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Byron: Poems
To the nineteenth-century reader, George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824), was the archetype of the Romantic literary hero, a figure admired and emulated as much for the revolutionary panache with which he lived his life as the brio and allure of his verse. Our century has seen him more clearly as a poet whose intellectual toughness, satiric gifts, and utter inability to be boring have made him one of the great comic spirits in our literature.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published October 18, 1994
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426 people want to read
About the author
Lord Byron
4,459 books2,132 followersGeorge Gordon Byron (invariably known as Lord Byron), later Noel, 6th Baron Byron of Rochdale FRS was a British poet and a leading figure in Romanticism. Amongst Byron's best-known works are the brief poems She Walks in Beauty, When We Two Parted, and So, we'll go no more a roving, in addition to the narrative poems Childe Harold's Pilgrimage and Don Juan. He is regarded as one of the greatest British poets and remains widely read and influential, both in the English-speaking world and beyond.
Byron's notabilty rests not only on his writings but also on his life, which featured upper-class living, numerous love affairs, debts, and separation. He was notably described by Lady Caroline Lamb as "mad, bad, and dangerous to know". Byron served as a regional leader of Italy's revolutionary organization, the Carbonari, in its struggle against Austria. He later travelled to fight against the Ottoman Empire in the Greek War of Independence, for which Greeks revere him as a national hero. He died from a fever contracted while in Messolonghi in Greece.
Byron's notabilty rests not only on his writings but also on his life, which featured upper-class living, numerous love affairs, debts, and separation. He was notably described by Lady Caroline Lamb as "mad, bad, and dangerous to know". Byron served as a regional leader of Italy's revolutionary organization, the Carbonari, in its struggle against Austria. He later travelled to fight against the Ottoman Empire in the Greek War of Independence, for which Greeks revere him as a national hero. He died from a fever contracted while in Messolonghi in Greece.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
January 23, 2023
Disclaimer: I'm rating this on the selected poems I had to read for class. Nothing more, nothing less. Maybe one day I'll come back and finish the rest, and my rating will differ then, but for now it is what it is.
The selected poems I had to read were a whole lot better than Don Juan. I didn't find them as mind-numbingly dull as the aforementioned title. They were, in my opinion, more tolerable to put up with.
Sidenote: I realized as I was about to shelve Byron's Selected Poems onto my read self that there was probably a Library Pocket edition for him. Since there is, I swapped that book out with this one instead.
The selected poems I had to read were a whole lot better than Don Juan. I didn't find them as mind-numbingly dull as the aforementioned title. They were, in my opinion, more tolerable to put up with.
Sidenote: I realized as I was about to shelve Byron's Selected Poems onto my read self that there was probably a Library Pocket edition for him. Since there is, I swapped that book out with this one instead.
January 11, 2018
Don Juan was pretty fun (but only Canto I and parts of Canto II were included).
His lyric verse was also somewhat enjoyable to read, but no one could get me to read 'The Vision of Judgement' again. Not only was it a response to Robert Southey's 'A Vision of Judgement' from 1821 (which I have not read, and never plan to read... probably), but it was also an excellent sleeping pill.
I got quite lost almost immediately and didn't bother to check for summaries or explanations, so yeah, that one might be on me now that I think about it...
His lyric verse was also somewhat enjoyable to read, but no one could get me to read 'The Vision of Judgement' again. Not only was it a response to Robert Southey's 'A Vision of Judgement' from 1821 (which I have not read, and never plan to read... probably), but it was also an excellent sleeping pill.
I got quite lost almost immediately and didn't bother to check for summaries or explanations, so yeah, that one might be on me now that I think about it...
March 4, 2021
i have i small big problem, witch is the number of pages of the pdf, obviously (the one that i have has like 1360 pages, imma pretend it was this book and then go and find another one, to complete the number of poems i have there), but thats besides the point, lets get to the real review, shall we?
byron is one of my favorite poets, i think, since green ruined frost in looking for alaska, the thing i usually like bout his poems is that i can feel something when i read them, and i like the metaphors also
idk yet which is my fav poem from him or even if i have one, but i recommend reading his poetry, at any time (ugh, im so bad at telling u how i feel and think bout this kind of poetry) in life.
the point is i like it, no, love it. i started to like him more when i started to read the waves by wolf, just bcs i identify so much with bernard and i wanted to understand his character so i can know myself better and i thought this was the time when i should reread some of his poems that i liked in the past, even if in the book i mentioned is about don juan, im planning on reading it anyway. and i ended up here, loving it with all my heart and soul and body and all that stuff, however u want to call it.
it was for sure something else, even if i read him some time ago, like one or two years, im not used to this style, u're talking to a girl how lives in romania, where is no point in having a fav poet or a fav book, if i could be sincere with u i kinda hate it here. back to what i was saying, please dont get scared of the long, endless, poems that he has, just read em, its worth it.
byron is one of my favorite poets, i think, since green ruined frost in looking for alaska, the thing i usually like bout his poems is that i can feel something when i read them, and i like the metaphors also
idk yet which is my fav poem from him or even if i have one, but i recommend reading his poetry, at any time (ugh, im so bad at telling u how i feel and think bout this kind of poetry) in life.
the point is i like it, no, love it. i started to like him more when i started to read the waves by wolf, just bcs i identify so much with bernard and i wanted to understand his character so i can know myself better and i thought this was the time when i should reread some of his poems that i liked in the past, even if in the book i mentioned is about don juan, im planning on reading it anyway. and i ended up here, loving it with all my heart and soul and body and all that stuff, however u want to call it.
it was for sure something else, even if i read him some time ago, like one or two years, im not used to this style, u're talking to a girl how lives in romania, where is no point in having a fav poet or a fav book, if i could be sincere with u i kinda hate it here. back to what i was saying, please dont get scared of the long, endless, poems that he has, just read em, its worth it.
February 1, 2010
Lord Byron is quite the wit. His poetry is entertaining, the ones that were topical in his day are a little tougher to read because I didn't really understand the context of them but still his commentary is great.
There are samples of his poems in the first sixy-four pages and the rest is his narrative verse.
I really liked the way he tells the story in rhyme, although I could wish that he would occasionally get his clever self out of the way and keep telling the story as he does tend to pause to contemplate on this or that subject and give his opinion and tell a joke or two. These little bits do tend to be jarring just when the story's getting exciting but I know that's partly the time in which he lived and was writing. His poetry is beautiful and enduring.
There are samples of his poems in the first sixy-four pages and the rest is his narrative verse.
I really liked the way he tells the story in rhyme, although I could wish that he would occasionally get his clever self out of the way and keep telling the story as he does tend to pause to contemplate on this or that subject and give his opinion and tell a joke or two. These little bits do tend to be jarring just when the story's getting exciting but I know that's partly the time in which he lived and was writing. His poetry is beautiful and enduring.
September 25, 2023
One third of these poems/lyric verses went right above my head.
The rest of them were pure masterpieces!
The rest of them were pure masterpieces!
September 18, 2013
First of all, I want to state the fact that I did not read this book, just some poems by Lord Byron, but, obviously, I couldn't add every poem here.
The poems I read are: "My soul is dark", "We sat down and wept by the waters of Babel", "Solitude", "To a lady", "To Eliza" and "On this day I complete my thirty-sixth year".
The poems were, generally, beautiful. I enjoyed reading them and, but mostly, I enjoyed contrasting the Romanian version with the original one. I enjoy finding little connotation differences, although there were not many. English being not my first language, I had a little problems with words as: thee, thy, ne'er, thine, hath, but after some research, I now know that these words are part of the old English language and, obviously, are not used anymore, but I do think that it is alright to know them.
What I noticed at Byron's poems is that the harp is an important element; music itself is powerful enough in Byron's poems to conquer over the evil.
I want to comment a little bit more on the last poem I read by Byron, "On this day I complete my thirty-sixth year". I find this poem really impressing, as it is more of an ode to death. The poet wants to give his soul to Greece for which he had fought for and where he had eventually died and his only wish is his art and creation to survive through time as an English man, but wants to be buried as a soldier, as a fighter for Greece. I like this poem a lot for it covers not only a theme of bravery, but also love for life, glory, death and regret.
I shall edit this review once I will have studied more of Byron's poems at the universal literature class.
The poems I read are: "My soul is dark", "We sat down and wept by the waters of Babel", "Solitude", "To a lady", "To Eliza" and "On this day I complete my thirty-sixth year".
The poems were, generally, beautiful. I enjoyed reading them and, but mostly, I enjoyed contrasting the Romanian version with the original one. I enjoy finding little connotation differences, although there were not many. English being not my first language, I had a little problems with words as: thee, thy, ne'er, thine, hath, but after some research, I now know that these words are part of the old English language and, obviously, are not used anymore, but I do think that it is alright to know them.
What I noticed at Byron's poems is that the harp is an important element; music itself is powerful enough in Byron's poems to conquer over the evil.
I want to comment a little bit more on the last poem I read by Byron, "On this day I complete my thirty-sixth year". I find this poem really impressing, as it is more of an ode to death. The poet wants to give his soul to Greece for which he had fought for and where he had eventually died and his only wish is his art and creation to survive through time as an English man, but wants to be buried as a soldier, as a fighter for Greece. I like this poem a lot for it covers not only a theme of bravery, but also love for life, glory, death and regret.
I shall edit this review once I will have studied more of Byron's poems at the universal literature class.
November 11, 2009
I much preferred Byron’s lyrical verse over the narrative verse. I’m not a fan of poetry, but after reading Byron’s works, I’ve realized I prefer lyrical poems that are short and sweet. Of the ones I came across, my favored ones were “On my thirty third birthday” and “So we’ll go no more a roving.” His satire is distinguishable and effective.
I didn’t care too much for the narrative verses, “The Vision of Judgment” nor “Don Juan.” It didn’t keep my attention and to be frank, I didn’t get what he was trying to convey. If I were to read anymore of his poetry, I would stick to his lyrical poems as they kept my interest and I was able to interpret them more easily. Bottom line, though, I don’t get Byron.
I didn’t care too much for the narrative verses, “The Vision of Judgment” nor “Don Juan.” It didn’t keep my attention and to be frank, I didn’t get what he was trying to convey. If I were to read anymore of his poetry, I would stick to his lyrical poems as they kept my interest and I was able to interpret them more easily. Bottom line, though, I don’t get Byron.
March 14, 2017
Lord Byron has proved to be a witty and self-aware writer who tends to take upon the true personality of a bard waiting on an audience. Though I found most of the content boring or too elongated for my taste, it does not reflect on his skill or ability poorly at all. I will definitely claim one of his poems, "The Destruction of Sennacherib" as one of my all-time favorites.
August 16, 2019
Actual rate: 4.5 stars
January 26, 2026
Great collection of Byron’s poems. One of the greatest poets in English of all time, he was; and the collection brings some of his famous lyric poems and two narratives. I would put above everything else, the Don Juan, a literary myth that had its versions on Mozart opera and later in Hermann Broch’s last novel.
It is a myth that Byron transforms poetically in a romantic dive into a creation of language that needs to be among the great literary works of his time. It starts that Byron’s Juan is not a predatory rake, but a handsome, hapless, and rather passive young man who is almost by contingency propelled through a series of erotic and military adventures by the whims of women and fate. Through the hero that smells everything romantic and passionate, the poet’s own narrating voice elevates —world-weary, ironic, scandalously funny, and deeply philosophical.
Besides that, Byron savagely and wittily skewers everything: high society, politics, war (particularly the horrors of the Siege of Ismail), literary rivals, Romantic idealism, and human hypocrisy, making nothing sacred. He chooses the classic form of the Ottava rima stanza, from the epics of Italian tradition (cousin of Camões’ Os Lusíadas), giving the poem a grandeur of language and poetic virtuosity. It moves from a scandal in Seville to a shipwreck, a harem in Constantinople, the court of Catherine the Great of Russia, and the drawing rooms of English aristocracy. The pace is breakneck, the tone constantly shifting from lyrical beauty to bawdy comedy to bitter critique.
As Byron was a friend of Percy Shelly, freedom of love and sentiment, the anarchism of it all has a central place in the poem. Beneath the cynicism and laughter lies a profound defense of liberty, authenticity, and compassion. Byron champions nature, genuine feeling, and intellectual freedom against the "cant" of society.
It is a myth that Byron transforms poetically in a romantic dive into a creation of language that needs to be among the great literary works of his time. It starts that Byron’s Juan is not a predatory rake, but a handsome, hapless, and rather passive young man who is almost by contingency propelled through a series of erotic and military adventures by the whims of women and fate. Through the hero that smells everything romantic and passionate, the poet’s own narrating voice elevates —world-weary, ironic, scandalously funny, and deeply philosophical.
Besides that, Byron savagely and wittily skewers everything: high society, politics, war (particularly the horrors of the Siege of Ismail), literary rivals, Romantic idealism, and human hypocrisy, making nothing sacred. He chooses the classic form of the Ottava rima stanza, from the epics of Italian tradition (cousin of Camões’ Os Lusíadas), giving the poem a grandeur of language and poetic virtuosity. It moves from a scandal in Seville to a shipwreck, a harem in Constantinople, the court of Catherine the Great of Russia, and the drawing rooms of English aristocracy. The pace is breakneck, the tone constantly shifting from lyrical beauty to bawdy comedy to bitter critique.
As Byron was a friend of Percy Shelly, freedom of love and sentiment, the anarchism of it all has a central place in the poem. Beneath the cynicism and laughter lies a profound defense of liberty, authenticity, and compassion. Byron champions nature, genuine feeling, and intellectual freedom against the "cant" of society.
December 4, 2022
This was my first time encountering Visions of Judgement. I think it's a fine piece that elevates the entire selection. Don Juan is just as funny as remember. Byron has always been the most humorous of the Romantics (at least from what I've read).
December 27, 2022
Oh Love! how perfect is thy mystic art, strengthening the weak, and trampling on the strong! How self-deceitful is the sagest part of mortals whom thy lure hath led along!
January 19, 2023
Man really translated the entire prologue to Don Juan SIR I HAVE OTHER COMMITMENTS
Other than that it was all good
Other than that it was all good
May 5, 2024
Today I learned that Drake and Kendrick merely inherited the beef from Byron and Wordsworth
whoops-books
October 20, 2025Just read lyrics poems - liked “She Walks in Beauty”, “My Soul Is Dark”, “The Destruction of Sennacherib”, and “The Dream”
December 23, 2013
What I liked about it: I honestly thought when I borrowed this book from the library that all of his poems were like To M.S.G.: When'er I dream of that pure breast, / How could I dwell upon its snows! / Yet is the daring wish repress'd ,/ For that - would banish its repose. / A glance from thy soul-searching eye, / Can raise with hope, depress with fear / Yet I conceal my love - and why? / I would not force a painful tear.' All forbidden romance and tragic death at 24 from tuberculosis that has got teenage girls worked into a lather for centuries. But actually, a lot of his poetry is about adventure stories, like Lara or Childe Harold's Pilgrimage or tragic narrative like Beppo. It turns out a lot of the hype that got the ladies worked up was just an early understanding of how publicity works.
I think my favourite of his works is Cain, in which the first murderer expresses his resentment at being kicked out of the Garden of Eden and made mortal for his parents' mistake:
And this is Life! Toil! And wherefore should I toil? - because my father could not keep his place in Eden. What had I done in this? I was unborn: I sought not to be born; nor love the state to which that birth has brought me.
He then goes on to meet Satan and kill his brother and get banished to the Land of Nod.
What I didn't like about it: Byron didn't write enough limericks. Here's the one example in the entire book: John Adams lies here, of the parish of Southwell / A carrier who carried his can to mouth well; / He carried so much and he carried so fast, / He could carry no more - so was carried at last; / For the liquor he drank, being too much for one / He could not carry off - so no he's carri-on. Limericks forever!
http://omnibrowbooks.blogspot.com
I think my favourite of his works is Cain, in which the first murderer expresses his resentment at being kicked out of the Garden of Eden and made mortal for his parents' mistake:
And this is Life! Toil! And wherefore should I toil? - because my father could not keep his place in Eden. What had I done in this? I was unborn: I sought not to be born; nor love the state to which that birth has brought me.
He then goes on to meet Satan and kill his brother and get banished to the Land of Nod.
What I didn't like about it: Byron didn't write enough limericks. Here's the one example in the entire book: John Adams lies here, of the parish of Southwell / A carrier who carried his can to mouth well; / He carried so much and he carried so fast, / He could carry no more - so was carried at last; / For the liquor he drank, being too much for one / He could not carry off - so no he's carri-on. Limericks forever!
http://omnibrowbooks.blogspot.com
April 12, 2018
Accepting Byron’s limitations, especially when dealing with serious and deep subject-matter not related to strong emotions, his poetry is hopelessly and wonderfully romantic. While Don Juan was witty and funny at times, it’s at the romantic where he excels, and this is especially true of the romantic love part (Byron being one of the few masters of the Romantic who actually wrote about romantic love at length). The Visions of Judgement is good but without the historical context it is distracting most of all and I’m pretty sure I won’t read it again. In any case, for what he was, Byron was the best.
(The following are nice stanzas, but not the best so as not to spoil the experience of discovery, but may contain plot spoilers, although I would not worry about that at all.)
Man’s a phenomenon, one knows not what,
And wonderful beyond all wondrous measure;
‘Tis pity though, in this sublime world, that
Pleasure’s a sin, and sometimes sin’s a pleasure;
Few mortals know what end they would be at,
But whether glory, power, or love, or treasure,
The path is through perplexing ways, and when
The goal is gain’d, we die, you know – and then—
(CXXXIII, Canto I of Don Juan)
It was such a pleasure to behold him, such
Enlargement of existence to partake
Nature with him, to thrill beneath his touch,
To watch him slumbering and to see him wake;
To live with him for ever were too much;
But the thought of parting made her quake:
He was her own, her ocean-treasure, cast
Like a wreck – her first love, and her last.
(CLXXIII, Canto II of Don Juan)
(The following are nice stanzas, but not the best so as not to spoil the experience of discovery, but may contain plot spoilers, although I would not worry about that at all.)
Man’s a phenomenon, one knows not what,
And wonderful beyond all wondrous measure;
‘Tis pity though, in this sublime world, that
Pleasure’s a sin, and sometimes sin’s a pleasure;
Few mortals know what end they would be at,
But whether glory, power, or love, or treasure,
The path is through perplexing ways, and when
The goal is gain’d, we die, you know – and then—
(CXXXIII, Canto I of Don Juan)
It was such a pleasure to behold him, such
Enlargement of existence to partake
Nature with him, to thrill beneath his touch,
To watch him slumbering and to see him wake;
To live with him for ever were too much;
But the thought of parting made her quake:
He was her own, her ocean-treasure, cast
Like a wreck – her first love, and her last.
(CLXXIII, Canto II of Don Juan)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 25, 2012
Byron is considered one of the greatest poets in history and this volume of his work certainly demonstrates that fact. I love the story like quality that his writings offer. His wit and intelligence served him well and his legacy continues to endure. I should like to obtain a full volume of his complete works to read and savor. The Romantic poets have always inspired me as a reader, a writer and as a student of literature. Here is a familiar taste:
She walks in beauty,like, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
-From Hebrew Melodies
She Walks In Beauty (p.11)
She walks in beauty,like, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
-From Hebrew Melodies
She Walks In Beauty (p.11)
July 10, 2016
Never. Again. I mean the poems are fine but like 98% of the book is "i don't talk bad about people BUT..." Or "I hate gossip BUT..." And useless stuff that is about Byron and not the story he's telling constantly interjected. "Don Juan was born to a loveless marriage. (Now I never married and never will) His dad beat his mom" WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?!?!?
January 23, 2019
I really liked the style of the poems (rhyme scheme, meter, verses, etc.) but I didn't find the content to be too interesting, unfortunately. I very much prefer the short poems and have to admit that my attention drifted a fair bit in the long ones... I'm definitely trying more Byron though, maybe a different collection.
April 11, 2021
I often feel like the poets and philosophers of the late 18th and early 19th centuries are having a conversation among themselves and we, the readers, are incidental to this interaction. Byron continues this trend as he mentions other poets as he works through his prose. Overall a good read as Everyman’s Library Pocket Poets are well laid out.
July 1, 2014
Great poetry for a guy. A man's man of a poet.
October 22, 2013
Read this a long time ago now. He's interesting, not my go-to poet for literary satisfaction, but definitely worth the perusal once in a while.
October 9, 2015
A solid introduction, though I wish it contained more of his shorter works, especially "Darkness."
May 21, 2017
Beautiful book!
December 29, 2017
There were a couple of poems I was hoping to see in here that weren't included, but still, this solidified my growing obsession with Byron.
July 24, 2021
I really enjoyed this little sampling, especially “Visions of Judgment” and the first canto of “Don Juan.”
August 18, 2021
Byron was a sassy one
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews