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Byron<- 2nd generation of romantic poets<-chapter 6<-contents<-position

     In 1813, he spoke effectively on liberal themes in the House of Lords. And also in the same year, Augusta came to visit her brother as a way of escaping her financial and personal problems. In 1814, Augusta gave birth to a daughter, who was generally supposed to be Byron’s. Byron married Annabella on 2nd January 1815 and got a daughter by her on 10 December 1815, named Augusta Ada. And Byron published Hebrew Melodies in this year, too. However, his debts were accumulating, doubts were cast upon his sanity, and public horror at the rumors of his incest was rising. In February 1816, Annabella asked for a formal separation, which Byron, somewhat in shock, agreed to. So in April, Byron set out for Europe once again and never to return. In May, he met Percy Shelley and Mary Godwin (later Shelley’s wife), who were shocking everyone by living in sin. They were traveling with Mary’s stepsister, Clare Clairmont, who soon became Byron’s mistress and gave birth for him a daughter in 1817. At this time, Byron wrote The Prisoner of Chillon.
      The group traveled everywhere together, finally ending up in Italy, and Byron decided that this was the place for him. While there, he finished up Childe Harold, wrote Manfred, and started on Don Juan, though his health was poor. Newstead was then at last sold, and Byron was free of financial worries.
       Byron took Teresa, Countess Guicioli, as his mistress in 1819, and it was quite the scandal. Not just because the lady was married - Italian women were expected to have lovers - but because Byron often lived under the same roof with both Teresa and her rich old husband. He got involved with local politics in 1820, joining the Italian freedom fighters working for democracy, though nothing really effective ever came of his plans. In 1822, Shelley drowned when his boat capsized, and the little group of English expatriates came apart. The following year, Byron became involved in the Greek fight for independence from Turkey. (Ironically, Ali Pasha, whom Byron had so admired, had been one of the Turkish oppressors of Greece.) Byron sailed for Greece at great risk and expense, even though he was convinced he was sailing towards his own death. He joined forces with a Greek prince named Mavrocordato and financed a navy for the freedom fighters. Byron found himself reluctantly in command of everything, as the Greeks tended to fight amongst themselves too much.
      In February of 1824, he had an epileptic seizure. Two months later, Byron was caught in a sudden storm while horseback riding, and then caught a chill from which he never recovered. He died on 19 April 1824, having suffered extreme delirium for many days. He was never able to read the letters of praise, which had arrived from England a few days before, so he never knew that his native country had forgiven (or at least forgotten) his indiscretions.
　

Don Juan

     Don Juan as Byron’s masterpiece, consisting of 16 cantos but still unfinished, is a satirical epic written in Italy during the years from 1818 to 1823. The story takes place in the second half of the 18th century. It is about the romantic adventures of a legendary Spanish youth who was born in a noble family. Juan, as a handsome and easy-going youth, has many love affairs with various women. His first love affair with a married woman makes him be sent abroad at the age of 16. Because of shipwreck, he is cast up on a Greek island and is cared for by the “daughter of nature”—Haidee. Haidee is the daughter of a pirate who at that time is away and believed to be dead. The youth felt into love soon and then got married. However, the father returns unexpectedly and finds that his daughter has been married to a stranger. He is enraged and forces the new couple to separate. He puts Don Juan on a slave ship, which causes Haidee directly go mad and die. Juan, as a slave, is sold in Constantinople to a sultana who falls in love with him. He manages to escape from her and joins the Russian army. Because of his distinguished behavior in fighting, Juan is sent to St. Petersburg, where he wins the hand of the Russian Empress, Catherine the Great. Then, the Empress on a political mission sends him to England.

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