“But words are things, and a small drop of ink,
Falling, like dew, upon a thought produces
That which makes thousands, perhaps millions think.”
Lord Byron was a deep thinker and a curious soul consumed with fleeting pleasures of life. He loved animals, swimming in the ocean, any adventure to be had wouldn’t be ignored, and he often overcompensated for his insecurities that continuously clung to him, long after childhood.
George Gordon Byron was born in January 1788. He was the only child of Captain John Byron and Catherine. George’s (who I shall just call “Lord” going forward) father become well-known for surviving a shipwreck as a teenage midshipman, ensnared in voyages during the American Revolutionary War. John had been previously married to Amelia and it was said to be quite the scandal. A few weeks before the pairs nuptials, she divorced her first husband and was approximately 8 months pregnant, instigating more than one or two eye brows to raise.
George and Amelia had two children of their own, despite their unhappy and abusive interactions. After the birth of her third child, she passed from tuberculosis (or so they suspect). The press reported she may have passed due to the regret of breaking her previous husband’s heart. Some additional reports note that due to the physical and mental abuse she endured during their marriage due to John’s hand, the physical agony may have taken it’s toll.
Let us move on to John’s third wife, (Lord’s mother), Catherine. John married her in 1785, primarily due to her wealthy riches. Why did he need financial support? Well, John was in substantial debt and money owed didn’t equate to the obnoxious and minimal interference of phone calls, like today. He had to act quick before the creditors discovered him!
To claim his new wife’s estate in Scotland, he took the surname, Byron. Due to all of John’s debts, Catherine had to sell her estate and title, losing all of her status and income. Damn it, John. Really? Not off to a good start with the new wife! Soon after, in 1787, Lord Bryon was born in England. His father was not present for the birth, and once he arrived to see his son, the pair moved into their new dwelling, but the married couple felt the impact of their toxic union. The couple split ways soon after. I’m not sure, but it seems she may have had some bipolar tendencies…or perhaps it was the alcohol issues that ignited her mood swings. Either way, John was out! See ya on the flip side, Catherine! Despite their separation, he was still borrowing money from her. Catherine was willing to lend him some funds to travel to France, which is where John passed in 1791 (most assume it was of tuberculosis). Little Byron was only 4.
This left Lord’s mother Catherine to spoil, cater and indulge every craving he had. Catherine was quite stubborn and not the easiest of people to be adulted by. She was a short woman, a small woman and a mommy who enjoyed the bottle. Yes, Catherine drank often; the behavior was disgusting to little Lord. He often mocked her for her bantam appearance and as you’d expect, this brought out a lashing anger towards Lord in return. Interesting fact! Lord was born was a deformed right foot. Did you know? I did not. His mother would refer to him as a “lame brat”, usually in response to his sarcastic comments. Obviously not the best way to bring a son into the world, much less diffuse a tense situation.
Lord received a formal education in 1798 until his move back to England at 10 years old. Due to his foot deformity, he started school at Dr. William Glennie. He was advised to exercise, but in moderation. Lord was apparently quite stubborn, just as his mother was. Lord would find himself overcompensating for his diffidence and physical insecurities, by going wild with spontaneous bursts of rampant energy, (despite the advisement to take things slowly from Doctor’s). Lord had a limp that could have been helped with a brace, but he refused it. His mother was oddly a negative influence on Lord’s education. She would withdraw him from school habitually, resulting in Lord displaying constant injurious behavior.
Lord’s youth was not all pampering and indulgences though. As a child, a few trusted individuals took advantage of Lord’s youthful innocence, obviously causing some confusion and early sexual exploration as he developed from a child into a teenager. A maid of the home was said to sneak into his bed when he was quite young and after he was a bit older, a male friend of his mothers sought out young Lord’s favor with inappropriate advances.
Despite the confusion Lord logically experienced, at 16 he sensed some genuine, warm, fuzzy feelings, and Lord found himself in crush mode. Mary Chaworth was his first real desperate love. First loves are the best loves, am I right? All of the blushing, awkward moments and fleeting expressions of admiration. (PS. This is still me). His mother made note that she did not like this new romantic distraction of his and noticed a shift in his attention span. Ah yes, hormones and the teenage boy. Scary indeed!
The following year he found himself spellbound by school and absorbed with his fellow classmates. Lord often wrote nostalgic poetry with focus of his friendships. Apparently, this is when much of his sexual exploration began. His romantic interests shifted from back and forth often, no favored sex preferred.
The following year he entered college and he became focused (nay say, even infatuated) on one friend in particular, John Edleston. The two were quite close. During his three years in college, Lord focused his energies on boxing, horseback riding and gambling. While at home in between school, he’d often write and present plays to the community with his close friends. This is also when his friends encouraged him to publish his first volume of poetry.
Lord published Hours of Idleness at age 19. Much to Lord’s demise, there was a review written in response to his poetry, calling it youthful and that of an inexperienced writer. In 1809, Lord wrote a controversial response in retaliation, one that was powerful enough to upset the people, igniting dual threats and controversial uproars. This satire was entitled English Bards and Scotch Reviewers. The poem was indeed harsh and went through several editions, but by the 5th, Lord felt the need to hide record of it. He experienced remorse and regret of his forceful writing and the aftermath of his potent words, reflective of the bitterness felt only at the time.
From 1809-1811 Lord went on a Grand Tour, which was the thing to do as a young nobleman. He took to the Mediterranean, meeting his past flame, Mary Chaworth. Needless to say, not much romance induced…as Lord’s eyes had fallen elsewhere. In 1812, Lord found himself quite famous. Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage was received with much approval and praise, leading Lord to propel into a life of illustriousness overnight. He was sought after at every society venue and became a regular at the most fashionable drawing rooms. One can imagine the lifestyle accustomed with notoriety. I’m imagining Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, but much less reputable obviously.
Lord followed his late father’s example and become heavy in debt, showing blatant disregard for his family’s current financial state. His mother was living in fear, worried that her son’s creditors may pursue his location. During 1814-1815, Lord produced some of his most loved lyrics, such as, “She Walks in Beauty” and “The Destruction of Sennacherib”.
He distracted the weight of his debts rising with several lovers, but due to the pending debt, Lord felt compelled to seek a wife. He began his quest to find a partner for marriage. He zoned in on a Annabella Millbanke. Ironically her name matched her wealth. “Millions in the bank” for Ms. Millbanke, (or so they say) and all of Lord’s pursuit was focused on gaining her commitments. In 1815 the pair married and then soon after had a daughter, Ada.
During this period of finding a wealthy wife and saying “I do”, Lord was fixated on his half sister Augusta…who he just happened to run into, all while escaping the restless creditors and combing for wealthy wife selections. The secret was flying high during their marriage, not perpetuating the most happy of marriages. His half sister wasn’t his only distraction. Mr. Lord Byron was busy with famous actresses living nearby. Busy bee, Lord eh?
All of this nonsense led Annabella to label Lord as insane (I could think of another word) and even though very rare during this time, began taking necessary steps for a legal separation. Rumors were floating that Lord had a child with half-sister, all but more reason to move on, Annabella. The married pair legally separated in 1816 and with all the negative gossip running rampant, Lord felt forced to leave England, never returning.
In 1816, the summer air settled in and so did Lord. He enjoyed Switzerland and made home near Lake Geneva. He gained some well-known friends…Percy Shelley, Percy’s future wife Mary Godwin (writer of Frankenstein) and Mary’s stepsister, who he seemed to favor for more than one reason…if you catch my drift. Lord felt content with the emotional support and matching intellectual conversations shared with the circle.
The years following encompassed many romantic affairs and woman jumping into Venetian canals, all because Lord couldn’t seem to keep it in his pants. All of this “inspiration” undoubtedly ignited much poetic writing and creativity for Lord. In 1817, Lord was mesmerized by an 18-year-old Countess, Teresa Guiccili. Lord was expressed to be her first love (despite her already being married). I presume she was a bit impulsive as Lord was, along with an innocent, gullible undertone, perhaps? One would have to be in order to fall in love with a man who apparently has much more than just a wandering eye. Lord wrote Don Juan during this phase of his life, and we can see why. Mucho inspiracion.
Percy Shelly came to visit his old friend and being a writer himself, felt compelled to make record of the adventurous lifestyle Lord took on in a letter…
“Lord Byron gets up at two. I get up, quite contrary to my usual custom … at 12. After breakfast we sit talking till six. From six to eight we gallop through the pine forest which divide Ravenna from the sea; we then come home and dine, and sit up gossiping till six in the morning. I don’t suppose this will kill me in a week or fortnight, but I shall not try it longer. Lord B.’s establishment consists, besides servants, of ten horses, eight enormous dogs, three monkeys, five cats, an eagle, a crow, and a falcon; and all these, except the horses, walk about the house, which every now and then resounds with their unarbitrated quarrels, as if they were the masters of it… . [P.S.] I find that my enumeration of the animals in this Circean Palace was defective … . I have just met on the grand staircase five peacocks, two guinea hens, and an Egyptian crane. I wonder who all these animals were before they were changed into these shapes.”
Despite such a carousing lifestyle, Lord became quite restless in the day-to-day humdrum and decided to sail away to Kefalonia in the Ionian Islands. His wife of 22 was very distraught and requested to stay with her father while Lord was away. Lord wasn’t exactly excited to leave his young lady behind, but adventure waits for no one. Yes, Lord led an audacious life. He was supposed to lead an attack but there was some blackmailing involved and after several attempts at resolving the unpredictability of the Souliotes and their threats, he resolved he would rather them “cut him into more pieces than they have dissensions among them.”
Lord sold his estate in England to help raise money for the revolution. He was considered to be a millionaire ten times over (in today’s money). Greece was quite excited about the wealthy visitor and relentlessly hounded Lord for his financial support. He grew annoyed, resentful and yet, used his notoriety to persuade leaders to come together against defeating the Ottomans.
Around 1824, Lord adopted a nine-year old Turkish Muslim girl, Hato. Her parents had been killed by the Greeks. He knew that due to the religious hatred between Orthodox Greeks and Muslim Turks, anyone, yes, even a child would be in great danger. In the end, he sent her away to Kefalonia for safekeeping, despite the risk involved.
There were many attacks planned in the months to follow, but before the expedition to sail, Lord fell ill. A good dose of bloodletting should fix that….right? Wrong. This weakened him further. Soon after, he started to recuperate, but then caught a cold, and the bloodletting induced the detriment of his health. Lord contracted a fierce fever that battled with all Lord had left. He passed at only age 36 in 1824. If he had lived and proceeded with his plan to defeat the Ottomans, speculations ran that he would have been declared King of Greece.
Lord’s friends raised money to authorize a statue in honor of Lord, however, once the statue was completed, British institutions turned their nose up to it. 145 years later however, in 1969 a memorial to Lord Byron was placed in West Minster Abbey. Despite the controversial lifestyle that Lord seemed to live, his talent and wisdom could not be overlooked.
The loyalist in me is confused by Lord’s fleeting attention and romantic instability. He seemed to flutter from person to person, as if imitating a butterfly sucking nectar from various flowers. Even still, the passions, talent and grace evoked through his writing is without a doubt some of the most exquisite that I’ve partaken my eyes on. I only feel regret he experienced such suffering and confusion at a young age, all due to his innocence being shattered by the wrong hands.
“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:
I love not Man the less, but Nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the Universe, and feel
What I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal.”
― Lord Byron, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Byron
https://poets.org/text/famous-last-words
Portrait Painting: Théodore Géricault • 1810