George Noel Gordon

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Childe Harold's Pilgrimage

the plot of the poem

This long poem established Byron's European reputation. It describes the travels and the reflections of a pilgrim (Childe Harold, the archaic title “ Childe ” signifying a youth of gentle birth) who has turned from an empty life of pleasure and is now seeking spiritual rebirth. The first two cantos describe travels through Portugal, Spain, the Ionian Isles, and Albania. In the light of Byron's subsequent participation in the Greek struggle for freedom, the conclusion of the second canto, a lament that Greece is subject to the tyranny of the Turks, has a special interest. Canto brings the pilgrim to ⅢBelgium, the Rhineland, and Switzerland. In each place, he reflects on historical associations. Byron, for example, visited the battlefield at Waterloo where on June 18, 1815, Napoleon's ambitions were finally frustrated. The passage in which Harold recreates the celebrated battle is one of the best-known passages in the poem. The description of Alpine scenery in this canto is also deservedly admired. The opening lines of the canto have a peculiar pathos, addressed as they are by Byron to his little daughter whom he had not seen since she was five weeks old and whom he was never again to see. Especially famous are the lines introducing Harold's characteristics. The most important information about Harold is that he is a typical Byronic Hero.

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Childe Harold's Pilgrimage

Byronic Hero　 Byronic Heroes are men in rebellion against society. They are lonely

individualists, proud and willful. Beneath their cynicism and disdain are an aching sadness and a pathetic feeling of hopelessness. They are revolutionary figures rising single-handed against government or religion or moral society. Such heroes are usually persons with strong passions, unconquerable wills and inexhaustible energies. They are usually disillusioned in modern society and long for a better life among simpler people less affected by civilization. Their enemies are generally feudal rulers or Oriental despots. The conflict is one of revolutionary individuals against out-worn social systems and conventions. These characteristics of Byronic Heroes can best be illustrated in the selected readings of this section.

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Childe Harold's Pilgrimagethe style of the poem　 The poetic style of this long poem varies a great deal as the poem

proceeds, ranging from passionate outcries to pathetic utterances, from solemn expressions to ironic mockeries, from serious musings to playful fancies, from highly lyrical passages to everyday speeches, from lofty phrases in grand style to clownish play on words. This infinite variety in style fits the occasion every time and makes the poem powerful yet subtle, simple yet corlourful.

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage is a poem largely autobiographical, inspired by the tour of the Mediterranean countries and the Near East and begun by the poet in 1809. This long poem is written in Spenserian stanzas.

　　 A Spenserian stanza consists of nine lines. The first eight lines are iambic pentameter; the ninth line is iambic hexameter. The rhyme scheme of it is ababbcbcc.

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Childe Harold's Pilgrimage

romantic aspects of the poem

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage is Romantic in the lavishness of its descriptions and in its emotionalism. It is also Romantic in its emphasis on individualism. Through the presentation of Harold, Byron shows his emphasis on individualism and love of nature as well as his hatred for and revolt against oppression. Childe Harold and Byron are at odds with the world. They suffer. They are blessed (or cursed) with a sensitivity denied to ordinary mortals. They long for freedom as well as national liberation in different countries. They love nature and past grandeur. They are deeply dissatisfied with the present society. The poem gives us exceptionally valuable insights into Byron's special ways of responding to the world. It must be noted, however, that Childe Harold — and the poet who tells us of the travels of Childe Harold — is a consciously “ literary ” creation. Putting it another way, in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage we encounter a Byron who is inclined to take himself seriously. This can be seen through his adoption of the Spenserian stanza, which is usually used in serious, though somewhat delightful, subject matters.

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