Byron in Context
Byron in Context
George Gordon, the sixth Lord Byron (1788–1824), was one of the most celebrated poets of the Romantic period, as well as a peer, politician and global celebrity, famed not only for his verse, but for his controversial lifestyle and involvement in the Greek War of Independence. In thirty-seven concise, accessible essays, by leading international scholars, this volume explores the social and intertextual relationships that informed Byron's writing; the geopolitical contexts in which he travelled, lived and worked; the cultural and philosophical movements that influenced changing outlooks on religion, science, modern society and sexuality; the dramatic landscape of war, conflict and upheaval that shaped Napoleonic and post-Napoleonic Europe and Regency Britain; and the diverse cultures of reception that mark the ongoing Byron phenomenon as a living ecology in the twenty-first century. This volume illuminates how we might think of Byron in context, but also as a context in his own right.
- Delivers a comprehensive yet accessible guide to the multiple contexts in which to understand the life and work of George Gordon, the sixth Lord Byron (1788–1824)
- Presents introductory essays on relevant topics, written by leading scholars from around the globe
- Supported by a chronology of Lord Byron's life and a guide to further reading
Reviews & endorsements
‘Byron in Context offers sharp distillations of the biographical, political, and cultural contexts of Byron’s work. The volume also takes literary history and reception studies as crucial contexts for understanding Byron.’ J. Risinger, Choice
‘… this book is a fine achievement that will provide a route into studying Byron for students and also give new insights for scholars in the field.’ Jonathon Shears, The BARS Review
‘Ultimately, though, Callaghan has hit upon an interesting point of convergence between Byron and Shelley with her discussion of the poet-hero. She is a great reader of poetry, and I learned a lot from her analyses of specific stanzas and lines in both Byron’s and Shelley’s works.’ Alexander Grammatikos, European Romantic Review
Product details
November 2021Paperback
9781316632673
375 pages
229 × 152 × 20 mm
0.55kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Part I. Life and Works:
- 1. Early years Jonathan Gross
- 2. The years of fame Diego Saglia
- 3. Exile Jane Stabler
- 4. Texts and editions Tom Mole
- 5. Byron and his publishers Mary O'Connell
- 6. Piracies, fakes and forgeries Gary Dyer
- Part II. Political, Social and Intellectual Transformations:
- 7. Politics John Beckett
- 8. War Neil Ramsey
- 9. Greece's Byron Spiridoula Demetriou
- 10. Byron's Italy Timothy Webb
- 11. Orientalism Gerard Cohen-Vrignaud
- 12. Religion Christine Kenyon Jones
- 13. Natural philosophy Thomas H. Ford
- 14. Sexuality Richard C. Sha
- 15. Libertinism Adam Komisaruk
- 16. Fashion, self-fashioning and the body Laura J. George
- Part III. Literary Cultures:
- 17. Classicism and neoclassicism Bernard Beatty
- 18. Epic (and historiography) Carla Pomarè
- 19. Romance Omar F. Miranda
- 20. Byron's lyric practice Anna Camilleri
- 21. Satire Mark Canuel
- 22. The Satanic School Mirka Horová
- 23. The Lake Poets Madeleine Callaghan
- 24. Byron's accidental muse: Robert Southey Susan J. Wolfson
- 25. 'Benign ceruleans of the second sex!': Byron and the Bluestockings Caroline Franklin
- 26. The Pisan Circle and the Cockney School Maria Schoina
- 27. Drama and theatre Rolf P. Lessenich
- 28. Autobiography Alan Rawes
- 29. 'Literatoor', literary theory and critical practice Clara Tuite
- 30. Periodical culture, the literary review and the mass media Andrew Franta
- Part IV. Reception and Afterlives:
- 31. Contemporary critical reception to 1824 William Christie
- 32. Byron, radicals and reformers Jason Goldsmith
- 33. European reception Peter Vassallo
- 34. Recollections, conversations and biographies Julian North
- 35. Posthumous reception and re-invention to 1900 Eric Eisner
- 36. Popular culture Lindsey Eckert
- 37. Byron now Ghislaine McDayter.
