Lord Byron

----Maggie

Do you know Lord Byron (1788-1824), who was buried in St.Mary Magdalene Church, Hucknall?

Byron is known as one of the most glamorous of the English poets. He was born in London in 1788 and came to Nottinghamshire with his mother in 1798. When he was 10 years old, the boy succeeded to the title by the death of his great uncle, William fifth Lord Byron.

After he finished his study in Trinity College, Cambridge,

Byron left England for tour in the Mediterranean and the east. He composed Don Juan which played his heroic part in the liberation of Greece. According to the pressure, he eventually left Britain for Europe, and then he laid down his life in the cause of Greek freedom.

Now Byron’s house – Newstead Abbey in Nottingham, becomes a memorial and visitors’ center. If you go there, you can see some of Byron’s manuscripts and letters, you can also relax in the picturesque gardens, which include a rose garden, a Japanese garden, and a sub-tropical garden.

Here is a selected poem from Byron, I hope you will enjoy it.

My Soul is Dark

My soul is dark - Oh! quickly string
The harp I yet can brook to hear;
And let thy gentle fingers fling
Its melting murmurs o'er mine ear.
If in this heart a hope be dear,
That sound shall charm it forth again:
If in these eyes there lurk a tear,
'Twill flow, and cease to burn my brain.
But bid the strain be wild and deep,
Nor let thy notes of joy be first:
I tell thee, minstrel, I must weep,
Or else this heavy heart will burst;
For it hath been by sorrow nursed,
And ached in sleepless silence, long
And now 'tis doomed to know the worst,
And break at once - or yield to song.