Lord Byron once said, “The great object of life is sensation—to feel that we exist, even in pain.” Of all his philosophies and quotes, this particular one seems to represent Lord Byron himself, and his outlook on life. From incest to sodomy, gambling and government, he definitely “lived a life of sensation,” even if the much of the sensations were loss, guilt, and pain. His convoluted and eventful personal life notwithstanding, Lord Byron is known for composing beautiful, deep, mournful, and often erotic poems that expressed the depths of his passions. By examining Lord Byron’s life, you cannot blame him entirely for his wrongdoings. His unfortunate childhood, criticized early career, and guilt-filled final years shaped him into the man he …show more content…
In 1814, he developed an unhealthy relationship with his half-sister August, who was married at the time. A year later she birthed a daughter, undeniably Lord Byron’s. Afterwards, Lord Byron experienced extreme fits of guilt and depression, during this time penning “dark and repentant poems” such as The Giaour, The Brid of Abydos, and The Corsair. In an attempt to straighten himself out as well escape public pressure, Lord Byron proposed and married the sophisticated and highly intellectual Anne Isabella Milbanke, with whom he had his only legitimate child, August Ada. Nonetheless, the following January Anne divorced him, affronted by his drinking, increasing debt, bisexuality, and sodomy. Lord Byron would never see his wife or daughter again. By 1816, Lord Byron’s reputation was so infamous that he feared for his life and fled England forever. Settling in Italy, he wrote his famous masterpiece, Don Juan, an epic-satire, novel-in-verse loosely based on a legendary hero. In a somewhat sudden spur of heroism, Lord Byron was initiated into the Carbonari Society, which was dedicated to freeing Italy from Austrian rule. Several years later he moved to Greece, where he devoted himself to the support of Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire, offering 4000 pounds of his own money and taking personal command of a unit of elite fighter. Lord Byron’s final years revealed in him quite a heroic character, a very different man from the irresponsible, lustful, and satirical young man he originally was. Unfortunately, even as Lord Byron was making plants to join the battle against the Turks, he fell suddenly ill with persistently worse colds and fevers. On April 18, 1824, he passed away at the young age of thirty-six. Despite his rather unstable reputation, Lord Byron was mourned gravely in England, and