1. DIOGO BORGES PROVETE
An overview of his life
and work

2. Summary
• Insert the author in his historical and artistical context (European
history, Romantic esthetics etc.)
• The poet´s early life.
• Tell something about his trips and political commitment.
• What importance does Byron have for the western literature?
• Which Brazilian poets were influenced by Byron’s works?

3. Part One: The Romanticism and
The European Context
• The role of the bourgeoisie and the new
life style in Europe in the mid- 18th
Century;
• The change in the writing form;
– Clarity
– Freedom
– “The Fair and the Beast”
• The role of France and the French poets

4. Part Two: Some facts of the poet’s
early life
• The unfortunate history of Byron´s family
• George Gordon: 22th January of 1788 at
16 Holles Street, London.
• The talipes of the right foot.
• The Baronate and Newstead Abbey
• Basic education in Aberdeen; Harrow;
Cambridge

5. Part Two: Some facts of the poet’s
early life
• The readings
• The homosexual experience
• The relation with his mother

6. Part Three: First verses
• Fugitive Pieces (1806)
• Hours of Idleness
(1807) and the critics
• English Bards and
Scotch Reviewers
(1808)
Byron in 1812

7. Part Three: The adult life and main
works
• The Grand Tour (1809) and the changes
• The House of Lords (1811) and his speech
• The passing of his mother
• Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812, first two
cantos)
• The Oriental Tales (The Giaour (1813), The
Bride of Abydos (1813), The Corsair (1814),
Lara (1814), The Siege of Corinth (1816))
• His affair with Lady Caroline Lamb and Lady
Caroline's cousin Anne Isabella Milbanke. Their
marriage and the daughter (Augusta Ada).

8. Part Three: Works and the End of
the Poet´s life
• The moving to Switzerland and Italy
• “The Italian works” (Beppo, Sardanapalus
etc)
• Don Juan and the byronian hero
• The Greek war of independence
• Byron’s after death fame

9. Part Four: What importance does
Byron have to the western
literature?
• Don Juan and the byronian hero
• The poet’s life
• Espronceda, Lamartine, Vigny and
Musset, Puchkin and Lermontov, Esteban
Echeverría.

10. Part Five: Which Brazilian poets
were influenced by Byron’s
works?
• Álvares de Azevedo and the Brazilian
second romantic generation.
– Poema do Frade
– Lira dos Vinte Anos
– Noite na Taverna
• Castro Álves
• The current gothic culture

11. Consulted Sources
• Andrade, F. T. Literatura I, Coleção Objetivo. S.ed. S. data.
• Campbell, O.J. & Pyre, J.F.A. Great English poets. New York: F.S.
Crofts & Co., 1938.
• Cereja, W. R. & Magalhães, T. C. Literatura Brasileira. São Paulo:
Atual, 1995.
• Durant, W. História da civilização ocidental. São Paulo: Editora
Nacional, 1955.
• George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron – Wikipedia. Available in:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_byron. Accessed in July 20, 2007
• Literary Encyclopedia: George Gordon, Lord Byron. Available in:
www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=683. Accessed in
July 20, 2007
• Sena, Jorge de. A literatura inglesa. São Paulo: Cultrix, 1963.
• The Centre for the Study of Byron and Romanticism.
• Available in:
http://byron.nottingham.ac.uk/resources/digital/introductory/byron_life_a
nd_writing.htm. Accessed in July 25, 2007
• The Life and works of Lord Byron. Available in:
http://englishhistory.net/byron/life.html. Accessed in August 8, 2007

12. SHE WALKS IN BEAUTY
I.
She walks in Beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which Heaven to gaudy day denies.
II.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
III.
And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!
» _June_ 12, 1814.

13. Some acknowledgments
• To the patience of my both teachers:
Victor and Cândida.
• And to the course that allowed me to learn
a little more about Byron.