  At the age of 10 Lord George Byron inherited the title and estates of his great-uncle the “wicked” Lord Byron.  When he was in Harrow, where his friendships with younger boys fostered a romantic attachment to the school. This is thought to be what began a love for sex for Byron. Middle Life  After a term at Trinity College Byron ended up going     extremely broke. In November of 1806 he got some of his early poems privately published with the title Fugitive Pieces. The next June his first public collection of poetry was Hours of Idleness, and it received bad reviews. Joined the House Of Lords and made his first speech in February of 1812. He was ionized in the Whig Society being called “the handsome poet with the club foot”. Later Life  Lady Byron gave birth to a daughter Augusta Ada.  His wife left him and never came back so Byron got separation papers.  After a long creative period Byron became to feel that action was more important than poetry.  He then sailed to Greece so he could support them in their battle. His Death  Lord George Gordon Byron died of     a fever on April 19, 1824. This happened while he was in Missolonghi, Greece supporting their troops in battle. He died before he could see any action in battle. Their were memorial services held all over the land to celebrate Byron’s life. Finally Byron’s coffin was placed in the family vault at Hucknall Torkard. Romantic Poetry  Emphasized intuition over reason. They preferred more naturalistic things rather than new and contemporary things.  Many were Epic Poems, lengthy narrative poems. Bryon’s Poetry  Byron wrote his poems in the form of cantos.  The canto was a popular form of division in long poems and epics during the romantic period.  Byron’s most favored rhyme scheme was of a basic ABAB type.  He wrote his poems in stanzas of differing lengths: Anywhere from 4 to 12 line stanzas. More  He wrote a lot, producing many poems over short periods of time.  Though his work is considered Romantic, much of it makes connections to the Satiric Period of poetry.  He wrote his major poems from 1806 to 1823. Romanticism  Byron was one of the “Big Six” figures who       supposedly formed the core of the Romantic Poetry movement. They were: William Blake William Wordsworth Samuel Taylor Coleridge Lord Byron Percy Bysshe Shelley John Keats Poetry  Byron’s poetry connected to his life in a major way.  His life was all about sex and his poetry was all about sex.  It is hard to connect his poetry to the time period because even though it is considered in the Romantic time period it had a lot of similarities with the Satiric time period. “SHE WALKS IN BEAUTY”  SHE walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that 's best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes: Thus mellow'd to that tender light 5 Which heaven to gaudy day denies. One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impair'd the nameless grace Which waves in every raven tress, Or softly lightens o'er her face; 10 Where thoughts serenely sweet express How pure, how dear their dwelling-place. And on that cheek, and o'er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow, 15 But tell of days in goodness spent, A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent! “She Walks In Beauty”  Written in 1814. It was made into a Jewish Song in 1815.  Written after Byron had seen a lady in a black dress in a ball room.  But it was really referring to his half sister Augusta!  One of Byron’s most famous poems. “She Walks in Beauty” Rhyme Scheme, Syllable Count, and Theme • Rhyme Scheme: ABABABCDCDCD EFEFEF • Syllable Count: Each line had 8 syllables. • Themes: Physical and Inner Beauty; Admiration “She Walks In Beauty” • Words the Matter: soft, calm, glow- these words symbolize how the woman has a serenity and goodness to her that he finds attractive • Breakdown: It is about his love for his cousin. The poem is also about how he is trying to convince the woman into loving him, and to do dirty things with him. • The poem was received badly, most likely because he wrote it about his cousin. Works Cited  http://albabyron.tripod.com/  http://englishhistory.net/byron/life.html  http://www.bartleby.com/101/600.html  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Gordon_Byron,_6     th_Baron_Byron http://www.online-literature.com/byron/ http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id =81299 http://www.poemhunter.com/lord-george-gordonbyron/ http://www.online-literature.com/byron/