The Works of Lord Byron. Vol. 5 / Poetry

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

23475

Title

The Works of Lord Byron. Vol. 5 / Poetry

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

This volume presents the final two years of Lord Byron's poetic career, featuring his 'regular dramas' and narrative poems. It explores themes of history, legend, and human nature through works like *Sardanapalus*, *Cain*, and *The Island*. The collection offers a profound, often melancholic look at power, faith, and destiny, appealing to readers seeking depth in classical tragedy and historical romance.

Summary up to 500 words

The Works of Lord Byron, Volume V, edited by Ernest Hartley Coleridge, assembles the poet's final dramatic and narrative masterpieces, written during the last two years of his career. The volume opens with *Sardanapalus*, a tragedy depicting the final days of the Assyrian king. In this work, Sardanapalus chooses death over the loss of his freedom and the enslavement of his women, contrasting his fatalistic indifference to traditional religion with the intense loyalty of his subjects, Arbaces and Beleses. Following this is *The Two Foscari*, a historical tragedy concerning the Doge of Venice and his sons, which explores the profound conflict between state necessity and paternal love. *Cain* presents a biblical mystery where the biblical figure questions God's justice and seeks redemption, directly challenging orthodox theology. *Heaven and Earth* continues this inquiry into the tension between faith and reason. The volume also includes *Werner*, a tragedy involving a father and son entangled in a crime and a desperate search for identity; *The Deformed Transformed*, a drama about a man seeking to alter his appearance to win love; and *The Age of Bronze*, a poem celebrating the Roman Empire. Finally, *The Island* recounts the mutiny on the Bounty and the subsequent life of Fletcher Christian on Pitcairn Island. Throughout these works, Byron examines the persistent tension between individual will and societal law, the fragility of innocence, and the enduring power of the human spirit against inevitable fate. While some of these later poems and dramas have fallen into relative obscurity compared to Byron's earlier works, they remain significant studies in the poetry of history and legend. They transform historical names and shadows into persons and substance, containing lines of unquestionable beauty. The collection stands as a testament to Byron's belief that even forgotten works of the imagination hold hidden treasures, offering a final, vigorous exploration of human nature before his death.

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4.2/5

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Categories

• Drama
• Poetry