Hours of Idleness was the first volume of poetry published by Lord Byron, in 1807, when he was 19 years old.

[1] It
is a collection of mostly short poems, many in imitation of classic Roman poets.

English Bards and Scotch Reviewers is a satirical poem written by Lord Byron. It was first published, anonymously,
in March 1809, and a second, expanded edition followed in 1809, with Byron identified as the author. The opening
parodies the first satire of Juvenal.

Byron published his first book of poetry, Hours of Idleness in 1807. It received a brutal, scathing review by Henry
Brougham, published anonymously in the Edinburgh Review.

Byron had been working on a satire in 1807, known then as British Bards. In January, 1808, the Edinburgh Review
published a scathing review of Byron's book of poems Hours of Idleness.*

Byron was so incensed that he revised his original satire, renamed it English Bards and Scotch Reviewers and had it
published anonymously in March, 1809. The second edition was much longer than the first, and Byron published it
the same year with his own name on the title page.

The text is referred to in Tom Stoppard's play Arcadia. It is also referenced in John Edward Williams' novel Stoner, in
which it is mistaken by an incompetent graduate student as John Keats' work.

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage is a lengthy narrative poem in four parts written by Lord Byron. It was published
between 1812 and 1818 and is dedicated to "Ianthe". The poem describes the travels and reflections of a world-weary
young man who, disillusioned with a life of pleasure and revelry, looks for distraction in foreign lands. In a wider
sense, it is an expression of the melancholy and disillusionment felt by a generation weary of the wars of the post-
Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras.

The title comes from the term childe, a medieval title for a young man who was a candidate for knighthood. The
"Ianthe" of the dedication was the term of endearment he used for Lady Charlotte Harley, about 11 years old when
Childe Harold was first published. Charlotte Bacon ne Harley was the second daughter of 5th Earl of Oxford and
Lady Oxford, Jane Elizabeth Scott.

The work provided the first example of the Byronic hero. The idea of the Byronic hero is one that consists of many
different characteristics. The hero must have a rather high level of intelligence and perception as well as be able to
easily adapt to new situations and use cunning to his own gain.

The poem has four cantos written in Spenserian stanzas, which consist of eight iambic pentameter lines followed by
one alexandrine (a twelve syllable iambic line), and has rhyme pattern ABABBCBCC.

The Bride of Abydos is a poem written by Lord Byron in 1813. One of his earlier works, The Bride of Abydos is
considered to be one of his "Heroic Poems", along with The Giaour, Lara, The Siege of Corinth, The Corsair and
Parisina. These poems contributed to his poetic fame at the time in England.[1]

Divided into two cantos, and further into more than a dozen stanzas each, The Bride of Abydos has a rather
straightforward plot. After an initial description of the Turkish setting, the story opens with the ruler Giaffir rebuking
his supposed son, Selim. Selim professes his love for his half-sister, Zuleika, Giaffir's daughter. Angered, the Pasha
refuses Selim a key to the royal harem and upbraids him with insults.
Zuleika herself appears, radiant in beauty, and soon she is forbidden to marry Selim; she tacitly complies. Later, she
exclaims her love to Selim and mourns her fate that would be without him. He, in turn, decries Giaffir's judgment as
well and vows vengeance. The first canto closes as Zuleika notices a change in Selim's demeanour and wonders about
his evasive language. He comforts her with the knowledge that he still retains the harem key and promises to reveal
himself later that night.

The second canto again opens with a chthonic description of the Turkish lands and the grotto where the two lovers
meet. Cloak thrown aside, Selim is dressed as a dashing pirate and declares that Zuleika is not his sister. She is
surprised and listens as Selim relates how Giaffir had killed Abdallah, Selim's father and Giaffir's brother. Selim's
story continues as he tells her that he learned of his true identity from one of his father's loyal servants, Haroun, and
that since Selim himself as raised by Giaffir, he was detested and maltreated.

He became a pirate so that he could gather a posse for revenge, and asserts his lust for Giaffir's blood; the silence at
the end of Selim's tale is interrupted by the reports of weapons belonging to Giaffir's men. Selim, wishing to kiss his
love one last time, tarries to leave the cave and soon falls, dying on beach, the fatal blow administered by Giaffir
himself. The second canto thus ends with Zuleika dying in sorrow for Selim and Giaffir is forced to live out the rest of
his life in solitude.

The Corsair is a tale in verse by Lord Byron published in 1814 (see 1814 in poetry), which was extremely popular and
influential in its day. Its poetry, divided into cantos (like Dante's Divine Comedy), narrates the story of the corsair
Conrad, how he was in his youth rejected by society because of his actions and his later fight against humanity
(excepting women). In this tale the figure of Byronic hero is presented by the point of view of the people.

The opera Il corsaro by Giuseppe Verdi, the overture Le Corsaire by Hector Berlioz and the ballet Le Corsaire by
Adolphe Adam were based on this work.

Many Americans believed that Lord Byron's poem "The Corsair" was based on the life of the privateer/pirate Jean
Lafitte

Lara, A Tale is a rhymed, tragic narrative poem by Lord Byron; first published in 1814. The first work composed after
Byron abandoned the idea of giving up writing and buying back his copyrights, it is regarded by critics as a
continuation of the autobiographical work begun in The Corsair.[1] Unlike The Corsair,This powerful narrative poem
tells of the fateful return of Count Lara to the British Isles after spending years abroad traveling the orient.

The Prisoner of Chillon is a 392-line narrative poem by Lord Byron. Written in 1816, it chronicles the imprisonment
of a Genevois monk, Franois Bonivard, from 1532 to 1536.
On 22 June 1816, Lord Byron and his contemporary and friend Percy Bysshe Shelley were sailing on Lake Geneva
(referred to as "Lac Leman", the French name, throughout the poem) and stopped to visit the Chteau de Chillon.[1]
After touring the castle (and walking through the dungeon in which Bonivard was imprisoned), Byron was inspired by
Bonivard's story and composed The Sonnet of Chillon.

Because of torrential rainfall, Byron and his companion rested at a hotel in Ouchy following their tour. In late June or
early July (several early drafts and copies present conflicting dates), Byron composed the longer fable.[1] The work
was probably completed by 2 July 1816. The Prisoner of Chillion was first published as The Prisoner of Chillon and
Other Poems by John Murray on 5 December 1816.

Prisoner of Chllon, The, a dramatic monologue principally in rhymed octosyllabics by * Byron, written in 1816 after
a visit with * Shelley to the castle of Chilln on Lake Geneva, and published in the same year. It presents the
imprisonment of a historical character, the Swiss patriot Franois de Bonnivard (1496-1570), who in the poem
describes his years spent chained with his two brothers in the castle's dungeons. He survives their slow deaths, and in
time his guards relax their vigilance, and he is able to glimpse the outside world from his barred windows. At first
tormented by the vision of the lake, the mountains, and the joy of nature, he becomes at last reconciled to his fate, a
friend in 'long communion' of his fellow inmates, the mice and the spiders: when he is released he leaves his hermitage
and regains his freedom 'with a sigh'. This simple and powerful work of dignified resignation became one of Byron's
most popular poems.

She Walks in Beauty" is a poem written in 1813 by Lord Byron, and is one of his most famous works. It was one of
several poems to be set to Jewish tunes from the synagogue by Isaac Nathan, which were published as Hebrew
Melodies in 1815.[1]

It is said to have been inspired by an event in Byron's life; while at a ball, Byron met Anne Hathaway, his cousin by
marriage through John Wilmot. She was in mourning, wearing a black dress set with spangles, as in the opening lines;

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies

He was struck by her unusual beauty, and the next morning the poem was written.[2]

The first two verses are cited in the novel The Philadelphian by Richard P. Powell. Nathan, in his reminiscences of
Byron, suggests (without any justification) that the subject of the poem may have been Byron's half-sister, Augusta
Leigh

1. What was Byron's first published book of poetry?

Fugitive Pieces
2. What was Lord Byron's given name?
George Gordon
3. What was Byron's father's nickname?
"Mad Jack"
4. Who was Byron's mother?
Catherine Gordon
5. What was Byron's ethnic heritage?
Scottish
6. Which of the following schools did Byron NOT attend?

Oxford

7. What deformity was Byron born with?

a club foot

8. Who was Byron's first unrequited love?

Mary Chaworth

9. Which family member did Byron grow most emotionally close to?

his half-sister

10. Whom did Byron marry?

Annabella Milbanke

11. What was Byron's first published book of poetry?

Fugitive Pieces

12. Who was Byron's most frequent traveling companion in Europe?

Hobhouse

13. What cause did Byron end his life supporting?

Greek independence from Turkey

14. Byron's wife left him because he was ____.

abusive
15. Who was Byron's half-sister?

Augusta

16. Who is the "Prisoner of Chillon"?

Francois de Bonnivard

17. What sub-genre of poetry is "Prisoner of Chillon"?

dramatic monologue

18. Where was the Chateau de Chillon located?

Lake Leman

19. What is the central theme of "The Prisoner of Chillon"?

though the body may be imprisoned, the mind remains free

20. How many men were imprisoned in "The Prisoner of Chillon"?

three

21. To what is the prisoner's younger brother compared?

a bird

22. What is the preferred occupation of the older brother in "The Prisoner of Chillon"?

hunting

23. How did the father of the prisoner die?

burned at the stake

24. What adds to the psychological torture of the brothers?

they can hear but not see one another