Chapter I: Preface: To the Fourth Volume

The poems included in this volume consist of thirteen longer or more important works, written at various periods between June, 1816, and October, 1821; of eight occasional pieces (_Poems of July-September_, 1816), written in 1816; and of another collection of occasional pieces (_Poems_ 1816-1823), written at intervals between November, 1816, and September, 1823. Of this second group of minor poems five are now printed and published for the first time.

The volume is not co-extensive with the work of the period. The third and fourth cantos of _Childe Harold_ (1816-1817), the first five cantos of _Don Juan_ (1818, 1819, 1820), _Sardanapalus_, _The Two Foscari_, _Cain_, and _Heaven and Earth_ (1821), form parts of other volumes, but, in spite of these notable exceptions, the fourth volume contains the work of the poet's maturity, which is and must ever remain famous. Byron was not content to write on one kind of subject, or to confine himself to one branch or species of poetry. He tracked the footsteps now of this master poet, now of another, far outstripping some of his models; soon spent in the pursuit of others. Even in his own lifetime, and in the heyday of his fame, his friendliest critics, who applauded him to the echo, perceived that the "manifold motions" of his versatile and unsleeping talent were not always sanctioned or blessed by his genius. Hence the unevenness of his work, the different values of this or that poem. But, even so, in width of compass, in variety of style, and in measure of success, his achievement was unparalleled. Take such poems as _Manfred_ or _Mazeppa_, which have left their mark on the literature of Europe; as _Beppo_, the _avant courrier_ of _Don Juan_, or the "inimitable" _Vision of Judgment_, which the "hungry generations" have not trodden down or despoiled of its freshness. Not one of these poems suggests or resembles the other, but each has its crowd of associations, a history and almost a literature of its own.

The whole of this volume was written on foreign soil, in Switzerland or Italy, and, putting aside _The Dream_, _The Monody on the Death of Sheridan_, _The Irish Avatar_, and _The Blues_, the places, the persons and events, the _matériel_ of the volume as a whole, to say nothing of the style and metre of the poems, are derived from the history and the literature of Switzerland and Southern Europe. An unwilling, at times a vindictive exile, he did more than any other poet or writer of his age to familiarize his own countrymen with the scenery, the art and letters of the Continent, and, conversely, to make the existence of English literature, or, at least, the writings of one Englishman, known to Frenchmen and Italians; to the Teuton and the Slav. If he "taught us little" as prophet or moralist; as a guide to knowledge; as an educator of the general reader--"your British blackguard," as he was pleased to call him--his teaching and influence were "in widest commonalty spread."

Questions with regard to his personality, his morals, his theological opinions, his qualifications as an artist, his grammar, his technique, and so forth, have, perhaps inevitably, absorbed the attention of friend and foe, and the one point on which all might agree has been overlooked, namely, the fact that he taught us a great deal which it is desirable and agreeable to know--which has passed into common knowledge through the medium of his poetry. It is true that he wrote his plays and poems at lightning speed, and that if he was at pains to correct some obvious blunders, he expended but little labour on picking his phrases or polishing his lines; but it is also true that he read widely and studied diligently, in order to prepare himself for an outpouring of verse, and that so far from being a superficial observer or inaccurate recorder, his authority is worth quoting in questions of fact and points of detail.

The appreciation of poetry is a matter of taste, and still more of temperament. Readers cannot be coerced into admiration, or scolded into disapproval and contempt. But if they are willing or can be persuaded to read with some particularity and attention the writings of the illustrious dead, not entirely as partisans, or with the view to dethroning other "Monarchs of Parnassus," they will divine the secret of their fame, and will understand, perhaps recover, the "first rapture" of contemporaries.

Byron sneered and carped at Southey as a "scribbler of all works." He was himself a reader of all works, and without some measure of book-learning and not a little research the force and significance of his various numbers are weakened or obliterated.

It is with the hope of supplying this modicum of book-learning that the Introductions and notes in this and other volumes have been compiled.

I desire to acknowledge, with thanks, the courteous response of Mons. J. Capré, Commandant of the Castle of Chillon, to a letter of inquiry with regard to the "Souterrains de Chillon."

I have to express my gratitude to Sir Henry Irving, to Mr. Joseph Knight, and to Mr. F. E. Taylor, for valuable information concerning the stage representation of _Manfred_ and _Marino Faliero_.

I am deeply indebted to Dr. Richard Garnett, C.B., and to my friend, Mr. Thomas Hutchinson, for assistance in many important particulars during the construction of the volume.

I must also record my thanks to Mr. Oscar Browning, Mr. Josceline Courtenay, and other correspondents, for information and assistance in points of difficulty.

I have consulted and derived valuable information from the following works: _The Prisoner of Chillon_, etc., by the late Professor Kölbing; _Mazeppa_, by Dr. Englaender; _Marino Faliero avanti il Dogado_ and _La Congiura_ (published in the _Nuovo Archivio Veneto_), by Signor Vittorio Lazzarino; and _Selections from the Poetry of Lord Byron_, by Dr. F. I. Carpenter of Chicago, U.S.A.

I take the opportunity of expressing my acknowledgments to Miss K. Schlesinger, Miss De Alberti, and to Signor F. Bianco, for their able and zealous services in the preparation of portions of the volume.

On behalf of the publisher I beg to acknowledge the kindness of Captain the Hon. F. L. King Noel, in sanctioning the examination and collation of the MS. of _Beppo_, now in his possession; and of Mrs. Horace Pym of Foxwold Chace, for permitting the portrait of Sheridan by Sir Joshua Reynolds to be reproduced for this volume.

ERNEST HARTLEY COLERIDGE.
_May_ 5, 1901.

CONTENTS OF VOL. IV.

Preface to Vol. IV. of the Poems

The Prisoner of Chillon.

Introduction to _The Prisoner of Chillon_ 3 Sonnet on Chillon 7 Advertisement 9 _The Prisoner of Chillon_ 13

Poems of July-September, 1816. The Dream.

Introduction to _The Dream_ 31 _The Dream_. First published, _Prisoner of Chillon, etc._, 1816 33 Darkness. First published, _Prisoner of Chillon, etc._, 1816 42 Churchill's Grave. First published, _Prisoner of Chillon, etc._, 1816 45 Prometheus. First published, _Prisoner of Chillon, etc_., 1816 48 A Fragment. First published, _Letters and Journals_, 1830, ii. 36 51 Sonnet to Lake Leman, First published, _Prisoner of Chillon, etc._, 1816 53 Stanzas to Augusta. First published, _Prisoner of Chillon, etc._, 1816 54 Epistle to Augusta. First published, _Letters and Journals_, 1830, ii. 38-41 57 Lines on hearing that Lady Byron was Ill. First published, 1831 63

MONODY ON THE DEATH OF THE RIGHT HON. R. B. SHERIDAN.

Introduction to _Monody, etc._ 69 _Monody on the Death of the Right Hon. R. B. Sheridan,_ Spoken at Drury Lane Theatre, London 71

Manfred: A Dramatic Poem.

Introduction to _Manfred_ 79 _Manfred_ 85

The Lament of Tasso.

Introduction to _The Lament of Tasso_ 139 Advertisement 141 _The Lament of Tasso_ 143

Beppo: A Venetian Story.

Introduction to _Beppo_ 155 _Beppo_ 159

Ode on Venice.

_Ode on Venice_ 193

Mazeppa.

Introduction to _Mazeppa_ 201 Advertisement 205 _Mazeppa_ 207

The Prophecy of Dante.

Introduction to _The Prophecy of Dante_ 237 Dedication 241 Preface 243 _The Prophecy of Dante_. Canto the First 247 Canto the Second 255 Canto the Third 261 Canto the Fourth 269

The Morgante Maggiore of Pulci.

Introduction to _The Morgante Maggiore_ 279 Advertisement 283 _The Morgante Maggiore_. Canto the First 285

Francesca Of Rimini.

Introduction to _Francesca of Rimini_ 313 _Francesco of Rimini_ 317

Marino Faliero, Doge of Venice: an Historical Tragedy.

Introduction to _Marino Faliero_ 325 Preface 331 _Marino Faliero_ 345 Appendix 462

The Vision Of Judgment.

Introduction to _The Vision of Judgment_ 475 Preface 481 _The Vision of Judgment_ 487

Poems 1816-1823.

A very Mournful Ballad on the Siege and Conquest of Alhama. First published, _Childe Harold_, Canto IV., 1818 529 Sonetto di Vittorelli. Per Monaca 535 Translation from Vittorelli. On a Nun. First published, _Childe Harold_, Canto IV., 1818 535 On the Bust of Helen by Canova. First published, _Letters and Journals_, 1830, ii. 61 536 [Venice. A Fragment.] _MS. M_ 537 So we'll go no more a-roving. First published, _Letters and Journals_, 1830, ii. 79 538 [Lord Byron's Verses on Sam Rogers.] Question and Answer. First published, _Fraser's Magazine_, January, 1833, vol. vii. pp. 82-84 538 The Duel. _MS. M_ 542 Stanzas to the Po. First published, _Conversations of Lord Byron_, 1824 545 Sonnet on the Nuptials of the Marquis Antonio Cavalli with the Countess Clelia Rasponi of Ravenna. _MS. M_ 547 Sonnet to the Prince Regent. On the Repeal of Lord Edward Fitzgerald's Forfeiture. First published, _Letters and Journals_, ii. 234, 235 548 Stanzas. First published, _New Monthly Magazine_, 1832 549 Ode to a Lady whose Lover was killed by a Ball, which at the same time shivered a portrait next his heart. _MS. M._ 552 The Irish Avatar. First published, _Conversations of Lord Byron_, 1824 555 Stanzas written on the Road between Florence and Pisa. First published, _Letters and Journals_, 1830, ii. 566, not 562 Stanzas to a Hindoo Air. First published, _Works of Lord Byron_ 563 To ---- First published, _New Monthly Magazine_, 1833 564 To the Countess of Blessington. First published, _Letters and Journals_, 1830 565 Aristomanes. Canto First. _MS. D._ 566

The Blues: A Literary Eclogue.

Introduction to _The Blues_ 569 _The Blues_. Eclogue the First 573 Eclogue the Second 580

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

1. Lord Byron, from an Engraving after a Drawing by G. H. Harlowe

2. The Prison of Bonivard

3. The Right Honourable Richard Brinsley Sheridan, from a Portrait
in Oils by Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A., in the Possession of
Mrs. Horace Pym of Foxwold Chace

4. The Right Honourable John Hookham Frere, from a Mezzotint by
W. W. Barney, after a Picture by John Hoppner, R.A.

5. Robert Southey, Poet Laureate, from a Drawing made in 1811 by
John Downman, A.R.A., in the Possession of A. H. Hallam Murray, Esq.

THE PRISONER OF CHILLON