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? The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Works of Lord Byron, by Lord Byron
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
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with this eBook or online at www. gutenberg. org
Title: The Works of Lord Byron
Poetry, Volume V.
Author: Lord Byron
Editor: Ernest Hartley Coleridge
Release Date: November 14, 2007 [EBook #23475]
Language: English
Character set encoding: UTF-8
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WORKS OF LORD BYRON ***
Produced by Jonathan Ingram, David Cortesi and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www. pgdp. net
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
This etext is a Unicode (UTF-8) file. The main use of non-ASCII
characters is in a few phrases or lines of Greek text. Each of these is
followed by a transliteration in Beta-code, for example ? ? ? ? ? ? [tragos].
The remaining Unicode symbols are a few uses of letters a, e, s and z
with breve (curved line) above, and letters a and u with a macron
(straight line) above. In a few places, a single superscript is shown by
a caret, and two superscript letters by carets, as in J^n 10^th^.
An important feature of this edition is its copious footnotes. Footnotes
indexed with arabic numbers (as [17], [221]) are informational. Note
text in square brackets is the work of editor E. H. Coleridge.
Unbracketed note text is from earlier editions and is by a preceding
editor or Byron himself. Footnotes indexed with letters (as [c], [bf])
document variant forms of the text from manuscripts and other sources.
In the original, footnotes are printed at the foot of the page on which
they are referenced, and their indices start over on each page. Here,
footnotes are collected at the ends of each play or poem, and are
numbered consecutively throughout. Within the blocks of footnotes are
numbers in braces: {321}. These represent the page number on which
following notes originally appeared. To find a note that was originally
printed on page 27, search for {27}.
The Works
OF
LORD BYRON.
A NEW, REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION,
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.
Poetry. Vol. V.
EDITED BY
ERNEST HARTLEY COLERIDGE, M. A. ,
HON. F. R. S. L.
LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS.
1901.
PREFACE TO THE FIFTH VOLUME.
The plays and poems contained in this volume were written within the
space of two years--the last two years of Byron's career as a poet. But
that was not all. Cantos VI. -XV. of _Don Juan_, _The Vision of
Judgment_, _The Blues_, _The Irish Avatar_, and other minor poems,
belong to the same period. The end was near, and, as though he had
received a warning, he hastened to make the roll complete.
Proof is impossible, but the impression remains that the greater part of
this volume has been passed over and left unread by at least two
generations of readers. Old play-goers recall Macready as "Werner," and
many persons have read _Cain_; but apart from students of literature,
readers of _Sardanapalus_ and of _The Two Foscari_ are rare; of _The Age
of Bronze_ and _The Island_ rarer still. A few of Byron's later poems
have shared the fate of Southey's epics; and, yet, with something of
Southey's persistence, Byron believed that posterity would weigh his
"regular dramas" in a fresh balance, and that his heedless critics
would kick the beam. But "can these bones live"? Can dramas which
excited the wondering admiration of Goethe and Lamartine and Sir Walter
Scott touch or lay hold of the more adventurous reader of the present
day? It is certain that even the half-forgotten works of a great and
still popular poet, which have left their mark on the creative
imagination of the poets and playwrights of three quarters of a century,
will always be studied by the few from motives of curiosity, or for
purposes of reference; but it is improbable, though not impossible, that
in the revolution of taste and sentiment, moribund or extinct poetry
will be born again into the land of the living. Poetry which has never
had its day, such as Blake's _Songs of Innocence_, the _Lyrical
Ballads_, or Fitzgerald's _Omar Khayyam_, may come, in due time, to be
recognized at its full worth; but it is a harder matter for a poem which
has lost its vogue to recapture the interest and enthusiasm of the many.
Byron is only an instance in point. Bygone poetry has little or no
attraction for modern readers. This poem or that drama may be referred
to, and occasionally examined in the interests of general culture, or in
support of a particular belief or line of conduct, as a classical or
quasi-scriptural authority; but, with the rarest exceptions, plays and
narrative poems are not read spontaneously or with any genuine
satisfaction or delight. An old-world poem which will not yield up its
secret to the idle _reader_ "of an empty day" is more or less "rudely
dismissed," without even a show of favour or hospitality.
And yet these forgotten works of the imagination are full of hidden
treasures! There is not one of Byron's "impressionist studies" of
striking episodes of history or historical legend, flung, as it were,
with a "Take it or leave it" in the face of friend or foe, which does
not transform names and shadows into persons and substance, which does
not contain lines and passages of unquestionable beauty and distinction.
But some would have it that Byron's plays, as a whole, are dull and
uninspiring, monotonous harpings on worn-out themes, which every one has
mastered or wishes to forget. A close study of the text, together with
some knowledge of the subject as it presented itself to the author and
arrested _his_ attention, may compel these impatient critics to a
different conclusion. Byron did not scruple to refer the reader to his
"sources," and was at pains to publish, in the notes and appendices to
his dramas and poems, long extracts from old chronicles, from Plutarch's
_Lives_, from French and Italian histories, which he had read himself,
and, as he fondly believed, would be read by others, who were willing to
submit themselves to his guidance. He expected his readers to take some
trouble and to display some intelligence.
Poetry is successful only so far as it is intelligible. To a clear cry
an answer comes, but not to a muffled call. The reader who comes within
speaking distance of his author can hear him, and to bring the living
within speaking distance of the dead, the living must know the facts,
and understand the ideas which informed and inspired the dead. Thought
and attention are scarcely to be reckoned among necromantic arts, but
thought and knowledge "can make these bones live," and stand upon their
feet, if they do not leap and sing.
I desire to renew my acknowledgments of the generous assistance of the
officials of the British Museum, and, more especially, of Mr. Ernest
Wallis Budge, Litt. D. , M. A. , _Keeper of Egyptian and Assyrian
Antiquities_; of Mr. Leonard W. King, M. A. , of the same department; and
of Mr. George F. Barwick, _Superintendent of the Reading Room_.
To Dr. Garnett, C. B. , I am greatly indebted for invaluable hints and
suggestions with regard to the interpretation of some obscure passages
in _The Age of Bronze_ and other parts of the volume, and for reading
the proofs of the "Introduction" and "Note to the Introduction to
_Werner_. "
I have also to acknowledge the assistance and advice of Mr. W. Hale
White, and of my friend Mr. Frank E. Taylor, of Chertsey.
For assistance during the preparation of the volume, and more especially
in the revision of proofs, I desire to express my cordial thanks to Mr.
John Murray.
ERNEST HARTLEY COLERIDGE.
_December_ 3, 1901.
CONTENTS OF VOL. V
Preface to Vol. V. of the Poems v
SARDANAPALUS: A TRAGEDY.
Introduction to _Sardanapalus_ 3
Dedication 7
Preface 9
_Sardanapalus_ 13
THE TWO FOSCARI: AN HISTORICAL TRAGEDY.
Introduction to _The Two Foscari_ 115
_The Two Foscari_ 121
CAIN: A MYSTERY.
Introduction to _Cain_ 199
Dedication 205
Preface 207
_Cain_ 213
HEAVEN AND EARTH; A MYSTERY.
Introduction to _Heaven and Earth_ 279
_Heaven and Earth_ 285
WERNER; OR, THE INHERITANCE: A TRAGEDY.
Introduction to _Werner_ 325
Note to the Introduction to _Werner_ 329
Dedication 335
Preface 337
_Werner_ 341
_Werner_. [First Draft. ] 453
THE DEFORMED TRANSFORMED: A DRAMA.
Introduction to _The Deformed Transformed_ 469
Advertisement 473
_The Deformed Transformed_ 477
Fragment of the Third Part of _The Deformed Transformed_ 531
THE AGE OF BRONZE; OR, CARMEN SECULARE ET ANNUS HAUD MIRABILIS.
Introduction to _The Age of Bronze_ 537
_The Age of Bronze_ 541
THE ISLAND; OR, CHRISTIAN AND HIS COMRADES.
Introduction to _The Island_ 581
Advertisement 585
_The Island_. Canto the First 587
Canto the Second 598
Canto the Third 618
Canto the Fourth 626
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1. LORD BYRON, FROM A PORTRAIT IN OILS BY W. E. WEST,
IN THE POSSESSION OF MR. PERCY KENT _Frontispiece_
2. ASSUR-BANI-PAL, FROM A SLAB IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM To face p. 12
3. THE LION OF S. MARK'S 138
4. GOETHE, FROM A DRAWING BY D. MACLISE, R. A. , IN THE
VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM 282
5. GEORGIANA, DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE, FROM THE MEZZOTINT
BY VALENTINE GREEN, AFTER SIR J. REYNOLDS, P. R. A. 330
6. MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT SHELLEY, FROM A PICTURE BY R.
ROTHWELL, R. H. A. , IN THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY (1841) 474
SARDANAPALUS
A TRAGEDY.
[_Sardanapale, Tragedie Imitee de Lord Byron_, par L. Alvin, was
performed at the Theatre Royal at Brussels, January 13, 16, 1834.
_Sardanapalus_, a Tragedy, was played for the first time at Drury Lane
Theatre, April 10, 1834, and (for the twenty-second time) June 5, 1834.
Macready appeared as "Sardanapalus," Miss Phillips as "Zarina," and Miss
Ellen Tree as "Myrrha. " [In his diary for April 11, 1834 (see
_Reminiscences_, 1875, i. 414, 415) Macready wrote, "On arriving at my
chambers . . . I found a letter without a signature; the seal was the head
of Byron, and in the envelope was a folded sheet with merely the words,
'Werner, Nov. , 1830. Byron, Ravenna, 1821,' and 'Sardanapalus, April
10th, 1834. ' Encircling the name of Byron, etc. , was a lock of grey hair
fastened by a gold thread, which I am sure was Byron's, . . . it surprised
and pleased me. "]
_Sardanapalus, King of Assyria_, was produced at the Princess's Theatre,
June 13, 1853, and played till September 2, 1853. Charles Kean appeared
as "Sardanapalus," Miss Heath as "Zarina," and Mrs. Charles Kean as
"Myrrha. "
_Sardanapale, Opera en Trois Actes_, par M. Henry Becque, Musique de M.
Victorin Joncieres, was performed for the first time at the Theatre
Imperial-Lyrique, February 8, 1867.
_Lord Byron's Tragedy of Sardanapalus_, in four acts, was performed at
the Theatre Royal, Manchester, March 31-April 28, 1877. Charles Calvert
(the adapter) played "Sardanapalus," Miss Hathaway "Zarina," and Miss
Fanny Ensor "Myrrha;" and June 26-July 27, 1877, at the Royal Alexandra
Theatre, Liverpool. Calvert's adaptation was also performed at Booth's
Theatre, New York. ]
INTRODUCTION TO _SARDANAPALUS_
Byron's passion or infatuation for the regular drama lasted a little
over a year. _Marino Faliero_, _Sardanapalus_, and the _Two Foscari_,
were the fruits of his "self-denying ordinance to dramatize, like the
Greeks . . . striking passages of history" (letter to Murray, July 14,
1821, _Letters_, 1901, v. 323). The mood was destined to pass, but for a
while the neophyte was spell-bound.
_Sardanapalus, a Tragedy_, the second and, perhaps, the most successful
of these studies in the poetry of history, was begun at Ravenna, January
13, 1821, "with all deliberate speed;" but, for a time, from laziness or
depression of spirits, or, perhaps, from the counter-excitement of "the
poetry of politics" (_Letters_, 1901, v. 205), that is, the
revolutionary drama which had begun to run its course, a month went by
before he had finished the first act (February 15). Three months later
(May 28) he announces the completion of the drama, the last act having
been "dashed off" in two or three days (_Letters_, 1901, v. 300).
For the story of Sardanapalus, which had excited his interest as a
schoolboy, Byron consulted the pages of Diodorus Siculus (_Bibliothecae
Historicae_, lib. ii. pp. 78, sq. , ed. 1604), and, possibly to ward off
and neutralize the distracting influence of Shakespeare and other
barbarian dramatists, he "turned over" the tragedies of Seneca
(_Letters_, 1901, v. 173). It is hardly necessary to remind the modern
reader that the Sardanapalus of history is an unverified if not an
unverifiable personage. Diodorus the Sicilian, who was contemporary with
Cicero, derived his knowledge of Assyrian history from the _Persica_ of
Ctesias of Cnidos, who was private physician at the court of Artaxerxes
Mnemon (B. C. 405-359), and is said to have had access to, and to have
consulted, the "Persian authorities" (? ? ? ? ? ?
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? The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Works of Lord Byron, by Lord Byron
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www. gutenberg. org
Title: The Works of Lord Byron
Poetry, Volume V.
Author: Lord Byron
Editor: Ernest Hartley Coleridge
Release Date: November 14, 2007 [EBook #23475]
Language: English
Character set encoding: UTF-8
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WORKS OF LORD BYRON ***
Produced by Jonathan Ingram, David Cortesi and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www. pgdp. net
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
This etext is a Unicode (UTF-8) file. The main use of non-ASCII
characters is in a few phrases or lines of Greek text. Each of these is
followed by a transliteration in Beta-code, for example ? ? ? ? ? ? [tragos].
The remaining Unicode symbols are a few uses of letters a, e, s and z
with breve (curved line) above, and letters a and u with a macron
(straight line) above. In a few places, a single superscript is shown by
a caret, and two superscript letters by carets, as in J^n 10^th^.
An important feature of this edition is its copious footnotes. Footnotes
indexed with arabic numbers (as [17], [221]) are informational. Note
text in square brackets is the work of editor E. H. Coleridge.
Unbracketed note text is from earlier editions and is by a preceding
editor or Byron himself. Footnotes indexed with letters (as [c], [bf])
document variant forms of the text from manuscripts and other sources.
In the original, footnotes are printed at the foot of the page on which
they are referenced, and their indices start over on each page. Here,
footnotes are collected at the ends of each play or poem, and are
numbered consecutively throughout. Within the blocks of footnotes are
numbers in braces: {321}. These represent the page number on which
following notes originally appeared. To find a note that was originally
printed on page 27, search for {27}.
The Works
OF
LORD BYRON.
A NEW, REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION,
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.
Poetry. Vol. V.
EDITED BY
ERNEST HARTLEY COLERIDGE, M. A. ,
HON. F. R. S. L.
LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS.
1901.
PREFACE TO THE FIFTH VOLUME.
The plays and poems contained in this volume were written within the
space of two years--the last two years of Byron's career as a poet. But
that was not all. Cantos VI. -XV. of _Don Juan_, _The Vision of
Judgment_, _The Blues_, _The Irish Avatar_, and other minor poems,
belong to the same period. The end was near, and, as though he had
received a warning, he hastened to make the roll complete.
Proof is impossible, but the impression remains that the greater part of
this volume has been passed over and left unread by at least two
generations of readers. Old play-goers recall Macready as "Werner," and
many persons have read _Cain_; but apart from students of literature,
readers of _Sardanapalus_ and of _The Two Foscari_ are rare; of _The Age
of Bronze_ and _The Island_ rarer still. A few of Byron's later poems
have shared the fate of Southey's epics; and, yet, with something of
Southey's persistence, Byron believed that posterity would weigh his
"regular dramas" in a fresh balance, and that his heedless critics
would kick the beam. But "can these bones live"? Can dramas which
excited the wondering admiration of Goethe and Lamartine and Sir Walter
Scott touch or lay hold of the more adventurous reader of the present
day? It is certain that even the half-forgotten works of a great and
still popular poet, which have left their mark on the creative
imagination of the poets and playwrights of three quarters of a century,
will always be studied by the few from motives of curiosity, or for
purposes of reference; but it is improbable, though not impossible, that
in the revolution of taste and sentiment, moribund or extinct poetry
will be born again into the land of the living. Poetry which has never
had its day, such as Blake's _Songs of Innocence_, the _Lyrical
Ballads_, or Fitzgerald's _Omar Khayyam_, may come, in due time, to be
recognized at its full worth; but it is a harder matter for a poem which
has lost its vogue to recapture the interest and enthusiasm of the many.
Byron is only an instance in point. Bygone poetry has little or no
attraction for modern readers. This poem or that drama may be referred
to, and occasionally examined in the interests of general culture, or in
support of a particular belief or line of conduct, as a classical or
quasi-scriptural authority; but, with the rarest exceptions, plays and
narrative poems are not read spontaneously or with any genuine
satisfaction or delight. An old-world poem which will not yield up its
secret to the idle _reader_ "of an empty day" is more or less "rudely
dismissed," without even a show of favour or hospitality.
And yet these forgotten works of the imagination are full of hidden
treasures! There is not one of Byron's "impressionist studies" of
striking episodes of history or historical legend, flung, as it were,
with a "Take it or leave it" in the face of friend or foe, which does
not transform names and shadows into persons and substance, which does
not contain lines and passages of unquestionable beauty and distinction.
But some would have it that Byron's plays, as a whole, are dull and
uninspiring, monotonous harpings on worn-out themes, which every one has
mastered or wishes to forget. A close study of the text, together with
some knowledge of the subject as it presented itself to the author and
arrested _his_ attention, may compel these impatient critics to a
different conclusion. Byron did not scruple to refer the reader to his
"sources," and was at pains to publish, in the notes and appendices to
his dramas and poems, long extracts from old chronicles, from Plutarch's
_Lives_, from French and Italian histories, which he had read himself,
and, as he fondly believed, would be read by others, who were willing to
submit themselves to his guidance. He expected his readers to take some
trouble and to display some intelligence.
Poetry is successful only so far as it is intelligible. To a clear cry
an answer comes, but not to a muffled call. The reader who comes within
speaking distance of his author can hear him, and to bring the living
within speaking distance of the dead, the living must know the facts,
and understand the ideas which informed and inspired the dead. Thought
and attention are scarcely to be reckoned among necromantic arts, but
thought and knowledge "can make these bones live," and stand upon their
feet, if they do not leap and sing.
I desire to renew my acknowledgments of the generous assistance of the
officials of the British Museum, and, more especially, of Mr. Ernest
Wallis Budge, Litt. D. , M. A. , _Keeper of Egyptian and Assyrian
Antiquities_; of Mr. Leonard W. King, M. A. , of the same department; and
of Mr. George F. Barwick, _Superintendent of the Reading Room_.
To Dr. Garnett, C. B. , I am greatly indebted for invaluable hints and
suggestions with regard to the interpretation of some obscure passages
in _The Age of Bronze_ and other parts of the volume, and for reading
the proofs of the "Introduction" and "Note to the Introduction to
_Werner_. "
I have also to acknowledge the assistance and advice of Mr. W. Hale
White, and of my friend Mr. Frank E. Taylor, of Chertsey.
For assistance during the preparation of the volume, and more especially
in the revision of proofs, I desire to express my cordial thanks to Mr.
John Murray.
ERNEST HARTLEY COLERIDGE.
_December_ 3, 1901.
CONTENTS OF VOL. V
Preface to Vol. V. of the Poems v
SARDANAPALUS: A TRAGEDY.
Introduction to _Sardanapalus_ 3
Dedication 7
Preface 9
_Sardanapalus_ 13
THE TWO FOSCARI: AN HISTORICAL TRAGEDY.
Introduction to _The Two Foscari_ 115
_The Two Foscari_ 121
CAIN: A MYSTERY.
Introduction to _Cain_ 199
Dedication 205
Preface 207
_Cain_ 213
HEAVEN AND EARTH; A MYSTERY.
Introduction to _Heaven and Earth_ 279
_Heaven and Earth_ 285
WERNER; OR, THE INHERITANCE: A TRAGEDY.
Introduction to _Werner_ 325
Note to the Introduction to _Werner_ 329
Dedication 335
Preface 337
_Werner_ 341
_Werner_. [First Draft. ] 453
THE DEFORMED TRANSFORMED: A DRAMA.
Introduction to _The Deformed Transformed_ 469
Advertisement 473
_The Deformed Transformed_ 477
Fragment of the Third Part of _The Deformed Transformed_ 531
THE AGE OF BRONZE; OR, CARMEN SECULARE ET ANNUS HAUD MIRABILIS.
Introduction to _The Age of Bronze_ 537
_The Age of Bronze_ 541
THE ISLAND; OR, CHRISTIAN AND HIS COMRADES.
Introduction to _The Island_ 581
Advertisement 585
_The Island_. Canto the First 587
Canto the Second 598
Canto the Third 618
Canto the Fourth 626
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1. LORD BYRON, FROM A PORTRAIT IN OILS BY W. E. WEST,
IN THE POSSESSION OF MR. PERCY KENT _Frontispiece_
2. ASSUR-BANI-PAL, FROM A SLAB IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM To face p. 12
3. THE LION OF S. MARK'S 138
4. GOETHE, FROM A DRAWING BY D. MACLISE, R. A. , IN THE
VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM 282
5. GEORGIANA, DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE, FROM THE MEZZOTINT
BY VALENTINE GREEN, AFTER SIR J. REYNOLDS, P. R. A. 330
6. MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT SHELLEY, FROM A PICTURE BY R.
ROTHWELL, R. H. A. , IN THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY (1841) 474
SARDANAPALUS
A TRAGEDY.
[_Sardanapale, Tragedie Imitee de Lord Byron_, par L. Alvin, was
performed at the Theatre Royal at Brussels, January 13, 16, 1834.
_Sardanapalus_, a Tragedy, was played for the first time at Drury Lane
Theatre, April 10, 1834, and (for the twenty-second time) June 5, 1834.
Macready appeared as "Sardanapalus," Miss Phillips as "Zarina," and Miss
Ellen Tree as "Myrrha. " [In his diary for April 11, 1834 (see
_Reminiscences_, 1875, i. 414, 415) Macready wrote, "On arriving at my
chambers . . . I found a letter without a signature; the seal was the head
of Byron, and in the envelope was a folded sheet with merely the words,
'Werner, Nov. , 1830. Byron, Ravenna, 1821,' and 'Sardanapalus, April
10th, 1834. ' Encircling the name of Byron, etc. , was a lock of grey hair
fastened by a gold thread, which I am sure was Byron's, . . . it surprised
and pleased me. "]
_Sardanapalus, King of Assyria_, was produced at the Princess's Theatre,
June 13, 1853, and played till September 2, 1853. Charles Kean appeared
as "Sardanapalus," Miss Heath as "Zarina," and Mrs. Charles Kean as
"Myrrha. "
_Sardanapale, Opera en Trois Actes_, par M. Henry Becque, Musique de M.
Victorin Joncieres, was performed for the first time at the Theatre
Imperial-Lyrique, February 8, 1867.
_Lord Byron's Tragedy of Sardanapalus_, in four acts, was performed at
the Theatre Royal, Manchester, March 31-April 28, 1877. Charles Calvert
(the adapter) played "Sardanapalus," Miss Hathaway "Zarina," and Miss
Fanny Ensor "Myrrha;" and June 26-July 27, 1877, at the Royal Alexandra
Theatre, Liverpool. Calvert's adaptation was also performed at Booth's
Theatre, New York. ]
INTRODUCTION TO _SARDANAPALUS_
Byron's passion or infatuation for the regular drama lasted a little
over a year. _Marino Faliero_, _Sardanapalus_, and the _Two Foscari_,
were the fruits of his "self-denying ordinance to dramatize, like the
Greeks . . . striking passages of history" (letter to Murray, July 14,
1821, _Letters_, 1901, v. 323). The mood was destined to pass, but for a
while the neophyte was spell-bound.
_Sardanapalus, a Tragedy_, the second and, perhaps, the most successful
of these studies in the poetry of history, was begun at Ravenna, January
13, 1821, "with all deliberate speed;" but, for a time, from laziness or
depression of spirits, or, perhaps, from the counter-excitement of "the
poetry of politics" (_Letters_, 1901, v. 205), that is, the
revolutionary drama which had begun to run its course, a month went by
before he had finished the first act (February 15). Three months later
(May 28) he announces the completion of the drama, the last act having
been "dashed off" in two or three days (_Letters_, 1901, v. 300).
For the story of Sardanapalus, which had excited his interest as a
schoolboy, Byron consulted the pages of Diodorus Siculus (_Bibliothecae
Historicae_, lib. ii. pp. 78, sq. , ed. 1604), and, possibly to ward off
and neutralize the distracting influence of Shakespeare and other
barbarian dramatists, he "turned over" the tragedies of Seneca
(_Letters_, 1901, v. 173). It is hardly necessary to remind the modern
reader that the Sardanapalus of history is an unverified if not an
unverifiable personage. Diodorus the Sicilian, who was contemporary with
Cicero, derived his knowledge of Assyrian history from the _Persica_ of
Ctesias of Cnidos, who was private physician at the court of Artaxerxes
Mnemon (B. C. 405-359), and is said to have had access to, and to have
consulted, the "Persian authorities" (? ? ? ? ? ?
