BLOODY POETRY

by Howard Brenton

Full Length, Drama / 3m, 2f / Bare stage This fascinating drama, staged to acclaim in London and New York, has in its cast of characters Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley and Claire Goodwin. The play is about radicalism artistic, political and more. Taking place in Italy, it concerns the characters' various ideas about radical politics and free love. Along the way, a number of serious questions are raised, not the least of which is why fervent radicals seem so often to be done in by their reprehensible characters. At the end of the play Byron attends the cremation of Shelley on the beach at Viareggio and delivers a stunning ovation over the "Burn him. Burn us all. A great big bloody beautiful fire." "Radicalism, artistic defiance, an intellectual rage. These are the virtues celebrated in this extraordinary dream play which begins, as it ends, on a foreign shore." London Financial Times. "A phantasmagoric play. . . . Brenton is celebrating the idea of the committed artist who seeks to stir and provoke sullen, defeated, bourgeois England. At the same time with clear eyed honesty, he shows how difficult it is to upset the moral order." London Guardian.

Genres: Plays, Drama, Theatre

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Mary Pagones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unfortunately, the most interesting character--the ghost of Harriet, Shelley's ex-wife--makes only a very small appearance. This play gives a taste of the lives of the Shelleys and Byron, but it feels rather like a presentation of their alleged characters and lacks a true dramatic arc. Probably works better live, although still worth a read and worthy of a revival. I raise my eyebrow how poets in drama can always extensively quote their own work from memory.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brenton's play is about the Shelley entourage and their relationship with Byron over a number of years and across Europe. It begins with them meeting bad Lord B and ends with Shelley's death. It mostly concentrates on the interpersonal relationships - for a Brenton play, the wider political world is not a huge part of proceedings, rather a backdrop to and occasional referent for the itinerant characters. The dialogue is rich and goes some way to lulling you into thinking that you are listening to great poets and writers; there's the occasional dollop of (mostly Shelley's) genuine poetry.

The form is quite odd and inconsistent - as if Brenton was deliberately writing a messy play to tell the story of some messy lives. It's mostly dialogic, with a few to audience soliloquies and asides; a ghost is introduced in the second act, which is not in step with the previously established heightened realist conventions.

The characters, despite Brenton making a fist of them appearing to be the Romantic greats of history, are probably better seen as a removed portrait of the kind of wealthy, post-permissive society/post-May 68 radical liberals with private incomes who could pose as revolutionaries and fight for free love but who were actually rather indulgent people who treated their women very poorly and whose inherited wealth meant that they could globe trot with a radical pose without any of the risks and barriers that a poorer person might face.

The final imploration from Byron that the lot of them be burned shows a deep ambivalence on Brenton's part, or even a desire for them to be removed from sight. Most of Brenton's work is satire against the ruling classes, and there is a deep ambiguity here as to what we might feel about these bloody poetry spouting toffs. Of course, some would think all that mattered was the poetry, but is aesthetics ever Brenton's chief concern?

[Benni Zev · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Burn him! Burn him! Burn him! Burn us all! A great big bloody beautiful fire"
Though a fair chunk of this feels clunky and on the nose, it is outweighed by the intellectual depth and artistic vigour of the characters and the complexity of their dynamics. We have a series of flawed broken incapable characters, which lends a sincere and profound melancholy underneath all the hedonistic and joyful silliness. Hypocrisy is rarely so thoughtfully and honestly analysed, with the brilliant words of the poets meaning nothing as strewn around the world are their bastards and dead lovers. The self-awareness of this fact in each character really stands out here, a tiredness with the world, a resignation to sinfulness and hypocrisy. Polidori plays an interesting role, and having him also be an unpleasant bastard makes these dynamics far more interesting and profound. I love the use of poetry throughout, and one could understand (from the dialogue) how these people are epic poets, whilst never losing the humanity of each of the characters.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful use of language and some interesting theatrical conventions with split scenes/times etc. But I do wonder how engaging these characters would be to anyone not interested in the historical people they are based on...Any director and actors would have their work cut out for them with it (but then that's sometimes just the thing).

[Louis Chadburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great play. Very witty and makes that fateful night in Switzerland work dramatically. Byron, Percy and Mary Shelley chatting shit.

Would love to see this live and play Byron😉

[Kelsey Helmick · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most under-rated plays EVER. The writing throughout the whole play reads as if the lines themselves were prettily-written verse, which makes it a beautiful read.

[Kathryn Baron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw it at the Royal Court Theatre in 1988. It was marvelous. They do scripts as programs, which is wonderful.