英美文学Lecture 14. romantic period 3.pptVIP

Lecture 14 Romantic Period 3 Byron She Walks In Beauty Contents Life Experience The reasons that Byron tends to be neglected by critics and readers today The Byronic hero (a literary term) Characteristics of Byron’s poems Appreciation and analysis of his poem, She Walks in Beauty Assignment His Life Experience He was born clubfooted but quite handsome, and was born into an aristocratic family. He inherited the title of the baron at the age of 10 from his great granduncle. Then he studied at Harrow and Cambridge. When still a student, he published his first collection of poems, entitled “Hours of Idleness”. He had been worldwide known when only in his mid-twenties. The Byronic hero (a literary term) This is Byron’s chief contribution to English poetry. Such a hero is a proud, rebellious figure of noble origin. Passionate and powerful, he is to right all the wrongs in a corrupt society, and he would fight single-handedly against all the misdoings. Thus this figure is a rebellious individual against outworn social systems and conventions. Features of Byronic heroes: 1. heroic of noble birth2. passionate with a talent3.a rebel and an exile4.a self-distructive individual 5.having a distaste for social institutions 6.expressing a lack of respect for rank and privilege7.hiding an unsavory past;  Byron’s main works Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1809) Oriented Tales (oriental settings and heroic heroes) Don Juan----his masterpiece Characteristics of Byron’s poems His poetry is noted for its spontaneity, exuberance, and humor. In his poems, there lies the enchanting beauty, the bewitching power, and the sweeping fascination. The theme of quest for freedom and against tyranny and his romantic spirit have made their imprint upon the life and the literature of the world. Poem Appreciation: She Walks in Beauty Introduction Written in 1814, when Byron was twenty-six years old, and published in Hebrew Melodies in 1815, the poem of praise She Walks in Beauty