Lord Byron Influences

The period of Romanticism, occurring between the years 1800 and 1860, left a significant impact on not only the literature of that time, but the literature of today as well. Prior to romantic writings, the world focused on society and logic. Romanticism allowed people to start valuing individualism and to appeal to emotional responses. This new way of thinking brought new literary styles, themes, and genres that were never explored before and are still found today. The literature of Romanticism allowed people to escape the harshness of reality and enter a different world.

Literature helped describe the movement of Romanticism because Romantics embraced nature, so they exalted the creative individual in the person of the hero. (Fiero) Much like the hero’s from stories of the past, the Romantic hero was an epic character with an awesome amount of ambition and determination. Unlike the fictional hero’s of the past that defended the traditions and moral values of a society, the Romantic hero might challenge to seek or reform them. (Fiero)

George Gordon Byron was born on January 22, 1788, London, England - died April 19, 1824, Missolonghi. He was British Romantic poet whose poetry and personality “captured the imagination of Europe” (britannica.com). Byron was known to have influence many popular american authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Osar Wilde

Imagine a candle-lit dinner on a starry night in Paris, the Eiffel Tower just in view with dazzling lights shining into the night. This image is probably what you think of when you hear the word “romantic,” correct. However, this image is a stumbling block when people think of the “Romanticism Period” in literature. Where “romantic” means having a lovely time with the person you love the most, “Romanticism” is a piece of literature written with key themes in mind. Those themes tend to be a strong emotion, imagery or worship of nature, and individuality and subjectivity. The peak of inspiration for these pieces was in the years 1800-1850, and there are famous poems that are well loved today from this period. Many of the poets that you enjoy reading and know are, in actuality, Romanticism writers, and instill the themes above in our minds.

Lord Byron’s “Darkness” illustrates a dark and pessimistic outlook for the world as we know it. The world loses all sense of hope and is left with only despair and darkness after the loss of the provider of thought and hope-sunlight. With the extinction of sunlight comes the destruction of social classes due to inevitable fear of death, and, as a result, all that is left is chaos. The psychological mind drastically changes its mannerisms and mode of thinking when faced with life and death situations.

During this period, writers and poets were actively engaged in the creation of a new form of artistic expression. The objective of this type of expression was to celebrate intuition, rather than reason. It is believed that the greatest

The Romantic Movement, or period, was from the year 1828 to about 1865. The main feature of the American Romantic period was the celebration and praise of individualism. This time is also considered to be the first period of genuine American creativity. Emotion, instead of reason, became the largest source of inspiration and creativity during this period. All of this was a reaction to all of the constraints that were forced on people during the era of Realism. At this time in history, America was in a great period of expansion, the writers of the American Romantic period were discovering that could create a new and vastly different voice for this new era in

Lord Byron’s works, such as Don Juan and other poems reflect not only the suave and charming characteristics of the Romantic Period, but they also reveal the nature of Byron’s uncommitted and scandalous life. Byron, like most Romantic era authors, was very unpredictable and opinionated in all of his writings. From the hatred of his upbringing, to the love of adventure, and also to the love of meaningless relationships with various women were majorly influenced and illustrated through all of his works and especially in “Don Juan.” Yet he still managed to infiltrate his poems with charm, romance, and heroism. Byron was a perfect fit for the Romantic Period and his poems and he was therefore known as a great contributor towards the era.

Walt Whitman loved to experiment with form when it came to poetry. He used his verses to show his complete adoration of all things wild, and our role as beings in this infinitely complex and thought-provoking universe in which we exist. To say he had a bit of a “nature crush” would be an understatement – Whitman goes in to great detail of his love for the wildness and often describes his emotions in a viscerally sexual manner, using poetic devices to underline his immense feelings for environment and hammer in the imagery to readers of how majestic the world appears to him. “Romantic” poets loved the outdoors – if it wasn’t contained in four walls and a roof, they were all about it. They loved to praise the innate details that made our planet so incredible,

“From the sphere of my own experience I can bring to my recollection three persons of no every-day powers and acquirements, who had read the poems of others with more and more unallayed pleasure, and had thought more highly of their authors, as poets; who yet have confessed to me, that from no modern work had so many passages started up anew in their minds at different times, and as different occasions had awakened a meditative mood.” (2) (paragraph 31).

In the younger days of the United States, Romantic literature was prevalent. The literature of this period is considered romantic because most of the authors of this time focused on feelings.

Two closely related texts, one that we've studied in this class and one that we haven't, that handle natural description differently are Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and Lord Byron's "Manfred." Both of these texts' central characters have experienced trauma, and their portrayal of their environments reveal the effects that the events have left on them. While Coleridge's mariner is unable to consolidate his past and is relegated to constantly relive it, Byron's Manfred has protected himself from his unnamed vice by distancing himself from his feelings and environment. Obvious parallels exist between the poems, but what I found most striking

Throughout this period, there were several different authors who contributed their work. With all the different work, this gave us a chance to see things from different views. The Romantic Period In American Literature was very enjoyable to learn about. First looking at and hearing the topic for this section, I went into it thinking it would be strictly about love - considering the word romantic is in the topic heading. I was soon to find that it was just more than that. Adventures, darkness, imagination, and intuition were all found frequently

During the Romantic period, which began in the late 18th Century, and ended in the early 20th century, there were many political changes, such as the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, repression and reform, pre-industrial economic changes. There were also many changes throughout literature and culture during this time. Poetry during this time often had strong themes of nature, internalization, subjectivity, and imagination. Three highly influential poets who were also often characterized as poets of the Imagination are William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and William Blake. Imagination is important to romantic poets because it was used as a healing tool for the writers’ troubles, using reason and emotion to relate to and participate in the world around them.

The power of love and emotion is evident in Lord Byron's poems, "She Walks in Beauty" and "So We'll Go No More A-Roving." Because of their consecutive placement in the book, "She Walks in Beauty" and "So We'll Go No More A-Roving" tell a story of a relationship. In the first poem, "She Walks in Beauty," the speaker glimpses a beautiful woman who reminds him of "the night" and "starry skies." Throughout the piece, the speaker is fascinated by her beautiful facial features. The last stanza summarizes this beautifully when he comments on her "eloquent" characteristics. In the last half of the story, "So We'll Go No More A-Roving," however, the speaker is losing the sparks of passion that he once had for his lover. This is largely