George Gordon Byron (1788-1824)
Comment
?George Gordon Byron was perhaps the most fascinating and influential literary figure of the Romantic age.
?1. Life and Career
–Born into an ancient aristocratic family in 1788, and died in 1824 at the age of 36 –his father died when he was 3
–lived in loneliness and poverty in Aberdeen, Scotland
–Inherited the title of a baron and a large estate at the age of ten
–Educated first at Harrow and then Cambridge
–in 1802, first met his half-sister, Augusta Leigh with whom he was later suspected of having an incestuous relationship
–Took his seat in the House of Lords, and made vehement speeches, attacking the reactionary policy of the English government in 1811
–Published in 1812 the first two cantos of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage and became famous overnight
–Got married to Anna Isabella Milbanke in 1815
–Forced to leave England in 1816
because of rumors about his incestuous relationship with his half-sister –settled in Geneva with Percy Bysshe Shelley
–Joins the Greek war of independence in 1823
–Fell ill and died in 1824
6.1 Byron
