Lord Byron

[janeite]

I am just starting to read Lord Byron's poems and I am stunned. I never relied on my knowledge of English yet(I am German), to start reading them. But now I read two just after one-another. I read "Fare thee well" and "Don Juan Canto I". I was struck by the wonderful expressions. Whenever I read poems, I read them aloud. It is just such an amazing feeling for me to speak those great words aloud. Does anyone know more good Lord Byron poems? For a beginner, obviously. I definitely will read the other parts of "Don Juan Canto".

[Motherof8]

"She Walks in Beauty" is a good one.

[Charles Darnay]

Manfred is wonderful. It is such an iconic (and Byronic) piece of Romantic literature.

[Lady Lazarus]

I love Manfred also but my favourite is Prometheus.

[Albion]

Lines Written Beneath an Elm in the Churchyard of Harrow.

I used to live there and often visited the spot.
Two verses only but every line wistful.

[Pantagruel]

'Lines Inscribed Upon A Cup Formed From A Skull' may not be his most inspired poem, but I've always found it amusing.

I'd also recommend 'Beppo' and 'The Vision of Judgment', which is hilarious. You might want to do some background research on the latter, it'll help you to appreciate it more. Poor Bob Southey...

[Ser Nevarc]

Byron is sublime, majestic. Read all of Manfred and Don Juan. Then read Childe Harolde. For a short taste, try "Darkness." Beauty.

[MorpheusSandman]

I'm reading Byron now and quite enjoying him, though I find his tales and narratives better than his lyrics. He didn't seem much interested in formal subtleties, which are necessary in short lyrics, but he had a provocative mind and imagination and a gift for melding poetic reflection and imagery into long narratives. I'm trying to read him chronological order as much as possible, and I just finished The Corsair last night... perhaps a bit dated in some respects, but with some extremely powerful moments, especially in his descriptions of the main character and after he comes back to his home and... well, I won't spoil it for those that haven't read it, but it's as powerful as romantic poetry gets.