The Polemics of the Quest for Liberty in the Poetry of George Gordon, Lord Byron

Abstract

The quest for liberty in Lord Byron’s poetry is a polemical issue because most critics have termed it nihilistic and satanic
simply because the poet and his protagonists question Christian revelation and man-made laws. This article sets out to show that although
Lord Byron and the Byronic hero as can be seen in the different poems do question Christian revelation and flout a number of generally
accepted moral values, they do so in an attempt to find answers, which might help the individual to understand the universe, and be of
help to the rest of mankind. The desire for liberty becomes the basic inspirational force, where conflict and warfare are justifiable pathways
to the desired end. This paper also looks at the quest for liberty in Byron’s poetry from the perspective of the heroes’ ideals, justified by
human nature and references to mythical rebels. Contrary to the generally accepted critical opinion that Lord Byron’s quest for liberty is
essentially egocentric, this article seeks to show that the quest for liberty is the Byronic creed and the only constant element in the poet’s
ambiguous life alongside the detestation of cant. The article argues that the Byronic hero’s deconstruction of philosophical and sociopolitical
ideals does not result from the poetic persona’s lawlessness as generally assumed, but from an innate justifiable call for change,
first for the individual and then for the common good. Related to his search for liberty, there are a lot of polemical issues around Byron’s
notion of the ideal, which are partly addressed in this paper.