Apostrophe to the Ocean

1. Apostrophe to the Ocean By Lord Byron

2. George Gordon (Lord Byron)

3. Author Biography • George Gordon, Lord Byron, was born in London on January 22, 1788, to "Mad Jack" Byron and Catherine Gordon. Born with a club-foot, he spent the first ten years living with his mother in Aberdeen. Although she had been rich, her fortune was misspent by her husband. In 1798, George’s great-uncle died and he succeeded to the title, Baron Byron of Rochdale. Byron could afford to attend Trinity College, Cambridge where he had married controversy with his love affairs. In 1802, while in Newstead, he met Augusta Leigh who was his half-sister and she gave birth to his illegitimate daughter. Lord Byron was highly judged for this behavior. In 1809, Byron went on his grand tour for Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage which came out in 1812. He visited Spain, Malta, Albania and Greece. In 1815 Byron married Anne Isabella Milbanke; she came from a wealthy family. The relationship ended a year later. He moved to Venice where he met Teresa Guiccioli, who became his mistress. Lord Byron had a great love for animals especially his Newfoundland dog named Boatswain. When the animal contracted rabies, Byron nursed him without any thought or fear of being bitten and infected. In his 1811 will, Byron requested that he be buried with him. He had a monument of Boatswain made in Newstead Abbey, larger than his own. Aside from Boatswain, Byron also kept a tame bear while he attended Trinity out of resentment for not being allowed to bring his dog. In addition to numerous dogs and horses, Byron kept a fox, four monkeys, a parrot, five cats, an eagle, a crow, a crocodile falcon, five peacocks, two guinea hens, an Egyptian crane, a badger, three geese, a heron, and a goat with a broken leg. Expect for the horses, they all stayed indoors at his homes in England, Switzerland, Italy, and Greece. In 1822 Byron, Leigh Hunt, and Percy Bysshe Shelley traveled to Italy where the 3 men published the political journey, liberal. They went to Italy to avoid being prosecuted by British authorities. August, 1822, the Liberal came to an end after Shelly’s death. For a long time Lord Byron had supported attempts by the Greek people to free them from Turkish rule. In 1823, Byron formed the Byron Brigade and joined the Greek insurgents who had risen against the Turks. However, on February 15, 1824, Lord Byron fell ill, and the usual remedy of bloodletting weakened him further. He made a PARTIAL recovery, but in early April he caught a violent cold with therapeutic bleeding which made his condition worse. It is suspected this treatment, carried out unsterilized medical tools, may have caused him to develop sepsis. He died April 19, 1824 of marsh fever in Missolonghi before he saw any military action and was buried in the family vault. His physician at the time, Julius van Millingen,was unable to prevent his death and it has been been said that if Byron had lived, he might have been declared King of Greece.

4. Historical Background • During the romantic period many of the poets focused more on nature’s beauty rather than gods. • Written in the summer of 1816 • Bryon’s love for the ocean.

5. Summary of the poem • Byron loves the ocean which is the inanimate object like a woman and is happiest when he’s playing in it.

6. Analysis of poem • Byron was born with a clubbed foot so he was naturally a good swimmer and loved the ocean. The poem is about his love for the ocean and how "man marks the earth with ruin" but his control stops with the ocean shore, man cannot control the ocean.