Lord Byron was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement and is widely regarded as one of the greatest English-language poets of all time. His work is still commonly read by poetry lovers and scholars alike. His poetic works include ‘Hours of Idleness,’ ‘Lara, A Tale’ and ‘Hebrew Melodies.’ Read more about Lord Byron.
‘Apostrophe to the Ocean’ by Lord Byron is an excerpt from Byron’s long, epic poem ‘Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage.’ The excerpt includes seven stanzas from the poem, starting with stanza CLXXVIII, or 178, and ending with stanza 184.
There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society where none intrudes,
By the deep Sea, and music in its roar:
‘Oh! Snatch’s Away in Beauty’s Bloom’ by Lord Byron is a beautiful poem about grief and the importance of expressing such emotions as a means of catharsis.
Oh! snatched away in beauty’s bloom,
On thee shall press no ponderous tomb;
But on thy turf shall roses rear
Their leaves, the earliest of ' the year;
‘Prometheus’ by Lord Byron is a heart-warming ode to Prometheus for his selflessness and service to humanity.
Titan! to whose immortal eyes
The sufferings of mortality,
Seen in their sad reality,
Were not as things that gods despise;
What was thy pity's recompense?
‘Solitude’ describes how a person can feel content and supported in nature, yet isolated and alone when surrounded by other people.
To sit on rocks, to muse o'er flood and fell,
To slowly trace the forest's shady scene,
Where things that own not man's dominion dwell,
And mortal foot hath ne'er or rarely been;
There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society where none intrudes,
By the deep Sea, and music in its roar:
‘Darkness’ by Lord Byron serves as a warning against the growing inequality in Byron’s time and a prediction for what will happen to the planet if the human race does not change.
I had a dream, which was not all a dream.
The bright sun was extinguish'd, and the stars
Did wander darkling in the eternal space,
Rayless, and pathless, and the icy earth
‘Epitaph to a Dog’ by Lord Byron is also known as ‘Inscription on the Monument to a Newfoundland Dog.’ It was written in 1808 after the poet’s dog Boatswain died of rabies.
When some proud Son of Man returns to Earth,
Unknown to Glory but upheld by Birth,
The sculptor's art exhausts the pomp of woe,
And storied urns record who rests below:
‘Fare Thee Well’ by Lord Byron is a fifteen stanza poem written by Byron after separating from his wife in the early 1800s.
Fare thee well! and if for ever,
Still for ever, fare thee well:
Even though unforgiving, never
'Gainst thee shall my heart rebel.
‘Lines Inscribed Upon a Cup Formed From a Skull’ was written in 1808 and expresses Byron’s disdainful thoughts surrounding death.
Start not—nor deem my spirit fled:
In me behold the only skull
From which, unlike a living head,
Whatever flows is never dull.
Maid of Athens, ere we part,
Give, oh give me back my heart!
Or, since that has left my breast,
Keep it now, and take the rest!
My soul is dark - Oh! quickly string
The harp I yet can brook to hear;
And let thy gentle fingers fling
Its melting murmurs o'er mine ear.
Lord Byron wrote ‘On the Death of a Young Lady’ in memory of his cousin Margaret Parker. This poem contains great emotional content, focusing on atmosphere over the story.
Hush’d are the winds, and still the evening gloom,
Not e’en a zephyr wanders through the grove,
Whilst I return, to view my Margaret’s tomb,
And scatter flowers on the dust I love.
Seek out—less often sought than found—
A soldier's grave, for thee the best;
Then look around, and choose thy ground,
And take thy Rest.
Scholars believe that ‘She Walks in Beauty’ was written when Byron met his cousin Mrs. Anne Beatrix Wilmont.
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
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.
There be none of Beauty's daughters
With a magic like thee;
And like music on the waters
Is thy sweet voice to me:
The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.
Saint Peter sat by the celestial gate:
His keys were rusty, and the lock was dull,
So little trouble had been given of late;
Not that the place by any means was full,
There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society where none intrudes,
By the deep Sea, and music in its roar:
‘Thou Whose Spell Can Raise the Dead’ by Lord Byron, told by the prophet Samuel, describes the fate of King Saul and his sons.
Thou whose spell can raise the dead,
Bid the prophet's form appear.
"Samuel, raise thy buried head!
"King, behold the phantom seer!"
Think'st thou I saw thy beauteous eyes,
Suffus'd in tears, implore to stay;
And heard unmov'd thy plenteous sighs,
Which said far more than words can say?
When we two parted
In silence and tears,
Half broken-hearted
To sever for years,
support@poemanalysis.com
Poem Solutions Limited, International House, 36-38 Cornhill, London, EC3V 3NG, United Kingdom
