LETTER–To Lord Byron

In a witty and eloquent letter addressed to Lord Byron, the author expresses admiration and critiques surrounding Byron’s legacy, cleverly intertwining praise with the criticisms of contemporaries and later critics. The letter opens humorously, referencing Leigh Hunt’s less formal address to Byron and setting the tone for a playful yet insightful scrutiny of Byron’s posthumous reputation. The writer humorously laments the fate of Byron’s works in an age less receptive to his genius, navigating through the varying opinions of modern poets and critics with both reverence and satirical sharpness.

The narrative weaves in mentions of various figures and their views on Byron’s work, from the Swiss critic Scherer, who is depicted as dry and unimaginative, incapable of appreciating Byron’s brilliance, to the contrasting perspectives of poets and reviewers like Arnold and Swinburne. Arnold lauds Byron for his poetic force and unmatched contribution to the literary field, likening his work to a powerful torrent of clarity, strength, and natural beauty. Swinburne, on the other hand, dismisses Byron’s works as inferior, lacking in earnestness, and inadequate compared to Shelley’s pristine compositions, sparking a fiery debate on Byron’s rightful place within the pantheon of literary greats.

The letter cleverly criticizes Swinburne’s harsh judgments, humorously undercutting his authority by comparing his outbursts to Offenbach’s relation to Beethoven, suggesting a lack of depth in his condemnation. It touches on the critique that Byron’s poetry lacks sincerity, except in political subjects, and mockingly agrees with assessments of Byron’s Pegasus as flawed and his style as cumbersome.

By interspersing these criticisms with personal interjections and a nuanced understanding of poetic greatness, the letter does not just offer a defense of Byron but also a sardonic commentary on the nature of literary criticism itself. The author, while humorously acknowledging the mixed assessments of Byron’s poetry, ultimately champions the enduring significance and sublime qualities of Byron’s works amidst the changing tides of literary preferences and scholarly opinions. The letter closes by highlighting the fickle nature of literary status and the subjective endeavors of critics in categorizing the immensity of a talent like Byron’s, underlining the enduring mystery and complexity of his legacy.