2/3/10
We discussed Lord Byron today in 19th Century British Literature today, and we talked about how that Byron himself was the first "Byronic hero," and how he wasn't happy with the life he was living but saw no alternative that he wanted in the society around him, for various reasons. We had read his poem Manfred for class, and Manfred (Byron's most developed Byronic hero, to my knowledge) is suicidal, unhappy, racked with guilt, and wants nothing to do with either Hell or Heaven (he does believe both exist, and that's a different topic). Anyway, he wants to do everything on his own, forge his own path--and he thinks that he does, but he really doesn't.
So I was pondering over what we had talked about, then grabbed my handy notebook (TIP: Always carry a notebook and pencil or pen with you. It's useful) and wrote a poem about Byron. It's currently untitled and is drawn from my reading of Byron's biography in my textbook and the class discussion. It's still a bit rough, but I thought, "Hey, I'm not going to try and sell my poem response, so I'll share it." Also, I'll probably still tweak it.
Byron was an unhappy man,
A self-tortured, sensitive seeker,
Racked and pained with guilt.
He wandered to and fro in many lands
But never found that something better,
That something beautiful and full of lilt.
He was trained in the way to go
But departed from it while young and old.
He mocked himself and mourned his losses
But envied those who bore none of his woe.
All his life he pretended to be bold
And that neither Heaven nor Hell were his bosses
But he never realized that true honest joy
Comes from a surrendered self and real repentance
And trust in a forgiving God.
Instead Byron chose to treat life as a toy
And chose agony as a sort of dark penance,
Spurning both green leas and guiding rod.
I admire his poetry, for he knew how to write,
But I wonder what he'd of written if untortured by fright.
-Ashlee
I don't know. I feel that many of Byron's issues stem from his sexual confusion. It's like he had no filter whatsoever when it came to physical attraction. For instance his half-sister is rumored to be the topic of the poem She Walks in Beauty, and there's some compelling evidence that he did have a sexual relationship with her, which eventually led to his exile abroad. It did become a major scandal.
ReplyDeleteThere are also some (what I consider to be) convincing claims that he was bisexual. And trusting in God wouldn't likely have any effect on that. Shrug.
Hopefully you don't mind my comments. It's an interesting poem. :)
Actually, I think it was a whole combination of things, which did include the fact that it seems as if Byron was addicted to sex in any form. My textbook mentions that, in one year, he had over 200 liasions.
ReplyDeleteAugusta (his half-sister) is not the inspiration of "She Walks in Beauty," but a sister-in-law he saw at a party (said so in the footnotes to the poem). But, yes, his incestous relationship with Augusta did lead to his departure from England.
But Manfred did have such a relationship (at least, it was hinted at), and one of the reasons I think what I do is because in that poem, Manfred and an Abbot (to my knowledge, a type of priest) are talking, and the Abbot is practically asking him to pray to God (without saying it in those words) and Manfred refuses. These spirits show up to take Manfred away, and Manfred refuses to go with them. The Abbot tries to fight them off, but they cut him off saying something like We know what you're about to say, and it would usually work, but "this man is forfeited" and we're going to take him. (The part is quotes is a direct quotation of what they say. So that's part of why I'm thinking what I do.
Also, everyone's going to interpret things differently, and so it's great to read what someone else thinks (and also, I agree with you!).
I really appreciated your comments!