following the end of a clandestine romantic rela-
tionship. The poem exemplifies the typical
romantic lyric prevalent at this point in Byron’s
career in that it is deeply introspective and
expresses intense personal feelings. It is rooted
in the pathos of human nature, rather than in the
poet’s experience with Nature. The latter is a
common characteristic of the lyrical works of
Byron’s Romantic contemporaries, and thus
the poet’s work is somewhat atypical for its time.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHYBorn on January 22, 1788, in London, George
Gordon Byron was the son of a Scottish heiress,
Catherine Gordon of Gight, and Captain John
Byron, also known as ‘‘Mad Jack.’’ The Captain
was an English fortune hunter who also had a
daughter, Augusta, with another woman, and
who had before long relieved his wife Catherine
of her inheritance. The marriage dissolved not
long after the birth of George, for which Captain
Byron was not present. In 1789, Mrs. Byron
returned to Scotland with her son, residing in
Aberdeen. Two years later, Captain Byron
died, leaving Mrs. Byron and her young son to
manage on an income that was decidedly lower
middle class. At the age of six, Byron began
attending Aberdeen Grammar School. Several
years later, in 1798, Byron and his mother dis-
covered that Byron had inherited the barony,
and his family’s estates. They subsequently
moved to England to their new home at New-
stead Abbey, near Nottingham. The estate was in
serious disrepair and had to be rented out in order
to help pay for renovations, as well as for Byron’s
education at Harrow; Byron attended the school
from 1801 through 1805. He was skilled as an
orator, and began writing verse at this time.
From Harrow, he went on to Trinity College, in
Cambridge, earning a master’s degree in 1808.
In addition to the formal education Byron
received during these years, he also was sexually
initiated by his maid. As a young man he formed
strong sexual attractions to both young men and
women. He also excelled at going into debt at
Cambridge, spending large amounts of money
with his friends and going to the theater. In 1806,
Byron collected the early writings from his youth
into a selection of verses calledFugitive Pieces,
which he had privately printed. The following
year he revised the anthology and changed the
title toPieces on Various Occasions, also self-
published and intended primarily for those indi-
viduals who were the subjects of the poems.
Byron edited the selection again and toned
down the eroticism of the love poems and pub-
lished a new version of the collection, now titled
Hours of Idlenessin 1807. The following winter,
in February 1808, the collection was derided as
self-indulgent and derivative by theEdinburgh
Review. Byron answered in 1809 with the scath-
ing satireEnglish Bards and Scotch Reviewers,
which won him favorable critical reviews.
In 1809, Byron and his friend John Hob-
house toured Europe. Byron began writing the
first cantos (divisions of long narrative poems)
ofChilde Harold’s Pilgrimageat this time. The
narrative verse was destined to be regarded as
Byron’s best work. He returned to England in- His mother and a close friend died that
same year. In 1812, John Murray published the
first two cantos ofChilde Harold’s Pilgrimage.
Byron was suddenly famous; the poem was wildly
successful. By the end of 1813, Byron had a series
of relationships with various women and had
begun corresponding with, and likely having an
affair with his half-sister Augusta. He also had
a flirtation with Lady Frances Wedderburn
Lord (George Gordon) Byron(The Library of Congress)
When We Two Parted