Paper 103: Literature of the Romantic Period

 Byron as ‘The Revolutionary Poets’

Hello everyone this blog is a part of an assignment of Paper 103: Literature of Romantic Period

#Table of Content  

• Personal Information

• Assignment Details 

• Abstract

• Key Words 

• Introduction

• Poet of freedom and liberty

• The Byronic Hero: A Symbol of Rebellion

• Byron stood for personal & national liberty

• A true follower of french revolution 

• Conclusion

• References

Personal Information:

Name:- Khushi Goswami

Batch:- M.A.Sem 1 (2024-2026)

Enrollment no:- 5108240001

E-mail Address:- khushigoswami05317@gmail.com 

Roll no:- 9

Assignment Details:

Topic:-  Byron as the Revolutionary Poet

Paper & Subject Code: 103 Literature of the Romantic Period-22394 

Submitted To:- Smt. Sujata Binoy Gardi, Department of English, MKBU, Bhavnagar

Date of Submission:- 20 November, 2024

Abstract: 

Lord Byron is a revolutionary figure in both life and literature, representing some of the concepts born with the Romantic ideals of rebellion, liberty, and individualism. His poetry defies the social norms, political oppression, and religious orthodoxy, a number of times as if through the archetypal figure of the Byronic hero—a flawed, defiant, and introspective figure who resists authority and iconoclastic pursuit of existential freedom.

His satire against the abuse of power and the fetters of social convention is best illustrated in his major poems, ‘Childe Harold's Pilgrimage’, ‘Manfred’, and ‘Don Juan’, which are aimed at promoting individual liberty and political freedom. His actions extended beyond literature, even participating in the Greek War of Independence, risking squandering his wealth and his health to the war. The themes that run through his work comprise freedom, resistance, and the sublime of nature, which solidifies him as a proponent of the idealistic movement.

The poem and life actions of Byron have become iconic to represent defiance and inspiration for subsequent generations. His legacy has survived as a testament to the pursuit of freedom by the Romantic, power of individual expression, and the courage to stand against oppressive systems.

Introduction:

‘A drop of ink may make a million think’

George Gordon Byron was known as Lord Byron. His poetry was full of imagination and supernatural elements and his life was full of Grief. Byron who was the greatest revolutionary poet also known as the poet of freedom and liberty. He cried against the power of tyranny in the following words:

‘What shell revolting thraldom again be,

The patched up idol of enlightened days’.

His house was ever the meeting place for revolutionists. whom he trusted too easily and with whom he shared his views about freedom and Liberty. He had no faith in human society or government that's why he wrote in 1817: ‘I have simplified my politics to an utter detestation  of all existing governments.’

In 1824, he went to Greece to help that country in its struggle for liberty against Turkey. This is how we find many kinds of his actions throughout his whole life for Liberty freedom that's why we can say Byron was a revolutionary poet.

Poet of freedom and liberty:

“From childhood he had been a fighter”-- Lafcadio Heran

Byron had been from his childhood days a great fighter and always he is too with a great bigger against all forms of atrocity and oppressions. Also he attracted all the convention, all hypocrisy, all moral commonplace of English society in his poetry. He made heroic crime appear more attractive than cowardly virtue and even boldly ridiculed the religious beliefs that accused social falsehood. 

It is better to compare with Shelley. Her thought of  the future was inspired by the ideal future. Byron was a true follower of French revolutions' principle.

The Byronic Hero: A Symbol of Rebellion:

A new archetype was created by Byron-the Byronic hero, flawed yet magnetic, embodying defiance against societal expectations. Sometimes he opposes oppressive systems, rules, or the norms at play.

Example: Childe Harold of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage: He is a morally-depraved vagabond who rejected honor and duty, believing in aloneness and nature. His detestation for corrupt aristocracy and the apparent emptiness of values in society resonates with what Byron abhorred in his age.

Manfred: In this dramatic poem, Manfred defies cosmic authority, refuses divine mercy, and proclaims his autonomy even in the face of damnation. His statement-"The mind, which is immortal, makes itself , Requital for its good or evil thoughts" epitomizes Romantic self-reliance and rebellion.

Byron stood for personal and National Liberty:

From childhood we can find problems in violence life. When he was only 10 years old he was not Megan sexually abusing him and many other kinds of problems in his life. 

‘he was born Rebel and fire of Liberty’

  

His views were determined by a powerful and positive belief in the work of Individual man. He resembled Blake in his condemnation of senseless cruelty and hypocrisy which it breeds for its support. He was the upholder of the natural man and thought that his bodily pleasures were worthy of protection. 

He fought for the cause of liberty and went to Greece to support the Greeks in their struggle against tyranny. 

“ His conception of liberty was more instructive than intellectual.”-As, Bowra observes, “Was more instructive than intellectual. If he sometimes followed impulses, if some of his ambitions were no more than affectations, he was not without guiding principles, and his death at Missolonghi shows that he was not an actor but a soldier, a man of affairs and a master of man." This love of liberty is well marked in Byron's works. He wrote the ‘Prisoner of Chillon’ in the defense of liberty, and the hero Bonniverd is a votary of liberty like Byron himself. The whole oppressed europe looked to him for salvation and he became the trump voice of freedom with Byron liberty became the ruling passion and he considered it his birthright to fight against all tyranny:

‘For I will rack, if possible , the stars, 

to rise against earth’s tyrants.’

A true follower of french revolution:

Byron remained more than other romantics a true follower of the principles of the revolution, “Much more than wordsworth and coleridge, who after their first enthusiasm for the revolution surrendered to caution and scepticism, more even than keats, whose love of liberty was hardly developed to its full range, Byron wished to be free and wished the other men must be free too.”

Byron was equally revolutionary in his attitude towards the evils and vices of his age. He was a social revolutionary and ruthlessly exposed and attacked as in ‘Don Juan’, the philistinism of the upper english class , the aristocracy and the monarchy. He exposed the hypocrisy, the senseless cruelty, the snobbery, the fraud,and the indolence of the upper classes in society. 

Conclusion:

Lord Byron's works and life-a testament to the spirit of rebellion and pursuit of liberty. His defiantly Byronic heroes, critique of social and political corruption, and factual support for revolutionary cause, such as the Greek War of Independence, elevated him from being just a poet to being the mascot for resistance and individualism. His works challenged not only the convention of his time but also developed complex visions for freedom, morality, and human struggle.

Byron left a legacy as a revolutionary voice inspiring movements for political and artistic freedom. The ability to merge personal defiance with universal ideals confirms his place as a timeless figure reminding us of the resurgent power of poetry as a source of thought-provoking inspiration for change and for a challenge against oppression.

References:

Allen, Brooke. “Byron: Revolutionary, Libertine and Friend.” The Hudson Review, vol. 56, no. 2, 2003, pp. 369–76. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3853260. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024.

Watkins, Daniel P. “Byron and the Poetics of Revolution.” Keats-Shelley Journal, vol. 34, 1985, pp. 95–130. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/30210223. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024.