George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Bryon
George Gordon Byron who was also known as the 6th Baron Bryon was a British poet who lived from the late 18th to the early 19th Century. A prominent literary figure of the Romantic period that was sweeping through Europe at the time, Lord Byron was perhaps best known for his narrative poetry such as Childe Harold's Pilgrimage and Don Juan.
While Don Juan may have stood out among Byron's impressive body of work, it was actually left unfinished at the time of his death. Nevertheless, this did not adversely affect Byron's legacy as one of the most important European poets and certainly one of the most widely read.
George Byron was born on January 22nd, 1788 in the city of London to Captain John Byron and his second wife, Catherine Gordon, who was the heiress of Gight in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. As was befitting such a colourful character, Byron's family had its share of remarkable personalities as well.
His father was also known as "Mad Jack" Byron and his grandfather Vice-Admiral John Byron, was a seafaring navigator of some renown who was also known as "Foul weather Jack". John Byron was the younger brother of the "Wicked Lord" the 5th Baron Byron and George Gordon Byron himself was descended from King Edward III of England.
It must be said that for all Lord Byron's considerable contributions to the literary world, he was almost equally renowned for his personal life. He was quite a colourful figure and throughout his life he tended to live extravagantly and had many love affairs. He also suffered from isolation for long periods and he was riddled with debt. In addition, charges of incest and sodomy have been levelled against him.
In fact, the Lady Caroline Lamb considered him such a detestable fellow that she has said of Byron that he was "mad, bad, and dangerous to know", in spite of the long stormy relationship that the two had. This affair, which began in 1812, caused quite a stir in the conservative British society and after Byron put an end to it Lamb was distraught and some say never fully recovered.
George Byron travelled extensively throughout most of his life beginning with the customary Grand Tour, which was normally undertaken by young noblemen such as himself. The Napoleonic Wars were brewing in many parts of Europe and Byron subsequently avoided the continent and instead turned his attention towards the Orient. He first went to Albania by way of Spain and after spending some time there, he proceeded on to Athens.
This trip was quite productive for Byron as he wrote the beginnings of his epic Childe Harold's Pilgrimage during this journey. When the first two cantos were first published in 1812 upon returning from his travels, he was pleasantly surprised to find that this work had made him famous. He quickly published the last two cantos of this epic masterpiece and this as well as his tales of the Orient, The Giaour, The Bride of Abydos, The Corsair, and Lara further entrenched Byron into the literary consciousness as a formidable force in the Romantic age.
Byron also made his mark in the field of politics beginning with his position in the House of Lords in 1811. It was during his time there that he distinguished himself with his fervent advocacy of social reform and for being one of the few members of Parliament who pressed for the rights of the Luddites. He also supported the rights of the Catholics, which was an unpopular stance to take during those days.
George Gordon Byron had always included some elements of the risqué in his literary work and as such he was forced to tone down some of the more controversial parts of many of his pieces particularly Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. Ultimately however, he began to feel stifled by the rigid expectations of British society and left the country to live abroad where he could practice his craft in relative freedom. His travels would lead him first to Venice in Italy where he thoroughly immersed himself in Armenian culture by way of the Mekitharist order and later on to Greece where he would eventually die from an illness on April 19th, 1824.Original Authors: Doods Pangburn
Edit Update Authors: M.A.Harris
Updated On: 21/07/2008
