Emotion and Feeling in Lord Byron's Poetry

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Recommended: Influence of the romantic literary period

The genre of poetry itself produces connotations based around raw emotions, especially when considering poetry from the Romanticism era. Furthermore, poetry which is based on emotions (whether negative or positive) is what makes it successful in evoking a more personal response from the reader. When exploring poetry references such as 'The English Poetic Mind' by Charles Williams, he states how when 'We are told of a thing; we are made to feel as if that thing were possible to us; and we are so made to feel it-whatever the thing may be, joy or despair...knowledge is an intense satisfaction to us '1. This statement supports the idea that a certain emotion must be within a poem, meaning if the reader is able to relate to it, the poem is more effective. However, these quotes support the importance of emotion within poetry, but what about the importance of emotion within the poet? Throughout this essay, Lord Byron will be the main poet of focus, as his notorious lifestyle suggests that true emotion may have been his weakness. His poems 'Fare Thee Well!' (composed 18 March 1816: From Poems (1816)) and 'When we two parted' (composed August or September 1815: From Poems (1816)) will also be the primary focus, as they represent two negative influences which happened in Byron's life that would have produced an emotional response.

When first approaching Byron's poetry, the reader would find it difficult not to judge the poem without putting it in the context of his famous reputation. He was a celebrity of his time due to his lavish and liberal lifestyle. Paul West states that 'The difficulty is that if we respond to him at all, we respond to his temperament '2. But how would one respond to his poetry if they had no previous knowledg...

... middle of paper ...

...ling. To complete the discussion, the assessment of Byron and his works leads to the belief that personal emotions and feelings are important, as it is through this delicate, yet expressive language, that poetry is formed.

Bibliography:

Williams, Charles, (1932). The English Poetic Mind. Oxford University Press

West, Paul (1963). BYRON A collection of critical essays. Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Marchand, Leslie A. (1957) BYRON A Biography. Volume Two. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

Poems:

'Fare Thee Well!' by Lord Byron (composed 18 March 1816: From Poems (1816)) taken from Wu, Duncan, (2006) Romanticism An Anthology, Third Edition. Blackwell Publishing. p. 850-852.

'When we two parted' by Lord Byron (composed August or September 1815: From Poems (1816)) taken from Wu, Duncan, (2006) Romanticism An Anthology, Third Edition. Blackwell Publishing. p. 849.

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