George Gordon Byron's poem "Manfred". History of creation, summary, analysis

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

"No, I'm not Byron, I'm different…" - wrote a no less famous and no less talented poet, our compatriot Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov. And what is he, this mysterious Byron? What did he write, and about what? Will his works be understandable and relevant now, when completely different tendencies are observed in literature, different from the romantic trend of the first half of the nineteenth century? Let's try to answer this question by analyzing one of the most famous works of George Byron "Manfred".

About the life of the great Byron

George Gordron Byron - the Lord of the English court, the national hero of Greece … But most importantly - one of the greatest poets of the romantic era, and of all world literature. The creator of such literary masterpieces as the novel in verse "Don Juan", the poems "Manfred", "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage","Mazepa", various collections and cycles of poems. He not only wrote in the spirit of romanticism, Byron lived as befits a romantic hero of the works of that time. Born into a noble but poor family. He studied poorly, but made a brilliant career. Already in his student years (studied at Cambridge University), Byron published his first collection of poems, Leisure Hours, which was severely criticized. In response to negative reviews, the poet wrote a satirical poem, thanks to which everyone recognized his talent. After there were "Child Harold's Pilgrimage", "Manfred" … Byron worked extremely fruitfully and successfully. At the same time, he managed to travel a lot and … love a lot. There are legends about the writer's novels, moreover, the truth can be difficult to distinguish from fiction. It is authentically known that he was married, and married for love, however, at the initiative of his wife Anna, nee Milbank, the couple was forced to divorce. This did not break the poet's ardent heart, after that he was happy with women more than once, continued to write, traveled to different countries. The last of these was Greece, for whose independence from the Turks he fought on a par with the Greeks themselves - there he fell ill with a fever and died. Byron was 36 years old. The poet's body was buried in a family vault in Nottinghamshire.

The story of the creation of the poem "Manfred"

Byron wrote this work, being impressed by a trip to Switzerland, which took place in 1816, almost immediately after a scandalous break with his wife. The poet during thistravel often climbed the Alps and was inspired by the mysterious and majestic nature of these places.

In 1817, the "metaphysical drama", as the author himself designated the genre of the work, was published. It is worth noting that many events from the author's personal life were reflected in the poem, so it can partly be called autobiographical.

A couple of words about the work

Interestingly, Byron's poem "Manfred" was published around the same time as Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus". But the authors of both works were close friends. What is interesting here? Those who have read both will surely have noticed some similarities between the two masterpieces. Both of them are created in the spirit of the Gothic novel, both are filled with gloom and pessimism. And both became discoveries in literature: if "Frankenstein" made Mary Shelley famous, then "Manfred" opened a new facet in Byron's talent - here he showed himself as an outstanding playwright.

Summary

Byron's Manfred is often compared to Goethe's Faust. And they have every right to do so - both dramas in verse raise deep, philosophical problems, the heroes of these great works are looking for answers to the most complex, fundamental questions of life. In addition, both in Faust and in Manfred there is a mystical element. But not only the concepts, but also the structure of these dramas are largely the same.

The work begins withthe fact that the hero sums up his life, recalls the past - and it does not please him at all. Manfred has achieved everything, but he sees no benefit in this. The only thing left for him to discover is oblivion. In his search, the magician roams the mountains, turns to the spirits, meets other heroes (suicidal hunter, fairy), but no one can help him.

In the finale, an abbot comes to the warlock's castle, who wants to cleanse the evil wizard from filth, seeks to heal his soul, but he fails. Manfred dies, remaining true to his black pessimism.

The Idea of the Superman

When analyzing Byron's "Manfred" one cannot ignore the main character - the magician and sorcerer, the omnipotent Manfred, in whom the idea of the superman is clearly realized, while the superman is suffering. He is at the pinnacle of knowledge, he has a special power, he can command the elements, nature itself obeys him, to say nothing of insignificant people. However, Manfred is in despair - he, despite all his greatness, cannot find himself, understand his destiny. The hero is looking for oblivion, but nothing and no one can give him it. He comes to the conclusion that knowledge is by no means salvation, but the greatest evil that dooms a person to death.

But Byron in Manfred portrayed not such an abstract hero-thinker as it might seem. In many ways, this character is comparable to Napoleon. The titanic image of the "villain cast into dust" from the song of fates, according to the text of the work, correlates with the main character, and, if we go beyond the scope of the poem,then the features of Napoleon are clearly discerned in him. In addition, both Manfred and Napoleon are carriers of the idea, worldview of each of their era (Manfred lives approximately between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries).

From the past century to the coming century

Are there really no such "Manfreds" now - great, omnipotent, those who commit certain acts, and then repent of them, burn with shame, seek consolation, try to forget? Each of us lives his own "Manfred", always doubting, disappointed, doomed to suffering. And only we decide what will be his fate. Byronovsky - ended in tragedy. What to do with your personal "Manfred"? Maybe after reading the poem, you will answer this question for yourself.