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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage was a really enjoyable poetic journey through the wonders of Europe’s nature and classical world. Byron writes of a melancholic pilgrim who self-exiles himself from England and embarks on a journey across Portugal, Spain, Greece, Albania, Switzerland and Italy, focusing on its nature and once great empires.
A love of literature and the poets is appreciated and mourned, as is the loss of classical civilisation and its beauty, hence resulting on many a callback to Greek and Roman mythology. There is also focus on still ongoing issues of ownership, such as a criticism of England’s claim to the Elgin marbles where Byron argues they should be returned to Greece, this sense of ownership also being related to the likes of the tombs of Dante and Boccacio resting outside of Florence. The fact that 150 years later the Elgin marbles are still a cultural debate really resonated. Byron’s musing over the loss of old empire was beautiful.
The poem was disjointed in places however, the vignettes of countries existing with no depiction of how Childe Harold travelled between them, nor was the purpose of his pilgrimage ever explained beyond a self-exile. I will leave on the line “I am as a weed” because that simple self discovery stood out as my favourite part of the poem.
A love of literature and the poets is appreciated and mourned, as is the loss of classical civilisation and its beauty, hence resulting on many a callback to Greek and Roman mythology. There is also focus on still ongoing issues of ownership, such as a criticism of England’s claim to the Elgin marbles where Byron argues they should be returned to Greece, this sense of ownership also being related to the likes of the tombs of Dante and Boccacio resting outside of Florence. The fact that 150 years later the Elgin marbles are still a cultural debate really resonated. Byron’s musing over the loss of old empire was beautiful.
The poem was disjointed in places however, the vignettes of countries existing with no depiction of how Childe Harold travelled between them, nor was the purpose of his pilgrimage ever explained beyond a self-exile. I will leave on the line “I am as a weed” because that simple self discovery stood out as my favourite part of the poem.
slow-paced
Многословие не обременённое смыслом!!!
Автор очень неприятный и нудный человек! Постоянно жалуется на то, что его оклеветали и вынудили бежать из Англии. Ноет, взывает к возмездию, говорит, какой он бедный-несчастный, никто его не любит и всё в том же духе. Но я тут почитал Википедию и выяснил, что этот "хороший, возвышенный" человек был очень скандальной личностью!!! И даже его бывшая жена запретила ему видеться с дочкой (точно неизвестно по какой причине, но факт говорит сам за себя!!!!)
А что касается самой поэмы, то это страшная мешанина из описаний природы, исторических экскурсов и философских воззрений автора, которые вобрали в себя от каждого философского течения и религии по чуть-чуть (ну, чтобы никого не обидеть). И ещё тут много политики, и я не могу не согласиться с [a:Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|285217|Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1532614109p2/285217.jpg], который назвал поэмы [a:Lord Byron|44407|Lord Byron|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1357459330p2/44407.jpg] "непроизнесёнными парламентскими речами".
P.S. Название не соответствует содержанию, так как о главном герое сказано всего пару слов!
Автор очень неприятный и нудный человек! Постоянно жалуется на то, что его оклеветали и вынудили бежать из Англии. Ноет, взывает к возмездию, говорит, какой он бедный-несчастный, никто его не любит и всё в том же духе. Но я тут почитал Википедию и выяснил, что этот "хороший, возвышенный" человек был очень скандальной личностью!!! И даже его бывшая жена запретила ему видеться с дочкой (точно неизвестно по какой причине, но факт говорит сам за себя!!!!)
А что касается самой поэмы, то это страшная мешанина из описаний природы, исторических экскурсов и философских воззрений автора, которые вобрали в себя от каждого философского течения и религии по чуть-чуть (ну, чтобы никого не обидеть). И ещё тут много политики, и я не могу не согласиться с [a:Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|285217|Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1532614109p2/285217.jpg], который назвал поэмы [a:Lord Byron|44407|Lord Byron|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1357459330p2/44407.jpg] "непроизнесёнными парламентскими речами".
P.S. Название не соответствует содержанию, так как о главном герое сказано всего пару слов!
Better than Shelley, that's about the best I can say about Byron.
slow-paced
This is an epic poem in four Cantos about a young man, disillusioned with life, who goes on a tour of Europe, reflecting on wars fought in various countries and their histories, and ultimately deciding that life sucks, and there is no love or peace to be found anywhere. (Yay. So it's a happy poem.) There are many references to a hidden emotional pain of Harold's that forced him to leave England and haunts him wherever he goes, marring his enjoyment of life. What that painful secret is, we never find out.
The poetry itself is beautiful, of course, but I was hoping for more of a plot instead of all these ramblings and reflections on history and society. The entire poem is rabbit trails with no real resolution! There's little to no structure in the story.
Most of the references to history, wars and battles, poets and politicians, were ones that I did not immediately recognize, or although I recognized a historical name, I did not remember the story attached to that person. Who was Sappho? I forget. A poet who killed herself, I think. I don't know what happened at the Convention of Cintra or the Battle of Morat, so... yeah.
The only thing that Harold finds to console him in his despair is Nature, and there are some beautiful passages about the Swiss Alps, rivers, oceans, and forests. Harold decides that he cannot connect on any meaningful level with others in society, so he must turn to Nature for the peace lacking in the human race.
Mostly, I just let the beautiful words wash over me, and enjoyed what I could.
The poetry itself is beautiful, of course, but I was hoping for more of a plot instead of all these ramblings and reflections on history and society. The entire poem is rabbit trails with no real resolution! There's little to no structure in the story.
Most of the references to history, wars and battles, poets and politicians, were ones that I did not immediately recognize, or although I recognized a historical name, I did not remember the story attached to that person. Who was Sappho? I forget. A poet who killed herself, I think. I don't know what happened at the Convention of Cintra or the Battle of Morat, so... yeah.
The only thing that Harold finds to console him in his despair is Nature, and there are some beautiful passages about the Swiss Alps, rivers, oceans, and forests. Harold decides that he cannot connect on any meaningful level with others in society, so he must turn to Nature for the peace lacking in the human race.
Mostly, I just let the beautiful words wash over me, and enjoyed what I could.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Static depiction of the author's Grand Tour.
Introduction of the Byronic hero
Introduction of the Byronic hero
I only read "Apostrophe to the Ocean" in this, and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.