Byron introduction
George? Gordon? George gordon byron (1788.1.22-1824.4.19) is an outstanding representative of English romantic literature. 1788 65438+/kloc-0 was born in London on October 22nd, and his parents came from a declining aristocratic family. He was born lame and sensitive to it. 1805- 1808 studying literature and history at Cambridge university. He is not a diligent student and seldom attends lectures, but he widely reads European and British literature, philosophy and historical works, and also engages in shooting, gambling, drinking, hunting, swimming, boxing and other activities. 1March, 809, entered the House of Lords as a hereditary aristocrat. He attended the House of Lords and delivered some speeches, but these speeches clearly expressed Byron's progressive position of liberalism.
Byron's life experience
Byron (1788? 1824), a unique genius poet in ancient and modern times, holds a pen like a rafter in the turbulent romantic literary world, and his financial resources are rolling; On the political stage where national liberation is in full swing, he is also a strong warrior in military uniform, fighting for democracy and freedom. Byron didn't live to be 36 years old, and was called/kloc-0 by critics as an Englishman at the beginning of the 9th century? Satire the real world with passion and pain? Poet.
1788 65438+1October 22nd George? Gordon? Byron was born in a rented humble house in London, England. Byron was born into an old and declining aristocratic family.
The mind of disabled children requires perfection.
Say it's always because the Byrons followed earlier? William the conqueror? They came to England from Normandy together. During the Crusades in the16th century, they made outstanding achievements, and were rewarded by kings of past dynasties and became lords. Byron, who was a baby, never imagined that when he was 10 years old, he would become the owner of the hereditary territory of Newstad.
John, the father of the poet Byron? Byron was educated in the French army school when he was young and became a bodyguard of the British army after graduation. He is violent and rude, likes to drink and gamble, and owes huge debts. Shortly after returning to London from the United States at the age of 20, he kidnapped the Marquise Calmercer and squandered the 4,000 pounds of annual income that the Marquise inherited from her father. However, 4000 pounds can't maintain his luxurious life and huge gambling debts. They had to leave England and flee to France. There, she gave birth to her daughter Augusta, the poet Byron's half-sister, Byron's closest friend, who had an important influence on Byron's life and creation. Shortly after giving birth to her daughter, Marquise Calmercer died of illness.
The prodigal son who lost 4000 pounds quietly returned to England and took a fancy to a Scottish aristocratic family named Catherine? Gordon's girl, though not beautiful, has a fortune of 23,000 pounds? Of which 3000 pounds is in cash. This is too tempting for him, because it can pay off his past gambling debts. 1784 In May, they got married in Bath Hot Springs. This lady is Byron's mother. The newlyweds returned to Gordon's home in North Scotland, but his gambling, good wine and wandering life soon squandered Gordon's property. The couple sold their land and property, moved to France, and lived in poverty day by day.
1787 Summer, pregnant John? Mrs Byron returned to London single because she missed her hometown. The thrifty Scottish woman rented a house in a street in London and settled down, but her husband was still wandering in France to escape the debt. When he has no money, he often writes to his wife who is not rich. When Byron was three years old, his father finally appeared? Without a shirt and a penny, the only dress is full of holes? It was a tragic death. It was said that it was suicide. Her husband's death was a heavy blow to his wife. In addition, the increasingly poor life and her own misfortune make Byron's mother's character very irritable and moody. Byron spent his childhood in northern Scotland, and his mother was grumpy and poor.
Byron is lame. There are two ways to cause this kind of disability, one is born; On the other hand, because his mother was cruel, she was so angry that she beat him like this. Besides, Byron can be said to be a beautiful boy. He has clear eyes, brown curly hair and fair skin. People like him very much. Byron, in particular, has a good voice and a beautiful voice. So later at Cambridge University, his classmates called him? A gentleman with a nice voice? .
It's just the physical defect of limping that often makes him feel inferior and miserable.
When he was young, whenever he walked in the street, he always heard people talk about him like this: Ah, what a beautiful child, but it's a pity that he is lame. ?
Byron blushed at once, thinking that the speaker had insulted himself. He wiped his tears and said loudly, Don't you say that about me! ? One side pounced on the other.
The tutor turned him into a bookworm.
At the age of four and a half, Byron was sent to Aberdeen School. He is studious, smart and has a good memory, but he is as naughty as all children, and sometimes he plays some practical jokes. His kindness, integrity and loyalty were quickly loved by his friends, but his friendly and irritable temper surprised them. ? A very lovely child, but difficult to control. A teacher once commented on him like this.
In addition to studying at school, his mother also hired a tutor in history and Latin for him, and Byron's history addiction was formed from this time. He is precocious and likes reading all kinds of books, especially history books. He often begged his mother to borrow historical story books about Rome, Greece and Turkey from the public library. Whenever night falls, little Byron reads and thinks with novelty, sweetness and a little terror, and wanders in the long river of history. The brilliant military achievements of the ancients have aroused Byron's heroic dream many times. He once said to his friends: One day I will assemble an army. The soldiers were dressed in black and rode red horses. They will be called? Byron's black cavalry? . You are sure to hear about our amazing miracle. ?
Byron would never have thought that this miracle really appeared 30 years later. He really became the commander-in-chief of a Greek allied army, and came to the end of his life with his helmet, sword and black cloak.
Byron is a clever student, but he doesn't study hard and his grades are not outstanding, but he reads a lot. He later recalled:? People have never seen me reading, always slacking off, playing pranks or playing games. In fact, I read books when I eat, sleep and when no one is reading. I have read all the books since I was five years old. ? After reading the Bible, Byron became interested in the mysterious and legendary eastern world, especially the Arabian Nights.
At school, Byron is not only famous for his good conversation and extensive reading, but also for his enterprising spirit. Whenever someone laughs at his disability and bullies him, he can always beat his opponent with great courage. If he was beaten once, he would surely pay it back twice. This kind of courage and struggle is the greatest feature of his life.
Byron claimed that he had no religious belief all his life, but in his early years he was deeply influenced by his Latin tutor, a devout Calvinist. In Byron's childhood mind, he was imbued with Calvinism day and night, and the belief of taking pleasure in suffering penetrated into the deepest part of Byron's personality. Byron's nanny may? Gray is also keen on religion and often tells him about immortals, heaven and hell. Those impressions will naturally stay in his mind. The influence of this religion can be seen in his later masterpiece Manfred.
1798, known as? The king of evil? Byron's great-uncle and heir, the owner of Newstead, died one after another. According to the hereditary system of titles at that time, 10-year-old Byron became the sixth generation Lord. The next day, when he went to school to attend the roll call, the headmaster stopped calling him? Byron? , but call him? Byron? , he should answer? Arrive? Words, but it is difficult to swallow at this time, then? Wow? I cried loudly.
This autumn, Byron left Aberdeen, where he had lived for many years, with his mother and nanny, and went to Newstead Manor to accept his inheritance.
His enthusiasm for extracurricular reading made him an excellent poet.
180 1 year, in order to match Byron's aristocratic status and position, the family decided to send him to a prestigious school? Attend Harrow College. This place was built by John at 157 1? Lynn's school has cultivated many famous figures in British history, among which Prime Minister Churchill, who worships Byron very much, graduated from this school.
This year, Byron 13 years old.
Joseph, then dean of Harrow College? Drewry received this talented, handsome and noble boy with a disabled leg in his study. After the talk, the headmaster immediately found out that what he gave me was a pony used to the wild in the mountains. However, I can see from his eyes that he is thoughtful. ?
In the days of Harrow College, Byron didn't study hard in the formal class as usual, but at the critical moment, he was able to write thirty or forty Latin verses with a stroke of a pen. He is not interested in textbooks, but he is keen on extracurricular reading and extensive reading, thus gaining rich knowledge. ? Lazy and knowledgeable? This is the characteristic of his middle school days.
Young and mature Byron also began to pay attention to society and the times.
Nottingham, where Neustad is located, is not only famous for its feudal medieval monuments and the legend of Robin Hood's outlaw, but also a great industrial center in Britain at that time, the earliest area to break away from the industrial revolution and one of the most important birthplaces of the workers' movement. When Byron was very young, he heard about the first strike of Nottingham workers to destroy machines. Byron grew up in a period of great changes in British and world history. He was born in the vigorous French Revolution and the magnificent struggle for independence, freedom and liberation. He witnessed various events such as worker riots, peasant uprisings and soldier mutinies caused by the intensification of class contradictions.
Byron was keenly aware that he was a man of revolutionary times whose life and society were changing and developing. In his letter to Scott 1822 on May 4th, he said: We live in a great era. When everything succumbed to evil forces on a large scale, everything seemed insignificant. ?
This is Byron's feeling and impression when he was young.
Byron has been eager to take part in social activities since he was a student. When he was at Harrow College, he was addicted to practicing speaking. 1April 2, 807, he wrote to his guardian John? Hansen said in a letter that an orator is far better than a poet. At the same time, he said that if he is currently engaged in writing poetry, it will be temporary, because he is not yet an adult and cannot participate in political activities. Byron studied the parliamentary debates from 17 to 18 with great interest. 1807, among the books he recorded, political science and history accounted for a large proportion. Byron also widely read the works of Enlightenment and materialist philosophy, such as Voltaire, Rousseau, Locke and others, which Byron highly praised.
Byron, full of fantasy, often came to the church on the top of Harrow alone with these books under his arm, surrounded by a cemetery. Byron sat on a tombstone under the big elm tree, reading and thinking. This is a quiet corner, the wind is blowing gently, the leaves are rustling, can Byron's thoughts drift far away?
Throughout Byron's life, the pace of his progress is heavy, his efforts are painful, and the price he paid is huge, noble just personality and mediocre aristocratic habits? The two men have been engaged in a sharp and fierce struggle in his heart.
He was disappointed, but never despaired; He used to be sad and indifferent, but he was not pessimistic; He has been lonely and melancholy, but he is more worried about the country and the people; He failed, but he fought again. His servants got up again and again and gave his fortune with a pen and a sword until he gave his life.
Byronic heroes: In Byron's oriental narrative poems, a group of chivalrous tough guys appeared. They are pirates, pagans and exiles. Most of them are arrogant, lonely and stubborn rebels. They are out of tune with the criminal society, fighting against fate alone and pursuing freedom always end in failure. Byron showed his uncompromising resistance to society through their struggle, and also reflected his own depression, loneliness and hesitation. Because these images have the author's own ideological and personality characteristics, they are called? Byronic hero? .
"Byronic hero" refers to a kind of characters in Byron's works. They are arrogant and stubborn, dissatisfied with reality, demanding to rise up and resist, and their character is rebellious; But at the same time, it seems melancholy, lonely, pessimistic, divorced from the masses, going its own way, and never finding the right way out. For example, the lyric poem "Childe? Haller's Travels is Harold, the hero Conrad in the pirate ship (*, 18 14), Manfred in the philosophical drama Manfred, and so on.
The thoughts and personalities of these characters are contradictory: on the one hand, they love life, pursue happiness, have fiery passion, strong love and extraordinary personality; Dare to despise the current system, and swear revenge with social evil forces, therefore, they are rebels and avengers of evil society. On the other hand, they are arrogant and independent, secretive and extreme. Their ideological basis is individualism and liberalism. They separated themselves from the masses in the struggle and had no clear goal, so they ended in failure.
Byronic hero is the product of the opposition between individual and society, and it is also the artistic reflection of the author's ideological characteristics and weaknesses. This kind of characters appeared in Byron's works one after another, which was of progressive significance to the violent impact of British feudal order and bourgeois society at that time. However, their individualism, anarchism and pessimism often bring negative effects to readers. Russian literary critic Elinski and poet Pushkin both pointed out the ideological weakness and harmfulness of "Byronic hero".
Byron left England forever in April 18 16. A biographer said he? Being driven out of the country, his money belt and heart were destroyed and he left and never came back; But after he left, he found new inspiration by the rapids of the Ruoen River and wrote works that made his name immortal under the Italian sky. ?
18 16, Byron lived in Switzerland and met another exiled poet Shelley in Geneva. Their hatred of British rule and their love of poetry made them close friends.
Byron wrote Childe Haller's Travels (18 16-1817), the story poem Priessner of Qilun (1816) and the tragedy Man Don Juan, the representative work, is Byron's most important group of poems, which is half poetic, half harmonious, half narrative and half argument, with realistic content, strange, relaxed and ironic brushwork. After the first and second chapters were published anonymously, they immediately caused great repercussions. The British press, which upholds the dignity of the bourgeoisie, attacked it and accused it of attacking religion and morality, didn't it? A mockery of the decency, good feelings and code of conduct necessary to maintain society? ,? Disgusting every normal brain? , and so on.
But it is also highly respected. Writer Walter? Scott said don Juan? Like Shakespeare, he covered every topic in life, plucked every string on the sacred piano and played the smallest, strongest and most shocking tune. ? The poet Goethe said? Don Juan is a work of complete genius-cynicism to the point of desperate vitriol, tenderness to the point of delicate and touching good feelings. After the sixteenth chapter of Don Juan was written, Byron was ready to devote himself to the national liberation movement in Greece.
This is the last and most brilliant page in the poet's life. He hates to start? Holy alliance? The oppression of all ethnic groups in Europe also hates Turkey's rule over Greece. 1824, Byron was busy preparing for the war. It's a pity that he caught a cold in the rain and couldn't afford to get sick. He died on April 65438, 2009. His death made the Greek people extremely sad, and the whole country mourned for 2 1 day.
Looking back on his life, his poems and his spirit is enough to convince anyone who can feel it: Byron is not only a great poet, but also a poet that is always needed in the world, laughing at his meanness and inspiring him to take higher actions.
Byron's main works
Byron struggled for the ideals of democracy, freedom and national liberation all his life and worked hard to create them. His works are of great historical significance and artistic value. His unfinished novel Don Juan is a magnificent narrative poem with broad artistic conception, superb views and outstanding art, which is rare in the history of British and even European literature.
Byron began to write poems when he was a student. After the publication of Idle Time (1807), the second book of poetry was attacked by Edinburgh Review, and the poet replied with the poem English Bards and Scottish Critics (1809). Childe, published in 18 12? Harold's Travels (Chapters 1 and 2) are his masterpieces. 18 16, Byron was rejected by the upper class because of his private life, and moved to Italy in a rage. In Italy, he wrote "Childe? Chapters 3 and 4 of Harold's Travels (18 16, 18 18). This lyric narrative poem and the unfinished masterpiece Don Juan are his most famous masterpieces.
Byron also wrote a series of narrative poems, such as Gior (18 13), The Bride of Abydos (18 13) and Pirates (1813). 182 1), and many lyric poems and satirical poems, such as The Vision of Trial (1822).
At the beginning of 1823, the anti-soil struggle in Greece was surging. Byron put down Don Juan (18 18- 1823) he was writing, and resolutely went to Greece to participate in the armed struggle of the Greek people for freedom and independence. April 1824. His poems have great influence in Europe and China.
1. The first two chapters of Childe Harold were published in 18 12? Spirgrimage brought Byron fame. Byron's early masterpieces are the first and second chapters of the long narrative poem The Travels of Childe Harold (18 12).
2. In Geneva, he wrote the third chapter of Childe Harold's Travels and the narrative poem The Prisoner of Chiron. In Geneva, Byron wrote the third chapter of Harold's Travels and the narrative poem The Prisoner Riding on Aaron.
He created the poetic drama Manfred, that is, the first two chapters of Don Juan. He wrote the first two chapters of Manfred and Don Juan.
4. Don Juan is Byron? A/kloc-a great comedy epic in the early 9th century. His masterpiece Don Juan is a famous satirical epic at the beginning of19th century.
5. Byron's positive moral factors, such as courage, integrity and frankness, which are denied by modern society. Byron developed the advantages of courage, generosity, honesty and directness in Don Juan.
6. The poet? His real intention is to use Juan? Take risks and present a panoramic view of different types of society. The poet's creative intention is to reflect different social conditions through Don Juan's Travels.
7.byron? Can the satire on English society in the second half of the poem be compared with Pope? s； And his satire is far less personal than Pope's? Because Byron is not attacking personal hatred here, but the whole tragic society. Byron's satire on English society at the end of the poem is comparable to Pope's, even worse, because Byron's satire is not personal grievances, but the hypocrisy of the whole society.
8. As a leading figure of romanticism, Byron? His main contribution is to create? Byronic hero? A proud, mysterious and noble rebel. Such a hero first appeared in childe Harold? Spirgrimage was then further developed in later works, such as oriented stories, Manfred, and Dan Juan in different disguises. As a representative poet of romanticism, Byron's main contribution lies in his creation? Byronic hero? Proud, mysterious, rebellious but of noble descent. This Byronic hero appeared in Harold's Travels, Oriental Tales, Manfred and Don Juan.
9. In fact, Byron enriched European poetry with the uncertainty of thought, image, artistic form and innovation. Byron developed rich ideas, imagination, artistic forms and innovative European poetry.