Sardanapal

by Lord Byron, Adolf Seubert (Translator)

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Genres: Poetry, Plays, Classics, Romanticism, Historical Fiction, British Literature

180 pages, Paperback

Published February 13, 2015

About the author

George 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.

Reviews

[Jesús De la Jara · Rating 4 out of 5]

SARDANÁPALO, de Lord Byron.

"¿Te figuras que no hay más tiranía que la de la sangre y de las cadenas? El despotismo del vicio ... la debilidad y el crimen de la lascivia ... la negligencia ... la apatía ... los males de una sensual molicie producen diez mil tiranos ..."

Me gustó bastante esta tragedia de Lord Byron para lo cual se basó en lo que se cuenta por Diodoro Sículo del rey asirio Sardanápalo, él despreciando a su esposa la reina Zarina se vuelve "esclavo" de amor de su esclava jonia Mirra, quien a pesar de todo lo quiere realmente. No sólo eso, Sardanápalo prodiga el dinero del reino en orgías e interminables banquetes que ha llevado al pueblo asirio a hastiarse. Entre ellos el soldado Arbaces y el religioso Beleses tomarán la rebelión con el fin de terminar con el rey y con el linaje de Nimrod.
Por parte de los leales al rey están su cuñado, el valeroso Salémenes, general del ejército asirio que en la obra cumple gran papel aconsejándolo en todos los aspectos.
Me gustó porque hay bastante acción así como párrafos bien logrados aunque no deslumbrantes. La acción de todo este momento histórico me pareció bien llevada y tanto Mirra como Zarina cumplen un gran papel en la obra. Me interesé en esta pieza a raíz de conocer que el pintor francés Delacroix en su famoso cuadro de "La muerte de Sardanápalo" se inspiró en esta obra de Byron.

[Mohammad Ali Shamekhi · Rating 3 out of 5]

لرد بایرون نویسنده و شاعر رمانتیک انگلیسی در این اثر به بازسازی بخشی از تاریخ آشور دست زده است. سارداناپالوس شاه آشور و جانشین سمیرامیس و نمرود شاهی تصویر می شود اهل عشق و عیش و گریزنده از نبرد وخونریزی - کسی که عظمت زاییده از خونریزی را به هیچ می شمارد و خدایان نیاکان را به سخره می گیرد. او به خود می بالد که کسی را نکشته و خونی را نریخته و صلح را به سرزمین خود ارزانی داشته است. اما توطئه ای شکل می گیرد و این توطئه سرانجام به نابودی سلطنت او و خودکشی اش می انجامد

در رفتار سارداناپالوس در اواخر داستان ابهامی وجود دارد - از طرفی او پشیمان است از زندگی عیاشانه ی پیشین و از طرفی همچنان به صلح جویی خود می بالد. اگر این ابهام نبود نمایشنامه واقعا کشش بیشتری پیدا می کرد، هر چند الان هم واقعا به خوندنش می ارزه

مترجم، بهزاد قادری، مقدمه ی نسبتا مفصل نگاشته در باب بایرون و اشاراتی هم کرده به نظرش در مورد تئاتر کلاسیک و رویکردش در نگارش این نمایشنامه، اما این مقدمه خیلی جاها برای من مبهمه - خیلی تلاش شده که مقدمه مطنطن و ... باشه مثلا از فلانی و بهمانی نقل قول بیاره ( که البته به نظر من زایده ). مثلا نویسنده متذکر می شه که بایرون در رعایت کردن وحدت های سه گانه در این اثر نوعی تمسخر کلاسیسیم رو مد نظر داشته اما توضیح روشنی نمی ده یا حداقل من نمی فهمم. بعد از خوندن نمایشنامه امیدم به اینکه بیشتر متوجه بشم برخی اشارات مقدمه رو، ناامید شد. خلاصش اینکه ربط حرف های مقدمه و متن نمایشنامه خودش یه مقاله ی توضیحی می خواد

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

The humour was a surprise. It's a bit obvious, but Kenneth Williams' famous "Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!" sprang to mind.

Byron didn't intend it to ever be staged, so it seemed a bit of a shame to bring the curtain down as they're lighting the pyre. Mishima has a poor dear trapped in a burning carriage for the last half hour of his "Hell Screen".

"Salemenes: empower me with thy signet
To quell the machinations, and I lay
The heads of thy chief foes before thy feet.

Sardanaplaus: The heads — how many?

Salemenes: Must I stay to number
When even thine own's in peril? Let me go;
Give me thy signet—trust me with the rest.

Sardanapalus: I will trust no man with unlimited lives.
When we take those from others, we nor know
What we have taken, nor the thing we give."

"Sardanapalus: Come, Myrrha, let us go on to the Euphrates:
The hour invites, the galley is prepared,
And the pavilion, decked for our return,
In fit adornment for the evening banquet,
Shall blaze with beauty and with light, until
It seems unto the stars which are above us
Itself an opposite star; and we will sit
Crowned with fresh flowers like—

Myrrha:Victims."

"Arbaces: This woman's warfare
Degrades the very conqueror. To have plucked
A bold and bloody despot from his throne,
And grappled with him, clashing steel with steel,
That were heroic or to win or fall;
But to upraise my sword against this silkworm,
And hear him whine,it may be—

Beleses: Do not deem it:"

"Sardanapalus: My sword! O fool, I wear no sword: here, fellow,
Give me thy weapon. [To a Guard.]
[Sardanapalus snatches a sword from one of the soldiers,]"

"Sardanapalus: Be silent. — Guilt is loud. If ye are loyal,
Ye are injured men, and should be sad, not grateful.

Beleses: So we should be, were justice always done
By earthly power omnipotent; but Innocence
Must oft receive her right as a mere favour."

"Sardanapalus:Jove! — aye, your Baal —
Ours also has a property in thunder,
And ever and anon some falling bolt
Proves his divinity, — and yet sometimes
Strikes his own altars.

Myrrha: That were a dread omen.

Sardanapalus: Yes — for the priests."

"Sardanapalus: Fill full! why this is as it should be: here
Is my true realm, amidst bright eyes and faces
Happy as fair! Here sorrow cannot reach.

Zames: Nor elsewhere — where the King is, pleasure sparkles."

"Sardanapalus: Tell him to spare his person for the present,
And that I will not spare my own—and say,
I come.

Pania: There's victory in the very word."

"Sardanapalus: I am spent: give me a seat.

Salemenes: There stands the throne, Sire.

Sardanapalus: Tis no place to rest on,
For mind nor body: let me have a couch,
A peasant's stool, I care not what: so—now
I breathe more freely.

Salemenes: This great hour has proved
The brightest and most glorious of your life.

Sardanapalus: And the most tiresome."

"Sardanapalus:We have lived asunder
Too long to meet again — and now to meet!
Have I not cares enow, and pangs enow,
To bear alone, that we must mingle sorrows,
Who have ceased to mingle love?"

"Myrrha:: Why
Dwells thy mind rather upon that man's name
Than on his mate's in villany?

Sardanapalus: The other
Is a mere soldier, a mere tool, a kind
Of human sword in a friend's hand; the other
Is master-mover of his warlike puppet;
But I dismiss them from my mind. — Yet pause,
My Myrrha! dost thou truly follow me,
Freely and fearlessly?

Myrrha: And dost thou think
A Greek girl dare not do for love, that which
An Indian widow braves for custom?"

"Sardanapalus: In this blazing palace,
And its enormous walls of reeking ruin,
We leave a nobler monument than Egypt
Hath piled in her brick mountains, o'er dead kings,
Or kine — for none know whether those proud piles
Be for their monarch, or their ox-god Apis:
So much for monuments that have forgotten
Their very record!"

[Armina Milani · Rating 3 out of 5]

نویسنده ادعا دارد می‌خواهد نمایشنامه‌ای بنویسد که به سه وحدت متعهد است اما باقی اصول تراژدی را زیر پا می‌گذارد. تراژدی‌نویسان پیش از او به خوابشان نمی‌دیدند چنین شخصیتی خلق کنند.
با‌این‌حال اصلاً بد نیست با وجود آنکه در چارچوب تراژدی نوشته شده بازیگوشی‌های بایرن خواننده را به وجد می‌آورد.
تکه‌هایی دارد که گویی برشت نوشته، پیدا کردن ردپاهایی در تاریخ ادبیات نمایشی که درنهایت به تئاتر اپیک می‌رسد من یکی را سر ذوق می‌آورد.

[Coff(in)ee Lover · Rating 4 out of 5]

MIO,Byron! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
„რაც უფრო მეტ განსაცდელში ჩავარდება,მით უფრო მიყვარს.“
„აი,ლამპარი,რაც აგვანათებს ვარსკვლავებამდე.“
„ერთი ხვევნა კიდევ მოგვიწევს...ჩვენს ფერფლს ცეცხლი ერთურთში არევს.“

[Carina Shephard · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars // read October 2022

Favorite quote: “Curse not thyself- millions do that already.” (1.1.50)

[Şenol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Manfred kitabından bence çok daha iyi çok daha derin bir kitap.
Savaş mı barış mı?

Lord Byron okumayı seviyorum.
Okunacaklar listesine ekleyebilirsiniz.

İyi okumalar...

[serin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.7 bi byron straightifies bi sardanapalus… but def one of the better plays ive read

[wintersunsets · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Byron’s take on the myth of Sardanapalus first recounted by ancient Greek historian Diodorus of Sicily. With this play Byron turns what was originally thought of as a denunciation of the effeminate and cruel character of the last ruler of Assyria into an ode to a pacifist and hedonist king. The core characterization of Sardanapalus is still that of a man whose primary interest is to revel in all the pleasures that life has to offer but here he is also shown to be merciful and repulsed by tyranny and bloodshed. Still he is a flawed man, immature and vain, much to the dismay of Salamenes, his brave military commander, and Myrrha, his quick-witted concubine.

The latter often points to his contradictions, namely that his lavish lifestyle is only accessible to him because he holds the very power that he is so reluctant to use even when needed or that his power is rooted in his mythical ancestry despite his being a religious skeptic. This ambivalence in what makes him a generous and free-spirited man but also a poor ruler ultimately unable to quash a rebellion is the play’s most interesting aspect.

Although with its many changes in tone (Sardanapalus’ farcical affectations even in times of great danger, dramatic love entanglements, heroic battles, terrifying spectral apparitions) it lacked the coherence and intensity that I would have wished for, I very much appreciated the humorous touches and had an overall great reading experience.

***

"I am the very slave of Circumstance
And Impulse – borne away with every breath!
Misplaced upon the throne – misplaced in life.
I know not what I could have been, but feel
I am not what I should be – let it end."

[Lora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read from the Complete Works collection.

[Garry Walton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks the incomparable Red Bull Theater's Revelation Readings series, I was able not only to read this closet drama from 1821 by Romantic poet George Gordon, Lord Byron but to see and hear it performed aloud this week. Though often consisting of passages of recitative or declamation, there are notable dramatic encounters between the principals, chiefly Assyrian emperor Sardanapalus, his clear-eyed yet loyal general Salemenes, and his loving mistress the Greek slave Myrrha.

I see a touch of Marlowe's Edward II in the emperor, who delights in making love not war, and who abandons Zarina his queen and his children to live with a favorite, Myrrha. Branded as an effeminate man-queen, weak and blind to rebellious threats from disaffected lieutenants, Sardanapalus proclaims that "I loathe all war and warriors: I live in peace and pleasure: what can man Do more?" He asserts his life of peaceful luxury is not self-indulgent but rather beneficent, bring peace and plenty not only to himself but to his people, as he has never spilled blood or wasted wealth in maintaining his rule.

The most obvious analogue for the play is Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, from which Byron clearly drew. The openly critical yet fatally loyal Salemenes echoes Enobarbus, just as the passionate Myrrha proves unable to part from her beloved by flawed lover-leader-loser, at one point asking the audience in exasperation, "Why do I love this man?" The quarrel between two conspirators plotting to rebel against Sardanapalus seems completely lifted from Shakespeare's depiction of Lady Macbeth overcoming Macbeth's vacillating doubt over killing King Duncan. And the emperor's refusal to cloister in safety rather than going forth boldly, after promising his beloved to stay within, is an obvious echo of Julius Caesar's similar about-face in Shakespeare's play on that assassination. At one point the ruler even stops the action abruptly to summon a mirror, just as Richard II does in the crucial deposition scene of Shakespeare's play.

The long-delayed appearance of the emperor's long-shunned wife offers a penultimate operatic duet of a set-piece - showing mutual regret and reconciliation, before being interrupted by the reappearance of the beloved mistress. The final apotheosis of the major characters brings a climactic spectacle worthy of the greatest Wagner operas or Broadway musicals.

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was written in 1823 as a dramatic recounting of the legend of the last king of Assyria but it made me emotional in a coffee shop in the states in 2025.

maybe I feel more emotional than I would have if I wasn't watching the downfall of "my own, my father's land" that I have "sated with peace and joy"

this is a classically Byronic tale in that, even our hero is not really a great person. he's neglected to rule the way people think he should have, he's cheating on his wife, and he's ruling over people enslaved into his kingdom. his pursuit has been pleasure rather than the expansion of the kingdom until those trying to overthrow the land force him to lead the way they want to: with violence.

Sardanapalus did everything he thought he should for his kingdom, and yet, and every turn made the wrong decision and around him his loved ones fall in battle or flee into exile. there's a little on page action, most of the battles aren't seen directly, yet the suspense is incredible.

this is, as stated, a tragedy, and one is left considering what one owes to duty and who defines it as such.

we should all probably indulge a little more before the pyre is lit.

[Kira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful play that has a great ending

[Joseph Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I thought to have made my realm a paradise And every moon an epoch of new pleasures” me when it’s hot girl summer

[Isabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

banger

[Anja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uni reading list AMW3 — 4.5⭐️ King Byron maintains his poetry crown, this is so great

[Tslyklu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Annoyed how he writes this great mistress to a legendary king as though she's just whiling away. There's no urgency in her scenes except for them to end, like rowing through a river of muck. Sardanapalus's big monologue is a mess, recanting the epic and greatness of Myrrah, and relies on shit from Freud. But I liked the descriptions of war, basically a movie--

OFFICER.
The wall which skirted near the river's brink 
is thrown down by the sudden inundation 

Of the Euphrates, which now rolling, swoln
From the enormous mountains where it rises,
By the late rains of that tempestuous region, 

O'erfloods its banks, and hath destroy'd the bulwark.

PANIA.
That's a black augury! it has been said
For ages,
"That the city ne'er should yield
"To man, until the river grew its foe."

SARDANAPALUS.
I can forgive the omen, not the ravage.
How much is swept down of the wall?

OFFICER.
About some twenty stadii.

SARDANAPALUS.
And all this is left
Pervious to the assailants?

OFFICER.
For the present
The river's fury must impede the assault; 

But when he shrinks into his wonted channel, 

And may be cross'd by the accustom'd barks,
The palace is their own.