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Lord Byron and Philosophy

Fall 2005
18th Century British Literature
1110 words

Lord Byron and Philosophy

  When addressing the Romantic period of literature, and in particular the poets, the first poet to come to mind is usually William Wordsworth. Wordsworth is probably the most famous today, as well as the poet that all other poets discuss the most often, and in many cases try to emulate. Most of his peers admired his work. However, one man most certainly did not. This poet was Lord Byron. Lord Byron disliked Wordsworth’s poetry and often used his own works as an opportunity to put down Wordsworth and his work. He sometimes did this directly, by doing things such as comparing Wordsworth’s works to a tumor, or more subtly by writing his own poetry in a style so unlike Wordsworth’s that it is his way of making a statement about what he thinks of his poetry and ideas. This could be said to be his way of antagonizing Wordsworth and his followers as well. Many of his contemporaries were currently fawning over the epic style as used by their idol Milton, so to make his point, Byron wrote his own epic, Don Juan, in the mock epic style of Alexander Pope, author of The Rape of the Lock and the Dunciad.

  When one reads Don Juan, it is easy to see why the style is called “mock epic.” The rhymes are clunky and often odd-sounding, following the “Hudibrastic” style of rhyming, invented by poet Samuel Butler for use in mock-heroic poetry. (Wikipedia) The lines are also easy-flowing, for Byron wrote in the “sprezzatura” style, meaning his poems were to be read at a quick pace. In addition to these styles, uncommon in most of the typical Romantic writings, Byron made use of “bathos” – the sudden plunge from the sublime into the ridiculous. Byron constantly took a break from the story to write political asides, recipes, his opinion of his fellow poets, or any other thoughts he may have. An example of this would be Canto Eleven – the first six stanzas have absolutely nothing to do with the story of the lead character, Don Juan.

  Byron begins with his opinion of Bishop Berkeley, one of the leading philosophical minds of the time. Berkeley was a philosopher of idealism – the school of thought with which Wordsworth is associated. Unsurprisingly, Byron was not a great fan of Berkeley’s. As he states later in the canto, Byron doesn’t see the point in philosophy. He starts out by stating that “When Bishop Berkeley said ‘there was no matter,’ / ... ‘t was no matter what he said.” (Byron 1-2). Berkeley thought that “being is perception” – that the material things we see only exist because our minds perceive them. Byron’s last statement has two meanings – that Berkeley’s idea, by Berkeley’s own philosophy, “was no matter,” and that it “was no matter” in the sense that Byron thought it was complete nonsense.

  Byron then takes advantage of the subject of idealism to throw in a subtle stab at Wordsworth, an idealist himself – “What a sublime discovery ‘t was to make the / Universe universal egotism, / That’s all ideal – all ourselves.” (9-11) Before Wordsworth, writing an autobiography about oneself was simply not done. Many people did not understand or approve of Wordsworth’s epic about himself, and Byron was one of them. Byron also disapproved of Wordsworth because he and his contemporaries abandoned the rebellious natures of their youths and then, having found fame, worked to please the government. Byron also didn’t take kindly to poet laureate Robert Southey for the same reason.

  After this passage about Berkeley, Byron then goes into a religious discussion of sorts which verges on being rather blasphemous for the time. Byron begins by wondering if the world was really created by a divinity in the manner stated in the Bible, or if it was perhaps just some fantastic accident. He states: “The world, which at the worst’s a glorious blunder – / If it be chance; or if it be according / to the old text, still better...” (24-26) Then, thinking twice, he decides not to question it “As several people think such hazards rude,” (28) and he agrees, for...

“... our days are too brief for affording
Space to dispute what no one ever could
Decide, and every body one day will
Know very clearly – or at least lie still.” (29-32)

  There is no reason for religious arguments and ponderings, Byron argues, for no one will ever know in life, and all will discover the truth in death, and if there is nothing to discover, they’ll just be dead so it isn’t of consequence. So what is the purpose of pursuing philosophy such as Berkeley’s? Wordsworth and his fellows were worrying too much, unlike Byron who was sitting back and enjoying life (although Byron, being upper class, could afford to enjoy life a little more than Wordsworth). And Byron states right out: “therefore will I leave off metaphysical / Discussion, which is neither here nor there,” (33-34) for he believes that simply agreeing that “what is, is” is “quite perspicuous and extremely fair...” (35-36) So, typical of this epic and of his own style, he immediately drops the subject, follows his train of thought and begins speaking of his current ailments and their causes. This is classic Byron; he is one of the only famous Romantic poets who would suddenly begin talking about ailments, or throw recipes for hangover cures into the midst of his own epic. By doing so he made himself into the opposite of Wordsworth. Wordsworth’s thoughts were focused on the divine; Wordsworth was a person who, in his youth, would have to reach out and grab hold of things in order to convince himself that they were really there. Byron was more worldly; he didn’t care to ponder over existence; he would have been more inclined to sit down with his lobster salad and champagne, have a nice chat, and maybe write a letter to a friend about how much of a horrible poet Wordsworth is.

  The eleventh canto of Byron’s Don Juan is just as typically Byronic as the other eleven cantos in the mock epic poem. While telling the story of the young Don Juan, Byron managed to fit in commentary ranging from silly, everyday complaints of ill health, to diatribes concerning the political, religious and philosophical topics of his day, along with an occasional jab at William Wordsworth. Perhaps that is why Byron remains to this day one of the most popular Romantic poets, while at the same time appealing to the more devoted scholar of literature. Whatever one may think of Byron’s views and opinions, most agree that he is an enjoyable read.

Works Cited

Byron, George Gordon. Don Juan. 1824. Canto 11, lines 1-49.

Unknown author. “Hudibrastic.” Wikipedia.org. 3 Dec. 2005. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudibrastic >