Poet George Byron: Biography and Creativity

George Byron, photo and biography of which you will find in this article, deservedly considered a great English poet. Years of his life - 1788-1824. With the era of romanticism is inextricably linked creativity of George Byron. Note that romanticism arose in the late 18th - early 19th centuries in Western Europe. This trend in art emerged as a result of the French Revolution and the enlightenment associated with it.

Byron Romanticism

People who tried to think progressively were dissatisfied with the outcome of the revolution. In addition, the political reaction has intensified. Romantics as a result of this divided into two opposing camps. Some urged the society to return to the patriarchal way of life, to the traditions of the Middle Ages, to abandon the solution of the urgent problems. Others also advocated the continuation of the cause of the French Revolution. They sought to bring to life the ideals of freedom, equality and brotherhood. George Byron sided with them. The colonial policy pursued by the British government he sharply denounced. Byron opposed the adoption of anti-popular laws and the suppression of freedoms. This he caused great discontent with the authorities.

Life in a foreign land

In 1816, a hostile campaign began against the poet. He had to leave his native England forever. The exile in a foreign land took an active part in the struggle of the Greek insurgents and Italian carnarians for independence. It is known that A.S. Pushkin considered the genius of this poet a rebel. The Englishman was very popular with the Decembrists. Belinsky, an outstanding Russian critic, also did not pass him by. He spoke of Byron as a poet, who made a great contribution to the world literature. Want to get to know him better? We propose to read a detailed biography of Byron.

The Origin of Byron

He was born in London on January 22, 1788. His descent was high both from his father's side and from his mother's side. Both John Byron and Catherine Gordon were descendants of the highest aristocracy. Nevertheless, the childhood of the future poet passed in conditions of extreme poverty.

The fact is that John Byron, a Guards officer (pictured above), led a very wasteful life. The father of the future poet squandered for a short time two large fortunes, which he got from the first wife and from the second, the mother of the boy. John had a daughter from her first marriage, Augustus. She was raised by her grandmother, and only in 1804 began her friendship with her half-brother.

Early childhood

Parents soon after the birth of George broke up. My father went to France and died there. The early childhood of the future poet was held in the Scottish city of Aberdeen. Here he studied at the Grammar School. At the end of the third grade, a message came from England that George's cousin had died. So Byron inherited the title of lord, as well as Newstead Abbey - a family estate, located in Nottingham county.

Both the castle and the estate were in neglect. There was not enough money to restore them. Therefore, George Byron's mother decided to lease Newstead Abbey. She herself and her son settled in Southwell, located nearby.

What clouded Byron's youth and youth?

Childhood and Byron's youth overshadowed not only the lack of funds. The fact is that George was lame from birth. Doctors came up with various devices to cope with lameness, but it did not pass. It is known that Byron's mother had an unbalanced character. She rebuked her son in the heat of quarrels with this physical disability, which caused the young man deep suffering.

Learning in Harrow

George in 1801 entered the closed school in Harrow. It was intended for children of noble origin. Here, future diplomats and politicians were trained. Robert Peel, then Minister of the Interior, and later Prime Minister of England, studied in the same class with such a great poet as George Gordon Byron. Biography of our hero continues with events in his personal life.

First love

At the age of 15, in 1803, Byron fell in love with Mary Chavort. It happened during the holidays. The girl was older than George for 2 years. Together they spent a lot of time. However, this friendship was not destined to end with a wedding. Love for Mary for many years tormented the romantic soul of a poet like Byron George Gordon. A brief biography goes on to describe George's student years.

Student years

The young man in 1805 became a student at Cambridge University. The period of study in it was a time of prose, pleasure and fun. In addition, George was fond of sports. He was engaged in boxing, swimming, fencing, riding. Subsequently, he became one of the best swimmers in England George Byron. Interesting facts about him, is not it? At the same time he became interested in reading. Soon many began to notice that Byron had a phenomenal memory. He was able to memorize the text in whole pages.

The first collections of poems

The young man published the first collection of poems, while still a student, in 1806. He called his book "Flying Drafts." A year later appeared the second collection of "Poems for different occasions" and the third - "Watch of leisure."

"British Bards", George Byron

A brief biography introduces readers to the difficulties that the poet had to face throughout his life. In particular, in the magazine "Edinburgh Review" in 1808 an anonymous review appeared. In it, the unknown mercilessly ridiculed Byron's works. He wrote that he does not speak the language of fiction and advised him to teach poetry, and not publish clumsy poetry. George Byron in response to this published in 1809 the poem "British Bards". The success of the work was enormous. The poem stood four editions.

The two-year journey that George Byron did

A brief biography of him is marked by a two-year journey, to which Byron left at the end of 1809. He finished his poem "In the Footsteps of Horace" at that time, and also created poetic travel notes. Travel greatly influenced the development of creativity and poetic gift of Byron. His path began with Portugal, after which George visited the island of Malta, Spain, Albania, Greece, Constantinople. In the summer of 1811, Byron returned to England. Here he learned that his mother was seriously ill. But George did not manage to catch her alive.

"Childe Harold Pilgrimage"

George retired to Newsted and began work on his new poem, which he called "Childe Harold Pilgrimage." However, when the work was completed, Murray's editor put forward the requirement to exclude from the poem stanzas having a political character. George Byron, whose biography shows his love of freedom, refused to remake the work.

In the image of Childe Harold, Byron embodied the features of a new hero who is in an irreconcilable conflict with morality and society. The relevance of this image ensured the success of the poem. It has been translated into almost all languages of the world. Soon the name Child-Harold became a household name. It means a person who is disappointed in everything, who protests against reality hostile to him.

Activities in the House of Lords

He decided to defend his position not only in poetry. George Byron soon took a place in the House of Lords, which he inherited from the poet. In England at that time the Luddite movement became very popular, consisting in the protest of weavers against the appeared weaving machines. The fact is that the automation of labor of many of them left without work. And those who managed to get it, greatly reduced wages. People saw the root of evil in looms and began to destroy them.

The government decided to issue a law according to which those who destroyed cars should have been sentenced to death. Byron delivered a speech in parliament, protesting against such a brutal bill. George said that the state is called upon to protect the interests of citizens, rather than several monopolists. However, despite his protests, the law was passed in February 1812.

In the country, after that, terror began against the weavers, who were condemned to be executed, exiled to exile, imprisoned. Byron did not stay away from these events and published his angry ode, in which the authors of the law showed themselves. What did George Byron write back in those years? A whole series of romantic poems came out from under his pen. Let's briefly describe them.

"Eastern poems"

George Byron since 1813 created a series of romantic poems. In 1813 there were "Gyaur" and "Abydos Bride", in 1814 - "Lara" and "Corsair", in 1816 - "Siege of Corinth". In the literature they are usually called "Eastern poems".

Unhappy marriage

The English poet George Byron in January 1815 married Annabelle Milbenk. This girl came from an aristocratic patriarchal family. The wife of Byron opposed his public activities, which clearly contradicted the government's course. In the family as a result of this there were quarrels.

The couple in December 1815 had a daughter, who was named Ada Augusta. And in January 1816 the wife left Byron without explaining the reason. Her parents immediately acted as initiators of the divorce proceedings. Byron at this time created several works devoted to Napoleon, in which he expressed the opinion that, while waging war against Bonaparte, England brought much grief to its people.

Byron leaves England

Divorce, as well as "wrong" political views led to the fact that the poet started harassment. Newspapers so inflated the scandal that Byron could not even just go out. He left his homeland on April 26, 1816 and no longer returned to England. The last poem written in native lands was "Stanza to Augusta", dedicated to Byron's half-sister , who had been his support for him all this time and supported the creative spirit in George.

The Swiss period

At first Byron intended to live in France, and then in Italy. However, the French authorities forbade him to stay in the cities, allowing only to travel around the country. So George went to Switzerland. He settled near the Lake Geneva at Villa Diodati. In Switzerland, he met and made friends with Shelley. The period of residence in this country is from May to October 1816. At that time poems "Darkness", "Dream", "The Prisoner of Chillon" were created. In addition, Byron began writing another poem, Manfred, and also created the third song of Childe Harold. After that he went to Venice.

Acquaintance with Guiccioli, participation in the Carbonari movement

Here came the acquaintance with the Countess of Guiccioli, in which Byron fell in love. The woman was married, but she answered the poet reciprocated. Nevertheless, the countess soon left for Ravenna with her husband.

The poet decided to move after his beloved in Ravenna. This happened in 1819. Here he actively participated in the movement of the Carbonarians, who in 1821 began preparations for the uprising. However, it did not start, as some members of the organization turned out to be traitors.

Moving to Pisa

In 1821, George Gordon moved to Pisa. Here he lived with the Countess of Guiccioli, by that time already divorced. Shelley also lived in this city, but in the fall of 1822 he drowned. Byron from 1821 to 1823 created the following works: Marino Faliero, Sardanapal, Two Foscari, Sky and Earth, Cain, Werner. In addition, he began his drama called "Transformed Freak," which remained unfinished.

Byron created the famous "Don Juan" in the period from 1818 to 1823. This great creation, however, also remained unfinished. George interrupted his work in order to participate in the struggle for the independence of the Greek people.

Participation in the struggle for the independence of the Greek people

Byron in the autumn of 1822 moved to Genoa, after which he left for Missolongi (in December 1823). However, in Greece, as well as among the Italian carnarians, there was a lack of unity among the rebels. Byron spent a lot of effort trying to rally the rebels. George did a lot of organizational work, trying to create a single insurgent army. The life of the poet was very tense at that time. Besides, he caught a cold. Byron wrote on the day of his 36th birthday poem, entitled "Today I turned 36 years old."

Byron's death

He was very worried about the illness of Ada, his daughter. Soon, however, Byron received a letter stating that she had recovered. George jumped on his horse and went for a walk. However, a heavy downpour began, which became fatal for a chilled poet. The life of George Byron ended on April 19, 1824.

Byron had a great influence on the world literature of the 19th century. There was even a whole direction known as "Byronism", which was reflected in the works of Lermontov and Pushkin. As for Western Europe, the influence of this poet was felt by Heinrich Heine, Victor Hugo, Adam Mickiewicz. In addition, Byron's poems formed the basis for the musical works of Robert Schumann, Hector Berlioz and Peter Tchaikovsky. And to this day in literature, the influence of such a poet as George Byron is felt. His biography and work are of interest to many researchers.