Lord George Gordon Byron, the lover of well, everything.

Lord Byron was born in London in 1788. He gained the title of "Lord" when he was ten years old. He was born with a lame foot that he was extremely sensitive about his entire life. Believing that with proper car if could have been helped at a younger age. He attended college in Cambridge, where he resided when he published his first collection of poems. These poems included ones written by Byron when he was only 14. Between the years 1809 to 1811, Byron embarked on the young noblemen customary Grand Tour. Due to the Napoleonic Wars he had to pass on most of Europe, and spent most of the tour in the Mediterranean. Lord Byron died in 1824 due to a violent cold and a fever.
The first Romantic trait the Byron poses greatly is "an embrace of strong emotion". Byron was extremely dedicated to animals, he had many eccentric ones as pets throughout his life. These pets included a fox, a bear, a crocodile, a badger, and many more. Byron was so connected to these animals and was so strongly emotionally connected to them that he did anything in his power for them. When one of his dogs contracted rabies, no one would help the dog with it's sickness. Byron however nursed the dog back to health without fear of being bitten. When the dog finally passed away, he wrote a heartfelt epitaph to the dog. The epitaph has become on of his most famous works.

A second Romantic trait that is easily seen in Byron is "a love of tension and strong contrasts." Byron has been accused of alarming love affairs during his life. While none of them have been entirely proved, it created a certain "tension" for everyone in his life. It has been claimed that while Byron was on his Grand Tour, he fell in love with a young boy of fifteen named Nicolò Giraud. This apparently inspired some of his poetry that related the ideas of pederasty, or the love of a young boy by a man outside of the family. Another love affair Byron found himself entangled in was with Lady Caroline Lamb, beginning in 1812. Byron was the one to end this affair, and Caroline never recovered, constantly begging for him to come back. An alleged love affair was with a woman named Augusta Leigh, who happened to be his half sister. They had not known each other for most of their childhood, so when they finally became close in adulthood it has been speculated that they became, well, close. They have been accused of having an incestuous relationship during their later years. Augusta had a daughter, and when she was born Byron's enthusiasm and happiness shows that he was probably of a closer relationship than uncle, more along the lines of the little girls dad. Byron then married Lady Caroline's cousin Anne Isabella Milbanke. They had a daughter (which he named Augusta, just like his half sister), and their marriage proved unfaithful after adultery on Byron's part, and alleged incest with his daughter Augusta. They were divorced a year later. Byron later had an affair with Percy Shelley's step-sister in law, Claire. This affair gained Byron another daughter, this time named Allegra. Byron and Claire had had a previous affair in London.

A third Romantic trait Byron possessed was "an idealization of freedom and liberation from oppression." Byron found himself in the House of Lords in 1811. In 1812 he made his first speech in which he defended the Luddites. He was one of the few Parliamentary defenders of the Luddites.

A fourth, and final, Romantic trait from Byron was "a love of heroes, always ones associated with rebellion." Byron created the idea of the "Byronic hero." The Byronic hero is an idealized, however, a flawed character. It's traits include,

• having great talent
• exhibiting great passion
• having a distaste for society and social institutions
• expressing a lack of respect for rank and privilege
• thwarted in love by social constraint or death
• rebelling
• suffering exile
• hiding an unsavoury past
• arrogance, overconfidence or lack of foresight
• ultimately, acting in a self-destructive manner.

First excerpt:
So we'll go no more a roving

So late into the night,

Though the heart be still as loving,

And the moon be still as bright. (taken from So Well Go No More a Roving)

First off, roving is to roam or wander. In the first line Byron says "so well go no more a roving." The "well" indicates that he is not alone, the other person however, is never identified, leaving the reader to guess on whether or not it is a male, a female, an affair, his wife, a daughter, etc. Byron is explaining here how he was aging, and his antics that he had performed earlier in life we're becoming tiresome and he would no longer be able to keep up with the hectic times of his youth. His heart will still be as loving shows that he still will feel the same way he always has, however, he is going to "grow up" in a sense, and keep certain urges deep down inside of him.

Second excerpt:
'Tis time the heart should be unmoved, Since others it hath ceased to move: Yet, though I cannot be beloved, Still let me love!
(taken from On this Day I Complete my Thirty-Sixth Year)

In the first line, Byron shows how at his age he should be with someone, married, and in love. He should not be moving between people and having affairs, or feelings else where. And in the second line he continues with the idea saying that people his age are already dead, and he has yet to "settle down" in life. In the third line he states that he cannot be someone who is deeply loved and cared for, but that does not matter to him, he still wants to love! He is explaining how he knows that life will soon come to an end, he doesn't have long left, however, while he is still alive, he wants to find love and love. Byron is holding onto his emotions, and isn't letting them go until death, which is extremely Romantic.



When I was attempting to relate Lord Byron to a pop culture individual, it hit me pretty fast. As odd and he may be, the one person I can relate to Byron, is Marilyn Manson (center front). It's pretty easy to see parallels between them. One of the main parallels is the "love of everyone" scheme Byron had going for him. Lord Byron was accused again and again of having "homosexual relations." Marilyn Manson has been accused since 1989 of having love affairs with bassist Twiggy Ramirez (back far left). He has also been accused of having affairs with drummer Ginger Fish (back second from left) and ex guitarist John 5 (not pictured). Manson has never refuted or agreed to any of these claims. His personal life has also had such problems. When formerly married to burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese, it was reported that he was having a love affair with his now girlfriend Evan Rachel Wood. Byron also generally had age differences between him and his "lovers." Manson was around 35 when he began dating Even Wood, who was 19 at the time. Marilyn Manson is also a ridiculous lover of animals (despite those awesome claims of sacrificing them, because he's stated many times how false that is :)), like Byron who was fully in love with his dog, Manson spends generally all of his free time with his cat. He also has donated money to many animal protection charities., or he said he has in his biographies. Also, Manson is a believer in freedom of oppression, he is a constant voice in the music industry about the government, and how they are treating society.

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