Lara

by Lord Byron

George Gordon Byron, later Noel, 6th Baron Byron FRS (1788-1824) was an English poet and a leading figure in Romanticism. Amongst Byron's best-known works are the brief poems She Walks in Beauty, and So We'll Go no More a-Roving, and the narrative poems Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812-1818) and Don Juan (1819-1824), although the latter remained incomplete on his death. He is regarded as one of the greatest European poets and remains widely read and influential, both in the Englishspeaking world and beyond. Byron served as a regional leader of Italy's revolutionary organization the Carbonari in its struggle against Austria. He later travelled to fight against the Ottoman Empire in the Greek War of Independence, for which Greeks revere him as a national hero. He died from a fever in Messolonghi in Greece. Amongst his other works are: Fugitive Pieces (1806), Hours of Idleness (also titled Juvenilia) (1807), English Bards and Scotch Reviewers (1809), Hebrew Melodies (1815), The Prisoner of Chillon (1816), Manfred (1817) and The Works of Lord Byron (7 volumes) (1898).

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Romanticism, British Literature, Fiction

48 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1814

About the author

George Gordon Byron (invariably known as Lord Byron), later Noel, 6th Baron Byron of Rochdale FRS was a British poet and a leading figure in Romanticism. Amongst Byron's best-known works are the brief poems She Walks in Beauty, When We Two Parted, and So, we'll go no more a roving, in addition to the narrative poems Childe Harold's Pilgrimage and Don Juan. He is regarded as one of the greatest British poets and remains widely read and influential, both in the English-speaking world and beyond.

Byron's notabilty rests not only on his writings but also on his life, which featured upper-class living, numerous love affairs, debts, and separation. He was notably described by Lady Caroline Lamb as "mad, bad, and dangerous to know". Byron served as a regional leader of Italy's revolutionary organization, the Carbonari, in its struggle against Austria. He later travelled to fight against the Ottoman Empire in the Greek War of Independence, for which Greeks revere him as a national hero. He died from a fever contracted while in Messolonghi in Greece.

Reviews

[Steven Walle · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great piece of work.

[Starless One · Rating 4 out of 5]

The hand that kindles cannot quench the flame.

This gives off massive Count of Monte Cristo vibes with a bit of Lawrence of Arabia. The writing is beautiful and Lara's renunciation of Christianity quite daring for the time. I would give it five stars if it were longer and the characters a bit more fleshed-out.

Plus, I just can't believe Byron thought he could get away with writing an intensely homoerotic narrative poem about a brooding count and his devoted page boy by revealing at the very end that the boy was actually a woman all along. He really thought "I'm gonna make this as gay as I possibly can and use male pronouns for both characters, but it's all okay because one of them's actually female!" From what I've read, contemporary reviewers clearly weren't convinced.

[Grégoire · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent narrative poem, only marred by the hilarious assumption made by a Dodo Press employee that Lara is a woman (as shown on the cover) rather than, in fact, a male count.

[Uroš Đurković · Rating 3 out of 5]

Čitao sam србски prevod ove narativne poeme iz 1860. i čini se da se devetnaestovekovni engleski manje menjao od srpskog. Naročito imajući u vidu da je delo objavljeno 1814. godine. Prevodilac je izvesni Aca Popović. Još jedan Aca Popović.
Ima nekog iščašenog zadovoljstva u tome da Bajron ponekad zvuči kao Branko Radičević u ne baš najboljem izdanju, a ponekad čak i kao Njegoš.

Lara je, da se zna, muškarac. Bajronovski junak: misteriozan, lepi, hladan i ćutljiv plemić koji krije svoje minule dane. Međutim, za Laru se kaže kako „Veću ljubav on u nedri goji, / Neg’ sin zemlje drugi makar koji”. I čini se, sa više strana, da je poreklo Larine harizme vezano za njegovu homoseksualnost. On tako na zabavi gleda za njega nezanimljive gospe i mašta o tome kako bi mogao da bude gledan. Uključuje elektricitet pogleda, ali ne može da sakrije, kako je prevedeno, tugu trepavica. Kasnije, kako to biva sa romantizmom, mora da dođe do nekog krvoprolića. Njemu beskrajno privrženi Kaled, strada u dvoboju koji je prouzrokovan prozivkom izvesnog Ezelina koji je na kraju kukavički pobegao. Kad Kaled umire, on postaje žensko (?) iako pre toga očigledno nije bio.

I eto, najvažniji momenti u malom.

[Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great God, Lord Byron has blown me away again! At this point I've read 5 of his larger poems and they're all incredible. Byron is able to weave major aspects of himself into his characters better than anyone I've read before, this adds to the mystique of his striking characters & personality, I believe you can learn more about Byron from his characters than you could from reading a biography. This man does not fail.

I particularly loved this passage on war:

"What boots the oft-repeated tale of strife,
The feast of vultures, and the waste of life?
The varying fortune of each separate field,
The fierce that vanquish, and the faint that yield?
The smoking ruin, and the crumbled wall?
In this the struggle was the same with all;
Save that distemper'd passions lent their force
In bitterness that banish'd all remorse.
None sued, for Mercy know her cry was vain,
The captive died upon the battle-slain:
In either cause, one rage alone possess'd
The empire of the alternate victor's breast;
And they that smote for freedom or for sway,
Deem'd few were slain, while more remain'd to slay.
It was too late to check the wasting brand,
And Desolation reap'd the famish'd land;
The torch was lighted, and the flame was spread,
And Carnage smiled upon her daily dead."

[Hedda · Rating 5 out of 5]

the explicitly homoerotic romantic narrative poem i never thought existed. also, finally getting some textual evidence for my "every byronic hero is queer"-theory. absolutely amazing.

[Nicolás Ortenzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es un cuento fascinante, ahora entiendo porque Borges lo admiraba tanto. Los dos cuentos que he leído hasta el momento, se nota lo detallista que era con la narración y la obsesión con que cada palabra sea perfecta. Es como le pasaba a Virgilio.
El conde de Lara y el prisionero de Chillon, son dos cuentos que deben ser leídos por obligación.

[rara ➶ · Rating 5 out of 5]

fyreeeeeeee

[Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Byron's Lara, especially the first canto. The passion and drive of youth and the reflection, sadness and loss of age. This work still sheds light today with this item from Canto 2, VIII (lines 867-8): "Religion–Freedom–Vengeance–what you will,/A word's enough to raise mankind to kill".

I have to say that I really enjoy such storytelling in verse. Byron does it so well. Today, some authors try to craft the perfect prose but forsake their story or plot. They craft beautiful structures but nothing adorns these empty shells. I think we've lost much with the passing of epic storytelling in verse.

My edition also included Jacqueline, a poem by Samuel Rogers. Not the best story, but some very nice verse. That's something he was known for, especially with his most famous piece, The Pleasures of Memory (1792).

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

TL;DR: un noble misterioso vuelve del destierro, desaparece en misteriosas circunstancias la única persona que podía desvelar sus secretos y todo se va a la mierda por una revuelta de campesinos, slay.

Empezó muy potente, pero fue perdiendo fuerza. Muy bien escrito, eso sí. Lara a veces daba vibras de un Manfredo un poco más pragmático, pero buenas vibras.
Eso sí, lo de Kaled, es que sin comentarios. Vaya reveal MÁS CUTRE.
Mira Lord Byron, yo lo siento pero no puedes escribir un relato clarísimamente homoerótico y justo en el final decir “Ah no pero no son gays porque resulta que este personaje todo este tiempo era una mujer travestida! Tiene tetas!!!”. Eres un COBARDE. No se puede tirar la piedra y esconder la mano.

En fin, el final es un poco meh, te deja con ganas de una precuela que te cuente qué pasó durante el exilio de Lara y cómo se conocieron estos dos. En resumen, es bueno, pero no es mi Byron favorito.

[mi ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ · Rating 5 out of 5]

me recordó mucho a shakespeare

«Creyéndose destinado desde su nacimiento a ser objeto del odio de los hombres, sonreía ante su ruina, con tal que no fuera él solo el arruinado. ¿Qué le importaba la libertad de los pueblos? No elevaba a los humildes sino para rebajar a los soberbios.»

[Лайма · Rating 2 out of 5]

This reminded me of "Wuthering Heights", which is not a good thing. Overly dramatic without much of a reason for it. The fighting scene is muddled and inconsequential.

[Ana Inés · Rating 4 out of 5]

Llegué a este poema por los diarios de Mary y Percy Shelley en donde lo mencionan y bueno, con esa referencia pues resulta muy interesante. Lo disfruté bastante.

[Kira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another amazing story by Lord Byron

[natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

corte mulan, amé pero re cualquiera el por qué de la pelea igual entiendo que era el 1814 y bueno

[Laura]

confusing

[for-much-deliberation ... · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful verse by Byron...

[Hibiscus · Rating 2 out of 5]

So tired of the Byronic hero.