Lord George Gordon Byron's response to the spirit of the times in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage as a character in his own workGeorge Gordon Byron, known as Named Lord Byron, was one of the most influential poets of the Romantic period of English literature in the 18th century. In the Norton Anthology of English Literature he is described as “the greatest and most English of these artists; he is so great and so English that from him alone we learn more truths about this country and its times than from all the others combined. This comment reflects the fact that Byron had acquired an immense European reputation during his own life, while the admirers of his English contemporaries were much more limited in number. For much of the 19th century he continued to be regarded as one of the greatest English poets and the very prototype of literary romanticism. His influence was manifested everywhere, among the great poets and novelists (Balzac and Stendhal in France, Pushkin and Dostoyevsky in Russia and Melville in America), painters (notably Delacroix) and composers including Beethoven and Berlioz). Childe Harold's Pilgrimage is one of Byron's major works and even if, as he states to the contrary in the prologue to his work, it contains traces of his own life, therefore autobiographical aspects. Therefore, it provides deep insight into the spirit of the times. He mixes his own personality and opinions with his protagonist. The poem focuses on a nobleman disillusioned with sensory pleasures, like Byron himself, who seeks glory and virtue, much like Byron's journey to Greece. Although Byron and the Byronic hero are not very chivalrous, they inherit characteristics of the spirit of the British Empire of the time. Byron begins his work...... middle of paper ...... age as well as politics. Thus, Lord Byron's epic poetry, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, through Harold's reactions during his journey and the autobiographical elements of the poem, provides deep insight into the spirit of society, wars, politics aspiring to Greek classicism through romanticism and the struggle that dominates Europe. of age.Work Cited1. Byron, George Gordon. Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. The Norton Anthology of English Literature Vol 2, New York; London: WW Norton & Co., 20122. Caminita, M. Cristina. Explaining the Explanation: Byron's Notes on Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, August 20023. Guðmundsdótti, Sólrún Helga. The origins and legacy of the Byronic hero. Sigillum Universitatis Islandiae, May 20124. Thorslev, Peter L. The Byronic Hero. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota P, 1962