Lord Byron
1788–1824
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (1788–1824), known as Lord Byron, was an English Romantic poet and one of the most famous figures of his age. Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812) made him a celebrity overnight; scandal drove him from England in 1816, and he lived in Switzerland, Italy and Greece.
His work ranges from lyrics such as “She Walks in Beauty” and “So, we’ll go no more a-roving” to the comic epic Don Juan. The brooding, rebellious “Byronic hero” became a model across Europe. He died at Missolonghi in 1824 while supporting the Greek War of Independence, and is honoured as a national hero in Greece.
Best-known poems
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The Destruction of Sennacherib
From “Hebrew Melodies”
THE ASSYRIAN came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold; … -
The Prisoner of Chillon
Eternal spirit of the chainless mind!
Brightest in dungeons, Liberty! thou art,
For there thy habitation is the heart,— … -
We'll go no more a-roving
So, we'll go no more a-roving
So late into the night,
Though the heart be still as loving, … -
The Poet’s Impulse
From “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage,” Canto III.
SKY, mountains, river, winds, lake, lightnings! ye
With night, and clouds, and thunder, and a soul …
All poems (46)
A 2
C 1
E 1
F 4
G 1
L 1
M 1
N 2
S 8
- Saint Peter’s at RomeFrom “Childe Harold,” Canto IV.
- She Walks in Beauty1
- “She walks in beauty”“Hebrew Melodies”
- So We'll Go No More a RovingSo late into the night,
- Song of the Greek PoetFrom “Don Juan,” Canto III.
- StanzasWritten on the Road between Florence and Pisa
- Storm in the AlpsFrom “Childe Harold,” Canto III.
- SwimmingFrom “The Two Foscari”
T 13
- The ColiseumFrom “Childe Harold,” Canto IV.
- The Destruction of SennacheribFrom “Hebrew Melodies”
- The DreamOur life is twofold; sleep hath its own world,
- The Girl of CadizOh, never talk again to me
- The Isles of GreeceThe isles of Greece! the isles of Greece
- The OrientFrom “The Bride of Abydos”
- The PantheonFrom “Childe Harold,” Canto IV.
- The Poet’s ImpulseFrom “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage,” Canto III.
- The Prisoner of ChillonEternal spirit of the chainless mind!
- The RhineTo His Sister
- The SeaFrom “Childe Harold,” Canto IV.
- The WreckFrom “Don Juan,” Canto II.
- To Thomas MooreMy boat is on the shore,
