Hebrew Melodies

by Lord Byron

This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

Genres: Poetry, Romanticism, British Literature

Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 1815

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

[Silvio · Rating 5 out of 5]

" Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen:
Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown,
That host on the morrow lay withered and strown."

This is why I rarely check out modern poetry, you just can't top this.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

First sentence: She walks in beauty like the night/ Of cloudless climes and starry skies,/ And all that's best of dark and bright/ Meet in her aspect and her eyes;/ Thus mellowed to the tender light/ Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

Premise/plot: Hebrew Melodies is a collection of poetry by Lord Byron first published in 1815. The poems were written to be set to music composed by Isaac Nathan. The first poem is perhaps one of Byron's best known poems, "She Walks In Beauty."

It seems some versions of Hebrew Melodies have twenty-eight poems, and other versions have thirty poems. The edition published in 1815 certainly did not have twenty-eight or thirty.

My thoughts: Don't expect all the poems in Hebrew Melodies to be as wonderful as She Walks In Beauty. If you do, chances are you'll be disappointed with what you actually get.

Many of the poems have a melancholic almost fatalistic theme.

Did I "like" this collection? I am a more reluctant poetry enthusiast. I struggle with poetry. There are some poems that I do love, love, love. It is discovering poems that I do love that keeps me reading poetry instead of avoiding it. But I didn't really love this collection.

[Ahn Hundt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh, wasn't too crazy about this one. There's still the characteristic musicality of Lord Byron that I admire in here, there's still a whole lot of word-smithery going on, it all sounds delightful to read out loud and the rhythm is excellent, but the subject matter here is just very stale and uninteresting. As the title suggests, it's all about Israel and Zion and whatnot, things I just couldn't care less for, especially when it's presented with so little transformative substance. Authors like Rainer Maria Rilke or Else Lasker-Schüler have done way more interesting and resonant things in poetry through the lens of Jewish heritage and spiritual connection, and what Byron does here is more or less just very plainly taking these tales and translating them into lyric form.

There are a few pretty poems in here, especially the ones that deviates from the very overt themes like the ones dedicated to lovers of his, but it's not enough for me to give it a rating that's above average. It's the craft of Byron being wasted on something that doesn't have a lot to say.

[Anne Gaelan]

A Nightingale's Journey

These poems are unquestionably songs of the evening.

Startlingly beautiful and magesterial with a haunting melancholy, Byron's verses transport the reader to another world.

His genius gives a voice to the outcast and dignity to the vanquished.

Bible readers and non-believers alike will be touched to the core by these verses which give an added depth to sacred texts based on the Book of Kings.

They reveal a sensitivity the author concealed well during his life.

[Joshua Horn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Byron was a real poet, unlike most who carry that name today, and these poems reflect that. But however proper their rhyme and rhythm may be, most of them weren't that interesting to me. The ones that stood out were:

Were My Bosom As False as Thou Deem'st It To Be
The Destruction of Sennacherib
Song of Saul Before His Last Battle

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely suberb, sweet, gentle and unforgettable poetry by the god of poetry!! Byron showed to the world that even with just simple couplets a genius can make readers shake from emotion.

[Lee Burchfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not his best. But what but his best is?

[Veronica · Rating 4 out of 5]

George was wild for this