Byron- on this day I compete my 36th year

form+ structure

elegiac tone as its a elegy- for lost self/youth as growing up makes you became detached from your past self. very apt for warzone setting so soldiers lament; could be literal as he antiquates death so composing own elegy?

10 quatrians of varying lineation with some loose rhyme thats inconsistent. effect of reflecting unpredictability of life as it can fluctuate between ‘normal’ and ‘regular’. mirrors war zone setting as there’s a literal contrast of of control and loss of power resulting in unpreditblity. effects mental state as the ‘irregular’ lifestyle is so well lived in it becomes the norm and controlling the uncontrollable.

summary

Byron’s acceptance of death and the thought processes he has about his life - his hopes for his death, to find normalcy.

rhyme scheme

regular ABAB rhyme scheme so first line of stanza rhyme with 3rd and same for 2nd with 4th. regular balanced rhyme scheme musical and propulsive so swinging energy created- energy of youth speaker is trying to recreate.

theme of love, ageing and matiurity

• “The flower and fruits of love are gone.” represntive of how sexuality can change with use of lexical field of impermanent nature emphasising how interconnected love and maturity are.

• “The worm- the canker, and the grief/ Are mine alone!” triadic structure links to lifecycle of death and act of rotting/decaying. maturity/death active process for Byron as “mine alone!” implies sense of accountability/maturity with the exclamatory mode emphasnig this though realisation implication (what ageing/maturity fundamentally is).

• “The fire that on my bosom preys/Is lone as some Volcanic preys/ is lone as some volcanic isle; /No torch is rekindled at its blaze/ A funeral pile.” destructor natural imagery with implied passivity as volcano erupts into destruction. juxapostion of heat and cold implies passion vs loniness- reality of aging. overall implication that life without passion/sex/love is akin to death.

• “Awake, my spirit!’ as Greece gay sense of self-acceptance. comes with age and maturity alongside the realisation of the inevitability of death.

• “power of Love I cannot share,/ But wear the chain.” shows willingness to suffer- both a burden of aging and sign of strength from aging.

speaker feels that lived too long to expect to be loved back by those he loves- 36 relatively old for 1824.

worms and decay imagery suggest he feels death is hanging over his shoulder; implies that requited love fades and withers with age.

theme of glory and sacrifice

• “The Sword, the Banner, and the field, /Glory and Greece around us see!” as Greece associated with mythology self referential reference to legacy.

• “The land of honourable Death/ … up to the field” suggests death for honourable cause greater than life of dishonour as noble cause. interaction of liberty and romanctisim as freedom from oppressors. field of Elysium links to underworld as metaphorical site of resting heroes, with the literal meaning of the battle ground.

speaker desires a legacy to be famous, so death not only inevitable but a opportunity to became a undying part of history.

speaker’s association with heroes connotes maturity as seeing the big picture, sacrificing smaller pleasures for wider good of nation. yet, accepting reality of aging and death also means how he hopes to gain a immortal legacy- so no decay.

allertion device

• “Glory decks the hero’s bier,/ Or bind his brow.” repated /b/ is strong so links words to sig moment- speaker’s effort to consider both death and glory. connected sounds help import ideas as death/glory intertwined with

• “Glory and Greece around us see!” the hard /g/ sound highlights how closely connected the things are; that Greece reps glory itself.

• “Seek out- less often sought than found-/ A solider’s grave,’’ siblilce implies eventual quiet of death after the noisy, but glory filled battle.

device of asyndeton

• “The hope, the fear, the jealous care, / the elated portion of the pain” absence of conjunction creates overwhelming tone- too much loss for speaker to handle. adds to realisation that the love experienced in his youth died in his youth.

device of enjambment

• “ The worm- the canker, and the grief/ are mine alone” enjambment leaves it isolated both visually and metrically as empty space and isolation left alone. suggests lamenting a loss.

• stanza 8 all enjambnets with enjambnets showing new euthasim for death and glory as pulls the reader along.

device of metaphor

• “My days are in the yellow leaf” metaphor for physcial decay and ageing as progressing though the seasons of life. end of love equals decline in his body. nature metaphors part of old tradition in imagining moralit/middle aged as autumnal.

• “Is lone as some Volcanic Isle; /No torch is kindled at its blaze” metaphor as volcano for love suggests tension and contrast in speaker’s heart as while requited love gone, love generally still there. still carries it as a “chain” showing sigininfance as he can’t just bush the feeling off.

• “Unworthy manhood” personifies manhood and socially accepted masc- old poetic trad making sense as in poem about gaining a immortal repuation speaker should address ideals as people.

rhetorical question

• “If thou regret’st thou youth, why live?” provides a internal answer, posing question for effect- emphasised by italics. regrets suggests speaker regrets the passing of his youth and end of potential for love but also the actions of his youth.

very byronic moment as byronic hero was a romantic figure stuck between idealism and self-destruction, love, despair and sublime. ambiguity in rhetorical question implies that idealistic mach towards death motivated party by self-destructive angst and remorse over people hurt in youth.

repition device

• “This heart should be unmoved,/ Since others it hath ceased to move; / Yet though I cannot be beloved,/ Still let me love!” multiple kinds used. 2 half of stanza use parallelism as one stanza is one long sentance; grammatical structure of 2nd half echoes grammtial structure of 1st part. polysyndeton in bold bits as repitions and connaitons reflect speaker’s thoughts has unable to expect unrequited love but still expecting it.

repition shapes themes as often has a insistent or reflective tone- vital to speaker’s mood.

historical context

straight outta greek war for indnepdence- 1821 to 1830. greeks won against ottoman empire; inspired by enlightenment and romantic ideals of liberty and democracy.

greece played symbolic roles in European imagination as birthplace of classical and philopocial virtue- commitment to greek cause for Byron with practial and idealistic. Byron’s involvment bought more attention and sympathy to strike and greek national hero as died in war- fever not battlefield.

literary context

Byron relcunet but poster child of a romantic hero. saw himself as inheritor of Wordsworth completion of nature as satirical and comic.

originated byronic hero- tormented figure who is torn between melancholy and passion. Caroline Lamb (a lover) said he was "mad, bad, and dangerous to know."

Celeb for scandalous sex life, public persona and poetry.

good mates with Mary and Percy shelly- went to greece for indepdnce at 36 to fight for indepcne.

famous in lifetime.