What did George Byron write? Great poets

George Byron - famous English poet of the first half of the 19th century century. His creativity went beyond English literature and had a huge impact on world poetry. He belonged to the generation of so-called younger romantics. The peak of development of this literary movement is associated with his name. The poet's poetry was extremely popular in Russia in the 1820s, influencing many authors, including A. Pushkin, M. Lermontov and many others.

Youth

George Byron was born in 1788 into an impoverished noble family. By the time he was born, the family had almost no property. However, in adolescence future famous poet received the title of lord and estate from his distant relative. He studied at a classical gymnasium, then at the prestigious Cambridge University.

According to the recollections of contemporaries, George Byron was not interested in his studies, did not study very well, but was interested in English classical literature. He loved to read and became familiar with the works of all the famous authors of that time. George Byron had an extremely impressionable character, was extremely amorous and sociable. Interesting facts from his biography include the wish he once expressed to his friends to contract consumption, since it made people pale, which was the case at that time of the dominance of romanticism in fashion.

In 1807, he published his first essay, Leisure Hours, which was severely criticized. It was a hard blow for the young author. Nevertheless, two years later he published his answer, “English Bards and Scottish Critics,” which brought him fame and popularity.

Travel and first success

George Byron traveled a lot. In 1809, he visited many European countries, as well as Asia Minor. He embodied his impressions from this trip in his famous poem about Childe Harold.

Many critics see autobiographical themes in this work, although the author himself denied this. Nevertheless, this work, the first parts of which were published in 1812, was a resounding success. The poet himself did not expect such ardent and sympathetic interest in his book.

George Byron initially conceived his work as a narrative in verse about the wanderings of a hero, disillusioned with social life, satiated with pleasures and entertainment. And indeed, at first the young aristocrat, who is tired of the empty fuss of high society, sets out on a journey. At the same time, the author does not skimp on dark colors when depicting his character. Under the poet's pen, Childe Harold appears as a gloomy, thoughtful and even somewhat cynical young man.

However, gradually his image recedes into the background, and the author’s attention concentrates on the depiction of those countries that his hero visited. The poet describes the nature, customs, and morals of various peoples.

Ideas

Byron George Gordon became known throughout the world as an author who glorified the people's struggle for freedom and independence. It is this theme that runs like a red thread throughout the entire poem about Childe Harold. The poet focuses on the wars of the Spaniards and Greeks against their enslavers. This topic sets the tone for descriptions of nature and types of people. The author draws a contrast between the gloomy, disillusioned protagonist and the pictures of the reality around him. The work had a great influence on Russian literature. Echoes of the poem can be found in the novels “Eugene Onegin” and “Hero of Our Time”. In the first half of the century, many young people were seriously interested in the poet’s work.

"Eastern Poems"

Byron George Gordon immediately became famous after the publication of his work about Childe Harold. He made acquaintances, including the famous songwriter and ballad writer T. Moore. He began to lead a social life. This period became one of the most fruitful in his career. In 1813-1816, several of his works were published, the action of which takes place in the East. These works are united by the fact that their main actor becomes a rebel man, a social renegade who challenges the world around him.

The action takes place against the backdrop of the sea or exotic oriental nature, which the author described based on his travels in Greece, Turkey, Albania. One more characteristic feature poems is that their action is somewhat fragmentary. As a rule, the author takes as the basis of the plot some expressive colorful episode of the struggle, without explaining either the motives or the reasons for what happened. Nevertheless, despite these omissions, the audience was delighted with the poet’s oriental songs.

New type of hero

George Byron, whose works opened a new stage in the development of romanticism, created a special character - a rebel and rebel. As a rule, the author did not reveal his biography to the reader and did not say anything about his past.

Such, for example, is Conrad, the main character of the famous poem “The Corsair”. The author endowed him with such charisma that readers did not even think about these questions. The hero fought against society with such passion and strength, overcame obstacles with such tenacity and bitterness that all the attention of the story was concentrated exclusively around him alone.

George Noel Gordon Byron made the theme of revenge the main leitmotif of his works. This is the basis of the plot of his other work from the cycle “The Bride of Abydos”.

Marriage and divorce

In 1815, the poet married Anna Milbank, the granddaughter of a wealthy and influential English baronet. It was a brilliant game, which was considered very successful in secular society. The couple lived happily together for one year and had a daughter, Ada. However, unexpectedly, the poet’s wife left him, after which a strange divorce followed, the reasons for which still remain unknown.

George Gordon Byron, whose biography calls this period in his life the most unsuccessful, had a hard time with the departure of his wife and the divorce, which was accompanied by a public scandal. He wrote a farewell poem and dedicated it ex-wife. Published without the poet’s knowledge, it strengthened negative attitude society towards him, so that he was forced to leave England.

New journey

In 1816, the poet settled in Switzerland. Here he wrote the third song about the wanderings of Childe Harold. Inspired by the magnificent views of nature, he conceives new romantic poems.

The following year he already lives in Italy, where he leads a rather carefree social life, which, however, did not affect his work. In 1817-1818, George Byron wrote new poems one after another. A short biography of the poet must necessarily include a point stating that his travels had a great influence on his works. During the period under review he wrote new song about Childe Harold, the poems “Beppo”, “Don Juan” and others.

Life in 1819-1821

This period of time was very eventful for the poet. The impetus for a new creative upsurge was the love of the famous author for Countess Griccioli. It was during the period of acquaintance with her that he wrote many works. From his pen come songs and poems on historical, adventure, and adventurous themes. George Byron, whose biography is full of various events, was an extremely emotional and impressionable person, but he could not enjoy a calm and serene life for long: he soon decided to leave for Greece, where at the time in question there was a war of independence.

Participation in the uprising

An interesting fact in the poet’s biography is undoubtedly his trip to Greece to help the rebels. He built a ship at his own expense and set off for this country. The poet sold all his property in England, and donated the proceeds to the rebels for their struggle against Turkish rule. George Gordon Byron did a lot to reconcile the conflicting interests of uncoordinated groups. The poet's poems reflect his freedom-loving aspirations and also glorify freedom.

During this period he wrote a number of works on the theme of struggle Greek people for freedom. One of them is “Last words about Greece.” In this poem, the author confesses his love for this country and speaks of his readiness to die for it. He also translated the “Song of the Greek Rebels” by the poet Constantine Rigas, who also participated in the uprising, was captured by the Turks and was executed.

Death

George Byron, whose poems are distinguished by freedom-loving motives and some pathos, devoted all his strength and capabilities to the cause of the rebels. At this time he fell ill with a fever. In addition, he was worried about the painful condition of his daughter Ada. During one of his walks, the poet caught a cold, and this led to a complication of the illness. In the spring of 1924, the poet died. He was only 37 years old.

After the autopsy, doctors removed the poet’s organs and embalmed them. They decided to place the larynx and lungs in the Church of St. Spyridon, but they were stolen from there. In July 1924, Byron's embalmed body arrived in England, where it was buried in the family crypt in Nottinghamshire.

Features of creativity

The author's works were based on his personal impressions. Travel often served as a source of inspiration for him. He described the nature, customs and history of the countries he visited. Oriental themes were of particular importance to him. The pathos of freedom and struggle permeates all his works, especially the mentioned poem by George Byron “The Corsair”, which is considered one of best essays era of romanticism. In addition to rebellious works, the poet also wrote a lot on political topics. Being a man of his time and acutely reacting to the events taking place around him, he spoke out sharply in defense of the weak and oppressed.

The poet, sitting in the House of Lords, often made heated speeches in which he denounced the policies of the rich classes, which lead to the ruin of the common people. This theme is also reflected in his poems. For example, his “Song to the Luddites” is famous. In many of his poems he ridiculed famous politicians, legislators. So, the poet’s work was multifaceted: he wrote in the most different genres and on various topics, which indicates the extraordinary nature of his talent.

Poems about freedom

In 1817, the poet wrote two works that can be considered programmatic in his work. One of them is called “The Prisoner of Chillon”. In this work, the author, through the mouth of his hero, reflects on the relationship between will and captivity and leads the reader to an unexpected conclusion: his character considers being in prison better than freedom, which seems unknown to him. Another work, “Don Juan,” is interesting because in it the poet for the first time moved away from his usual gloomy style and allowed himself to be cheerful. His hero is distinguished by ease and spontaneity, he is funny and considers himself right in everything. His work is very different from the small tragedy of the same name by A. Pushkin, which is more serious and dramatic.

Historical topics

In 1818, the author published the poem "Mazeppa". In it he presented a romantic image of the Ukrainian hetman. The details of his biography were greatly changed by him under the influence of the work of the French educator. A. Pushkin, who also addressed the events of this period, noted in his comments that the poet greatly embellished the events, but did it so talentedly and expressively that his work can be considered one of the best in romantic literature. The poem was subsequently freely translated by Lermontov.

Sentimental lyrics

The author united works on this topic into a well-known cycle called “Jewish Melodies.” The poems are distinguished by their special insight and subtle lyricism. If the poems are permeated with a dramatic spirit, the pathos of struggle, then these works of the author, on the contrary, are written in a very restrained tone, which gives the author’s lyrics a special sincerity. Much attention the poet devoted to paintings of nature. But this time he does not describe majestic landscapes, but recreates peaceful and quiet sketches of the reality around him. One of the best poems in this cycle is the composition “Sun of the Sleepless.” In it, the poet describes the night and the moon.

Influence on world literature

Byron's works were of great importance for further development art. In fact, his writings set the tone in world prose and poetry for several decades, and even after the fashion for “Byronism” passed, his poems and poems remained the standard of elegant language and impeccable taste.

Byron's work was very well known in Russia. He was imitated not only famous poets(Pushkin, Lermontov), ​​but also many representatives of the intelligentsia. Based on his work, P. Tchaikovsky wrote his famous symphonic poem. Byron was very popular in the countries Western Europe. The term “Byronic hero” even appeared in the literature of that time. The famous French novelist A. Dumas referred to him. So, the poet’s works had a huge influence on European and Russian culture.

George Gordon Byron was born on January 22, 1788, in London. His parents were impoverished aristocrats. In adolescence, he first studied at a private school, then was transferred to a classical gymnasium.

In 1798, George's grandfather died. Young Byron inherited the title of lord and family estate. A year later, the boy entered Dr. Gleny's school to study. There he studied until 1801. During his studies he had no interest in “ dead languages”, but he avidly read the works of all the prominent representatives of English literature.

The beginning of a creative journey

Byron's first book was published in 1807. It was called “Leisure Hours.” The collection of poems by the young poet caused a wave of criticism. Such sharp rejection prompted Byron to respond with a second book.

“English Bards and Scottish Critics” was published in 1809. The incredible success of the second book flattered the vanity of the aspiring writer.

Creativity flourishes

On February 27, 1812, a kind of turning point occurred in Byron’s biography. In the House of Lords he made his first speech, which was a huge success. On March 1, the poet created the first two songs of his new poem “Childe Harold.”

This work was favorably received by both critics and readers. Already on the first day, 14 thousand copies were sold. This put the young poet on a par with famous English writers.

In 1821, the poet negotiated with M. Shelley. Together they planned to publish the magazine “Liberal”. Only three issues were published.

Byron's work was unique even for its time. Some critics called him a “gloomy egoist.” In his poems he special place took it to himself. At the same time, the poet clearly saw that romantic ideals did not correspond to reality. For this reason, gloomy notes were often heard in his works.

Outside England

In 1816, Byron left his homeland. He traveled a lot and lived for a long time in Switzerland and Venice. This time was the most fruitful. He created such works as “Dante’s Prophecy”, “Cain”, “Werner” and several parts of “Don Juan”.

last years of life

Studying a short biography of George Byron , we can conclude that he was a passionate person, not indifferent to any injustice. He was deeply concerned social issues not only in his native England, but also beyond its borders.

That is why on July 14, 1823, Byron, having heard about the uprising in Greece, went there. Having ordered the sale of all his property in England, he donated all the money to the rebels. It was thanks to his talent that the previously warring factions of Greek revolutionaries were able to unite.

In Missolonghi the poet fell ill with a severe fever. He passed away on April 19, 1824. The poet's body was sent to his homeland and buried not far from Newstead Abbey, in the family crypt of Hunkell-Torkard.

Other biography options

• As a teenager, Byron did poorly at school. At the same time, he managed to become known as a subtle connoisseur of English literature.
• While studying at Cambridge, he paid more attention to entertainment than to studies. Being lame and prone to obesity, he was fond of sports. Byron was a great shot, knew how to box, swim well and stay in the saddle.
• Even as a child, Byron experienced the pangs of love. None of the “objects” reciprocated his feelings, which made him suffer greatly.
• Byron was a good-natured man, but he could not hide his irritation at the sight of the salt shaker.

The article is devoted short biography George Gordon Byron - one of the greatest representatives of romanticism, English poet.

Brief biography of Byron: early life

Byron was born in 1788. He belonged to an ancient aristocratic family and lived in an ancestral castle. Since childhood, Byron was tormented by a congenital defect - lameness. This had an impact on the formation of the character of a young man striving to achieve self-affirmation. In addition, Byron's family was noble, but impoverished, and he had to make his own way in life. George received an excellent education at college and continued his studies at Cambridge University. Byron paid little attention to his studies, preferring to read more and play sports, horse riding, trying to surpass his peers in everything. He started writing poetry early. The first publications were subjected to severe criticism, to which Byron responded just as emotionally by writing a satirical poem in which he attacked recognized literary authorities.
At the age of 21, Byron, tangled up in debt in London, begins a long journey through Europe and the Middle East. Returning from the trip, the poet publishes the beginning of the poem "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage", which is a biographical poetic description of the trip. The work expressed the main ideas of romanticism: dissatisfaction with one’s life, the desire for complete change environment, search for sources of inspiration. The poem gained great popularity and glorified the young poet. He became the author of the emergence of a new type of hero in literature. In subsequent literature, a new concept appeared - “Byronism”, meaning a state of enormous spiritual sorrow and dissatisfaction, unfulfilled hopes.
In subsequent years, Byron wrote a whole series of new “oriental” poems, also based on the impressions of his journey and consolidating its success ("Corsair", "Lara", etc.). Byron's fame spreads across the continent. His poems are translated into other languages, and the first translations appear in Russia. The poet meets V. Scott and establishes warm friendly relations with him.
Byron marries and the couple has a daughter. However, the poet's violent temperament does not allow him to exist within the framework of ordinary family life. Soon the marriage breaks up.

Brief biography of Byron abroad

In 1816, Byron again went abroad, this time forever. He lives for a long time in Switzerland, where he finishes a poem about Childe Harold.

In 1817 the poet published famous poem"Manfred", where he expresses romantic ideas to the maximum extent. Main character breaks all ties connecting him with society, feels contempt for wealth and success.
For a long time, Byron lived in Italy, where he continued to write poems. The poet spoke in defense of Italian independence. He joined the ranks of the Carbonari (a secret political movement against the Austrian monarchy). For several years, Byron worked on the creation of the novel “Don Juan,” in which, in poetic form, he touched on a new problem - the confrontation between man and his environment. This new side in the poet’s work brings him closer to realism.

In 1823, Byron moved to Greece to fight in the War of Independence against Turkish rule. The poet sold all his real estate and armed himself with the proceeds partisan detachment. Poems from this period are dedicated to the Greek people.
Byron became seriously ill and died in 1824. National mourning was declared in Greece regarding his death, which is a clear indication of the popular love for the poet abroad.
Byron became one of the symbols of his era. His work had a huge influence on the development of European culture. Many poets and writers consciously imitated Byron or unconsciously copied his writing style. Wide use Byron's works were received in Russia. Many prominent writers translated them and dedicated their works to the great romantic.

Brief biography of the poet, basic facts of life and work:

GEORGE GORDON BYRON (1788-1824)

George Gordon Byron was born on January 22, 1788 in London. The boy was immediately given a double surname.

On his father's side he became Byron. The Byron family tree dates back to the Normans who settled in England during the time of William the Conqueror and received lands in the County of Nottingham. In 1643, King Charles I gave Sir John Byron the title of Lord. The poet's grandfather rose to the rank of vice admiral and was famous for his unluckiness. He was nicknamed Stormy Jack because as soon as his crew set sail, a storm immediately broke out. In 1764, on the ship "Dauphin" Byron was sent on a voyage around the world, but during this campaign he managed to discover only the Disappointment Islands, although there were still many unknown archipelagos around - they were not noticed. In the only naval battle he fought as a naval commander, Byron suffered a crushing defeat. He was no longer trusted with command of the fleet.

Jack Bad Weather's eldest son, John Byron, graduated from the French Military Academy, joined the Guard, and almost a child participated in the American wars. There, for his bravery, he received the nickname Mad Jack. Returning to London, Byron seduced the wealthy Baroness Conyers and fled with her to France, where the fugitive gave birth to a daughter, Her Grace Augusta Byron, the poet’s only half-sister (August later played a sinister role in Byron’s fate), and died. Mad Jack had no means of livelihood left, but luck did not abandon the rake. Quite soon he met a wealthy bride, Catherine Gordon Gate, at the fashionable resort of Bath. Outwardly, the girl was “ugly” - short, plump, long-nosed, too ruddy, but after the death of her father she inherited substantial capital, a family estate, salmon fisheries and shares in the Aberdeen Bank.

The ancient Scottish family of Gordons was related to the royal Stuart dynasty. The Gordons were famous for their furious temper, many ended their lives on the gallows, and one of them, John Gordon II, was hanged in 1634 for the murder of Wallenstein himself. Many famous Scottish ballads tell of the exploits of the crazy Gordons. But by the end of the 18th century the genus was almost extinct. The poet's great-grandfather drowned, his grandfather drowned himself. To prevent the family from disappearing completely, Katherine’s son was given a second surname - Gordon.

John Byron married Catherine Gordon for convenience; she passionately loved and at the same time hated her husband until the end of her days.

Newborn George was very beautiful, but as soon as he stood up, his family saw with horror that the boy was limping. It turned out that the shy mother pulled her womb tightly during pregnancy, and as a result, the fetus took up space. incorrect position, and during childbirth he had to be pulled out. In this case, the ligaments on the child’s legs were incurably damaged.

John Byron acted vilely with his second wife and her son. By deception, he squandered Catherine’s fortune, estate, and shares and fled to France, where he died in 1791 at the age of thirty-six. It was rumored that the adventurer had committed suicide. Little George never forgot his father and admired his military exploits.

Catherine and baby Geordie moved closer to her family in the Scottish city of Aberdeen, where she rented furnished rooms for a reasonable fee and hired two maids - sisters May and Agnes Gray. May looked after the boy.

The child grew up kind and obedient, but was extremely hot-tempered. One day the nanny scolded him for his soiled dress. Geordie tore off his clothes and, looking sternly at May Gray, silently tore the dress from top to bottom.

Events in little Byron's life developed very quickly. At the age of five he went to school; at the age of nine, George fell in love for the first time - with his cousin Mary Duff; and when the boy was ten years old, his great-uncle Lord William Byron died, and the peerage and family estate of Newstead Abbey near Nottingham passed to George. The young lord was assigned a guardian, Lord Carlyle, who was a distant relative of Byron. The boy and his mother and May Gray moved to their own estate. The ancient house was located near the famous Sherwood Forest, on the shore of a large lake, half overgrown with reeds.

In the autumn of 1805, Byron entered Trinity College, Cambridge University. Now he began to receive pocket money. However, as soon as the young man had money, George abandoned his studies, settled in a separately rented apartment, took a mistress of whores, and hired boxing and fencing teachers. Having learned about this, Mrs. Byron threw a huge scandal at her son and tried to beat him with fireplace tongs and a dustpan. George had to hide from his mother for some time.

At Cambridge, Byron was already writing poetry. One day he showed his writings to Elizabeth Pigot, the sister of his college friend John Pigot. The girl was delighted and persuaded the author to publish his writings. In 1806, Byron published the book “Poems for Occasion” for a narrow circle of friends. A year later, the collection "Leisure Hours - by George Gordon Lord Byron, a minor" followed. Critics ridiculed him for this book. The poet was wounded to the core and for some time thought about suicide.

On July 4, 1808, Byron received his master's degree and left Cambridge. He returned home on the eve of his coming of age. It's time to assume your peerage. The young man presented himself in the House of Lords and took the oath of office on March 13, 1809. Lord Ildon presided.

Almost immediately after this, Byron and his closest friend from Cambridge, John Cam Hobhouse, set off on a journey - through Lisbon through Spain to Gibraltar, from there by sea to Albania, where they were invited by the Turkish despot Ali Pasha Tepelensky, known for his courage and cruelty. The pasha's residence was in Ioannina. There Byron was met by a small, gray-haired seventy-year-old old man who was known for roasting his enemies on a spit and once drowned twelve women in the lake who did not please his daughter-in-law. From Albania, the travelers headed to Athens, then they visited Constantinople, Malta... Only on July 17, 1811, Lord Byron returned to London and stayed there for a short time on personal business when news arrived that on August 1, his mother had suddenly died of a stroke in Newstead.

Having buried himself loved one, Byron decided to seek solace in parliamentary activities. On February 27, 1812, he made his first speech in the House of Lords - against the Tory bill on death penalty for weavers who deliberately broke newly invented knitting machines.

And on the last day of February 1812, a significant event took place in the history of world poetry. The fact is that from his trip Byron brought back the manuscript of an autobiographical poem written in Spencerian stanzas, telling the story of a sad wanderer who is destined to experience disappointment in the sweet hopes and ambitious hopes of his youth. The poem was called "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage." The book with the first two songs of the poem was published on February 29, 1812, on this day one of the greatest poets George Gordon Byron.

Secular society was shocked by the masterpiece. For several months in London they talked only about Byron, admired and admired him. The lionesses of high society organized a real hunt for the poet.

The daughter-in-law of Byron's good friend Lord Melbourne, Lady Caroline Lamb, described her impressions of her first meeting with the poet: “An angry, crazy person with whom it is dangerous to deal.” Two days later, when Byron himself came to visit her, Lamb wrote in her diary: “This beautiful pale face will be my destiny.” She became Byron's mistress and did not want to hide this from London society. The poet came to Caroline in the morning and spent whole days in her boudoir. In the end, Lady Lamb's mother and mother-in-law rose to defend Lord Lamb's honor. Oddly enough, the women turned to Byron for help. The three of them began to persuade Caroline to return to her husband. But madly in love with the poet, the lady did not want to listen to anything. To finally bring her to her senses, Byron asked Caroline's cousin Annabella Milbank for her hand in marriage, but this time he was refused.

During the love epic with Caroline Lamb, when the poor thing even tried to commit suicide during the ball, Byron committed one of the most shameful acts in his life. In January 1814, his half-sister Augusta came to stay with him in Newstead. George fell in love with her and entered into an incestuous relationship. When they separated in early September, Augusta was pregnant. A week later, Byron again asked Annabella Milbank for her hand in a letter and received consent.

The poet Byron did not stop at Childe Harold. Next, he created a cycle of “Oriental Poems”: “The Giaour” and “The Bride of Abydos” were published in 1813, “The Corsair” and “Lara” - in 1814.

The marriage of Byron and Annabella Milbank took place on January 2, 1815. Two weeks later, Augusta arrived in London, and “life as a threesome” began. And soon it became known that Lord Byron’s condition was very upset, that he had nothing to support his wife. Debts to creditors amounted to an astronomical amount for those times - almost 30,000 pounds. Discouraged, Byron became embittered at the whole world, started drinking, and began blaming his wife for all his troubles.

Frightened by her husband's wild antics, Anabella decided that he had fallen into madness. On December 10, 1815, the woman gave birth to Byron's daughter, Augusta Ada, and on January 15, 1816, taking the baby with her, she left for Leicestershire to visit her parents. A few weeks later, she announced that she would not return to her husband. Later, contemporaries claimed that Anabella was informed about Byron’s incest with Augusta and about his homosexual relationships. Biographers, having studied numerous documents of that time, came to the conclusion that the vast majority of dirty rumors about the poet came from the circle of the vengeful Caroline Lamb.

Byron agreed to live separately from his wife. On April 25, 1816, he left for Europe forever. IN last days Before leaving, the poet entered into a love affair with Claire Clermont, the adopted daughter of the philosopher Wollstonecraft Godwin.

Byron first settled in Geneva. Claire Clermont also came here to see him. The girl was accompanied by her half-sister Mary and her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley. Byron was already familiar with Shelley’s work, but their acquaintance took place only in Switzerland. The poets became friends, and Byron had fatherly feelings for the rapidly growing Shelley family.

Friends visited Chillon Castle together. Both were shocked by what they saw. Upon returning from an excursion in one night, Byron wrote the poetic story “The Prisoner of Chillon”, and Shelley created “Hymn to Spiritual Beauty”. In Geneva, Byron also composed the third song of Childe Harold and began the dramatic poem Manfred.

Fame turned out to be its bad side for the poet. Having learned that the great Byron lived on the shores of Lake Geneva, crowds of curious tourists began to come here. More and more often, looking out the window, the poet came across the eyepieces of his binoculars - curious people were looking out for what kind of woman he was now living with. In the end, I got tired of these persecutions. When Claire gave birth to Byron's daughter Allegra on January 12, 1817, the poet was already living in Italy, where he calmly finished Manfred and began writing the fourth song, Childe Harold.

In Venice, Byron rented the Moncenigo Palace on the Grand Canal. It was here that the satires Beppo and Don Juan were created. Byron broke up with Claire Clermont forever, but at the first opportunity he sent little Allegra to live with him.

Since the poet was constantly short of money, in the fall of 1818 he sold Newstead for 90,000 guineas, paid off his debts and was able to start a quiet, prosperous life. Every year for the publication of his works, Byron received a gigantic amount of money for those times - 7,000 pounds, and if we take into account that he also had annual interest on other real estate in the amount of 3,300 pounds, then we must admit that the lord was one of the richest men in Europe. Growing fat, having grown long hair with glimpses of the first gray hair - this is how he now appeared before his Venetian guests.

But in 1819, Byron's last, deepest love came to him. At one of the social evenings, the poet accidentally met the young Countess Teresa Guiccioli. She was called the “Titian blonde.” The Countess was married, but her husband was forty-four years older than her. When Signor Guiccioli learned about Byron’s hobby, he decided to take his wife to Ravenna, out of harm’s way. On the eve of their departure, Teresa became Byron's mistress and thereby virtually decided his future fate.

In June 1819, the poet followed his lover to Ravenna. He settled in Palazzo Guiccioli and moved little Allegra there. Teresa’s father, Count Gamba, who saw his daughter’s torment, obtained permission from the Pope for the Countess to live separately from her husband.

His stay in Ravenna became unusually fruitful for Byron: he wrote new songs “Don Juan”, “Dante’s Prophecy”, historical drama in the verses of “Marino Faliero”, translated Luigi Pulci’s poem “Great Morgante”...

And then politics intervened in Byron’s fate. Count Gamba and his son Pietro turned out to be participants in the Carbonari conspiracy. They gradually dragged the poet into the conspiracy, since his money could help their cause. Finding himself a participant in a risky business, Byron was forced in March 1821 to send Allegra to a monastery school in Bagnacavallo. Soon the authorities of Ravenna uncovered the plot, and Gamba’s father and son were expelled from the city. Teresa followed them to Florence.

Just at this time, the Shelley family was wandering around Italy. Percy Bish persuaded Byron to come to him in Pisa. News arrived here that Byron's mother-in-law, Lady Noel, had died. She was not angry with her unlucky son-in-law and bequeathed him 6,000 pounds, but on the condition that he take the name Noel, since this family did not have a name bearer left. So the poet ended up with a third surname. From now on, he became fully known as George Noel Gordon Byron. And soon Allegra, abandoned by her father, died. It was the most terrible shock in last years poet's life.

Misfortunes continued to haunt the exiles. In May 1822, the authorities of Pisa invited them to leave the city. We moved to a villa near Livorno. Three months later, Shelley drowned here, leaving Mary and six uncontrollable children in the care of Byron.

Despite any troubles, Byron did not give up his creativity. He intended to create more than fifty songs of Don Juan and thus give the world a huge picaresque novel. The poet managed to finish only sixteen songs and wrote fourteen stanzas of the seventeenth song.

Unexpectedly, the London “Greek Committee” turned to the poet with a request to help Greece in the war of independence. They counted on his money, but on July 15, 1823, Byron, together with Pietro Gamba and E. J. Trelawney, left Genoa for the island of Cephalonia. The poet fully financed the equipment Greek fleet and at the beginning of January 1824 he joined the leader of the Greek uprising, Prince Mavrocordato, in Missolunghi. Byron was given command of a detachment of Souliotes, to whom he paid allowances from his personal funds.

In Greece, Byron caught a cold after swimming in the sea in cold water. Joint pain began, then it developed into convulsions. Doctors talked about an epileptic attack. After some time, improvement came, and Byron, who was very bored, wanted to take a short horse ride. As soon as he drove a relatively long distance from the house, a strong cold downpour began. Two hours after returning from a walk, the poet developed a fever. After suffering from a fever for several days, George Noel Gordon Byron died on April 19, 1824 at the thirty-seventh year of his life.

George Gordon Byron (1788-1824)

Lermontov wrote in 1830:

I am young; but sounds boil in my heart,

And I would like to reach Byron;

We have the same soul, the same torments, -

Oh, if only the destiny were the same!..

Like him, I search for peace in vain,

We drive everywhere with one thought.

I look back - the past is terrible;

I look ahead - there is no dear soul there.

And although just two years later Lermontov would write: “No, I’m not Byron, I’m different...”, which, first of all, speaks of the rapid internal development, the maturation of an original genius, but his passion for Byron did not pass without a trace for Lermontov.

Pushkin writes variations on Byron’s motifs, K. Batyushkov publishes his free arrangement of the 178th stanza of the Song of the fourth poem “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage” by Byron, Zhukovsky makes free translations of Byron. Vyazemsky, Tyutchev, Venevitinov have poems from Byron...

Many Russian fellow writers responded to the death of the English poet. We read Pushkin’s famous “To the Sea” and do not remember that this poem (“Farewell, free elements!..”), as Pushkin said, “a small memorial for the repose of the soul of God’s servant Byron.”

All of the above reminds us that Byron in early XIX century was extremely popular in Russia. In general, there was no more famous poet in Europe at that time. Dostoevsky explains it this way: “Byronism appeared in a moment of terrible melancholy of people, their disappointment and almost despair. After the frenzied delight of a new faith in new ideals, proclaimed at the end of the last century in France... a great and powerful genius, a passionate poet, appeared. Its sounds echoed the then melancholy of humanity and its gloomy disappointment in its destiny and in the ideals that deceived it. It was a new and unheard-of muse of revenge and sadness, curse and despair. The spirit of Byronism suddenly swept through all of humanity, and all of it responded to it.”

Byron's rather short life was filled with the struggle for freedom and national independence; his freedom-loving lyre called for the overthrow of despotism and tyranny; he opposed wars of conquest. He left England to take part in the Italian and Greek Wars of Independence. In a word, he was a brilliant personality.

The poet was born in London on January 22, 1788. On his father's side, he belonged to a very ancient, but already degenerating family. His father squandered his wife’s fortune, behaved insultingly, cynically, and sometimes insanely towards George’s mother. In the end, she took the child and left for her native Scottish calm in Aberdeen. And Byron's father soon committed suicide. Probably, the family tragedy left its mark on both the character and fate of Byron. At the age of ten, George received the title of lord, ownership of the family castle and the role of the main representative of the Byron family.

Byron was supposed to enter the aristocratic closed school. He chose school in Garrow. Here he deeply studied history, philosophy, geography, ancient literature (in the originals) and played a lot of sports. Despite his lameness - due to polio at the age of three, Byron had a limp on his right leg - he fenced well, played cricket on the school team, and was an excellent swimmer. In 1809, he swam across the mouth of the Tagus River, overcoming the rapid current at the moment of ocean tide. In 1810, he crossed the Dardanelles from the city of Abydos to Sestos in one hour and ten minutes. The Italians called him "the English fish" after he won a swim in Venice in 1818, staying on the water for four hours and twenty minutes and covering a distance of several miles.

Byron began writing poetry early, translated a lot from ancient Greek and Latin, but began to study poetry seriously while already a student. Cambridge University.

In his youthful poems, he flaunted the glory of love and revelry, but having published the first book of 38 poems, he immediately destroyed it on the advice of a family friend, who criticized him for his immodesty and sensuality of details.

The real Byron begins with his love for Mary Ann Chaworth. He met her as a child, and at the age of fifteen he fell in love with her passionately. Then I met her when she was already married and became convinced that my feelings for her had not faded away. Then poems appeared, which many consider masterpieces of poetic art.

In the same year, the poet went to Portugal and Spain, then to Albania and Greece. For two years he traveled, as he said, “to study the political situation.”

The events that Byron witnessed - and this is primarily the capture of Spain and guerrilla warfare there - inspired him to write a poem. On October 31, 1809, he began writing the poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. The first song tells about the hero, the jaded youth Childe Harold, who sails to Spain, where there is a war going on with Napoleon's army. The Spanish people stand up to defend their homeland. Byron, already on his own behalf, appeals to him:

To arms, Spaniards! Vengeance! Vengeance!

The spirit of the Reconquista is calling to its great-grandchildren.

...Through the smoke and flames he calls: forward!

The Reconquista is a reminder of the eight hundred years of heroic struggle of the Spanish people to retake the country from the Moors.

In Greece, Byron studies modern Greek and writes down folk songs. Then Greece was occupied - it was part of the Ottoman Empire. Byron meets with one of the leaders of the struggle for Greek independence, Andreas Londos, and translates “The Song of the Greek Rebels.” Of course, such an act of the poet aroused admiration in many countries among freedom-loving people.

In the summer of 1811, Byron returned to England. He saw the need the people in his homeland were in. It was precisely at this time that the unemployed weavers and spinners, reduced to extreme poverty, who had been driven out onto the streets by the introduction of weaving and spinning machines, gathered into detachments in Sherwood Forest under the leadership of Ned Ludd. The Luddites, as they called themselves, broke into workshops and smashed machines. On February 27, 1812, a bill introducing the death penalty for machine tool destroyers was to be discussed in the House of Lords. Byron took the side of the weavers.

Lord Byron's speech in defense of the Luddites is recognized as one of the best examples of oratory. Before voting, he writes another poem full of sarcasm, calling it “Ode”:

Britain will prosper with you,

Treat it by managing it together,

Knowing in advance: the medicine will kill!

Weavers, scoundrels, are preparing an uprising:

They ask for help. Before every porch

Hang them all near the factories as a warning!

Correct the mistake - and that's the end of it!

In need, scoundrels, they sit without a half-life.

And the dog, starving, will steal.

Having pulled them up for breaking the coils,

The government will save money and bread.

It's faster to create a child than a car,

Stockings are more precious than human life.

And a row of gallows enlivens the picture,

Signifying the blossoming of freedom.

Volunteers are coming, grenadiers are coming,

The regiments are on the march... Against the wrath of the weavers

The police are taking all measures

And the judges are on the spot: a crowd of executioners!

Not every lord stood for bullets,

They cried out for judges. Wasted work!

They did not find agreement in Liverpool,

It was not the court that condemned the weavers.

Isn’t it strange that if he comes to visit

Hunger is upon us and the cry of the poor is heard, -

Breaking a car breaks bones

And are lives valued more than stockings?

And if this was the case, then many will ask:

Shouldn't we break the necks of madmen first?

Which people are asking for help,

Are they just in a hurry to tighten the noose around their neck?

[March 1812]

(Translation by O. Chumina)

On March 10, 1812, Songs 1 and 2 of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage were published. She was an incredible success. Byron immediately became famous.

In the fall of 1814 the poet became engaged to Miss Anna Isabella Milbanke.

In April 1816, Byron was forced to leave England, where he was simply hounded by creditors and numerous newspapers for his support of the Luddites and for many other things that the prim aristocrats did not like.

Byron went to Switzerland, where he met and became friends with Shelley, an outstanding romantic poet. In Switzerland, Byron wrote the poem “The Prisoner of Chillon” (1817) and the lyrical drama “Manfred” (1817). Soon he moved to Italy. The most significant lyric-epic poems of the Italian period are “Tasso” (1817), “Mazeppa” (1819), “Dante’s Prophecy” (1821), “The Island” (1823). He created tragedies based on stories from Italian history“Marino Faliero” (1821), “The Two Foscari” (1821), the mystery “Cain” (1821), “Heaven and Earth” (1822), the tragedy “Sardanapalus” (1821), the drama “Werner” (1822).

In Italy, the poet met the Carbonari - members of a secret organization of Italian patriots. The discovery of their conspiracy and the destruction of the organization put an end to Byron's revolutionary activities in Italy. His pan-European fame and the title of Lord saved him from police persecution.

In the spring of 1823, the poet went to Greece, where he again took part in the national liberation struggle of the Greek people against Turkey. On the way - in the port of Livorno - Byron received a poetic message from Goethe, the great old man blessed Byron and supported him.

In Greece, the poet was involved in organizing and training combat units. On April 19, 1824, he died suddenly of a fever.

In recent years, Byron worked on creating his largest work, the poem “Don Juan” (1818-1823), a broad realistic canvas of European life at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries.

We will end the story about Byron with his own poem.

You've finished your life, hero!

Now your glory will begin,

And in the songs of the holy homeland

The majestic image will live,

Your courage will live,

Freed her.

While your people are free,

He can't forget you.

You've fallen! But your blood flows

Not on the ground, but in our veins;

Inhale the powerful courage

Your feat should be in our chest.

We will make the enemy turn pale,

If we call you in the middle of battle;

Our choirs will begin to sing

About the death of a valiant hero;

But there will be no tears in my eyes:

Weeping would insult the glorious dust.

(Translation by A. Pleshcheev)

* * *
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Born January 22, 1788 in London. His mother, Catherine Gordon, a Scot, was the second wife of Captain D. Byron, whose first wife died, leaving him a daughter, Augusta. The captain died in 1791, having squandered most of his wife’s fortune. George Gordon was born with a mutilated foot, which caused him early childhood Morbid impressionability developed, aggravated by the hysterical temper of his mother, who raised him in Aberdeen on modest means. In 1798, the boy inherited from his great-uncle the title of baron and the family estate of Newstead Abbey near Nottingham, where he moved with his mother. The boy studied with a home teacher, then he was sent to private school in Dulwich, and in 1801 - in Harrow.

In the autumn of 1805, Byron entered Trinity College, Cambridge University, where he met D.C. Hobhouse (1786-1869), his closest friend until the end of his life. In 1806, Byron published the book Fugitive Pieces for a narrow circle. Hours of Idleness followed a year later; Along with imitative ones, the collection also contained promising poems. In 1808, the Edinburgh Review ridiculed the author's rather presumptuous preface to the collection, to which Byron responded with poisonous lines in the satire English Bards and Scotch Reviewers (1809).

In London, Byron incurred debts of several thousand pounds. Fleeing from creditors, and also, probably, in search of new experiences, on July 2, 1809, he set off with Hobhouse on a long journey. They sailed to Lisbon, crossed Spain, from Gibraltar by sea they reached Albania, where they paid a visit to the Turkish despot Ali Pasha Tepelensky, and proceeded to Athens. There they spent the winter in the house of a widow, whose daughter, Teresa Macri, Byron sang in the image of the Virgin of Athens. In the spring of 1809, on his way to Constantinople, Byron swam across the Dardanelles, which he subsequently boasted of more than once. He spent the next winter in Athens again.

Byron returned to England in July 1811; He brought with him the manuscript of an autobiographical poem written in Spencerian stanzas, telling the story of a sad wanderer who is destined to experience disappointment in the sweet hopes and ambitious hopes of his youth and in the journey itself. Child Harold's Pilgrimage, published in March of the following year, instantly glorified Byron's name. His mother did not live to see this - she died on August 1, 1811, and a few weeks later news came of the death of three close friends. 27 February 1812 Byron made his first speech in the House of Lords - against the Tory bill on the death penalty for weavers who deliberately broke the newly invented knitting machines. Childe Harold's success provided Byron with a warm welcome in Whig circles. He made acquaintance with T. Moore and S. Rogers and was introduced to Lord Melbourne’s daughter-in-law, Lady Caroline Lamb, who became the poet’s mistress and did not hide it at all.

In the footsteps of Childe Harold, Byron created a cycle of “Eastern Poems”: The Giaour and The Bride of Abydos - in 1813, The Corsair and Lara - in 1814. The poems were replete with veiled hints of an autobiographical nature . They rushed to identify the hero Giaour with the author, saying that in the East Byron was engaged in piracy for some time.

Anabella Milbanke, Lady Melbourne's niece, and Byron occasionally exchanged letters; in September 1814 he proposed to her, and it was accepted. After the wedding on January 2, 1815 and a honeymoon in Yorkshire, the newlyweds, clearly not meant for each other, settled in London. In the spring, Byron met W. Scott, whom he had long admired, and, together with his friend D. Kinnard, joined the subcommittee of the board of the Drury Lane Theater.

Desperate to sell Newstead Abbey to get out of debts that reached almost 30,000 pounds, Byron became embittered and sought oblivion by going to theaters and drinking. Frightened by his wild antics and transparent hints of a relationship with his half-sister Augusta - she came to London to keep her company - Lady Byron innocently decided that he had fallen into madness. On December 10, 1815, she gave birth to Byron's daughter, Augusta Ada, and on January 15, 1816, taking the baby with her, she went to Leicestershire to visit her parents. A few weeks later, she announced that she would not return to her husband. Apparently, her suspicions about Byron's incest and homosexual relationships before his marriage were confirmed. Byron agreed to a court-ordered separation and sailed for Europe on April 25. For the summer he rented Villa Diodati in Geneva, where P.B. Shelley was his frequent guest. Here Byron completed Childe Harold's third song, which developed already familiar motifs - the futility of aspirations, the fleetingness of love, the vain search for perfection; wrote The Prisoner of Chillon and began Manfred. Byron had a short relationship with W. Godwin's adopted daughter Claire Clairmont, who lived with the Shelley family; on January 12, 1817, their daughter Allegra was born.

On September 5, 1816, Byron and Hobhouse set off for Italy. In Venice, Byron studied Armenian language, visited the Countess Albrizzi's theater and her salon, and in the spring of 1817 he was reunited with Hobhouse in Rome, examined the ancient ruins and completed Manfred, a drama in verse on a Faustian theme, in which his disappointment takes on universal proportions. Returning to Venice, he, based on his impressions from a trip to Rome, wrote the fourth song of Childe Harold - a piercing embodiment of the utmost romantic melancholy. In the summer he met the “gentle tigress” Margarita Konya, the baker’s wife. Byron returned to Venice in November, having already written Beppo, a brilliant, comical satire on Venetian morals in Italian octaves. In June of the following year he moved to the Palazzo Mosenido on the Grand Canal; there the ardent Margarita Konya settled as a housekeeper. Soon Byron took little Allegra under his wing and began a new satire in the spirit of Beppo called Don Juan.

The sale of Newstead in the autumn of 1818 for £94,500 helped Byron get out of debt. Immersed in sensual pleasures, getting fat, letting go long hair, in which gray hair showed through - this is how he appeared before the guests of the house. His love for the young Countess Teresa Guiccioli saved him from debauchery. In June 1819 he followed her to Ravenna, and at the end of the summer they arrived in Venice. In the end, Teresa was persuaded to return to her aging husband, but her pleas again brought Byron to Ravenna in January 1820. He settled in the Palazzo Guiccioli, where he brought Allegra. Teresa's father, Count Gamba, obtained permission from the Pope for his daughter to live separately from her husband.

His stay in Ravenna was unparalleledly fruitful for Byron: he wrote new songs of Don Juan, The Prophecy of Dante, a historical drama in verse by Marino Faliero, and translated L. Pulci's poem La Grande Morgante. Through the medium of Count Gamba and his son Pietro, he actively participated during the autumn and winter in the conspiracy of the Carbonari, members of a secret political movement against Austrian tyranny. At the height of the conspiracy, Byron created a drama in verse, Sardanapalus, about an idle sensualist who is driven by circumstances to a noble deed. The threat of political upheaval was one of the reasons that forced him to place Allegra in a monastery school in Bagnacavallo on March 1, 1821.

After the defeat of the uprising, father and son Gamba were expelled from Ravenna. In July, Teresa had to follow them to Florence. Shelley persuaded Byron to come to him and Gamba in Pisa. Before leaving Ravenna (in October), Byron wrote his most evil and unusual satire, The Vision of Judgment, a parody of the poet laureate R. Southey's poem glorifying King George III. Byron also completed the verse drama Cain, which embodied his skeptical interpretation of biblical stories.

In Pisa, a circle of Shelley's friends gathered at Byron's Casa Lafranchi. In January 1822, Byron's mother-in-law, Lady Noel, died, leaving him £6,000 in her will on the condition that he take the name Noel. The death of Allegra in April was a heavy blow for him. A fight with a dragoon, in which he and his Pisan friends were unwittingly involved, forced the Tuscan authorities to deprive Gamba of political asylum. In May, Byron moved with them and Teresa to a villa near Livorno.

On July 1, L. Hunt joined Byron and Shelley to edit the short-lived Liberal magazine. A few days later, Shelley drowned, leaving Byron in the care of Hunt, his sick wife and six unruly children. In September, Byron moved to Genoa and lived in the same house with both Gambas. The Khanty came next and settled with Mary Shelley. Byron returned to work on Don Juan and by May 1823 completed the 16th canto. He chose the legendary seducer as his hero and turned him into an innocent simpleton who is harassed by women; but also fierce life experience, he still remains normal in character, worldview and actions, reasonable person in a ridiculous crazy world. Byron consistently takes John through a series of adventures, sometimes funny, sometimes touching, - from the “platonic” seduction of the hero in Spain to idyll love on a Greek island, from a slave state in a harem to the position of the favorite of Catherine the Great, and leaves him entangled in the networks of love intrigue in an English country house. Byron cherished the ambitious plan to bring his picaresque novel in verse to 50, if not more songs, but managed to complete only 16 and fourteen stanzas of song 17. Don Juan recreates the full range of feelings; sparkling, cynical, sometimes bitter satire tears off the masks of hypocrisy and pretense.

Tired of an aimless existence, yearning for active work, Byron seized on the offer of the London Greek Committee to help Greece in the War of Independence. On July 15, 1823, he left Genoa with P. Gamba and E. J. Trelawny. He spent about four months on the island of Cephalonia, awaiting instructions from the Committee. Byron gave money to equip the Greek fleet and in early January 1824 joined Prince Mavrokordatos in Missolonghi. He took under his command a detachment of Souliots (Greco-Albanians), to whom he paid cash allowances. Sobered by the strife among the Greeks and their greed, exhausted by illness, Byron died of a fever on April 19, 1824.