Lord Byron and D'arcy Wretzky: Difference between pages

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Difference between pages)
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
mNo edit summary
 
Joe11121 (talk | contribs)
1,450 edits
No edit summary
 
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
{{Redirect|Byron}}
| Name = '''D'arcy Wretzky'''
{{Infobox Writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox Writer/doc]] -->
| Img = Darcy002.jpg
|name = Lord Byron
| Img_capt =
| image = George Gordon Byron2.jpg
| Img_size =
|caption =
| Landscape =
|birthdate = {{birth date|1788|1|22|df=y}}
| Background = solo_singer
|birthplace = [[London]], [[England]]
| Birth_name =
|deathdate = {{death date and age|1824|4|19|1788|1|22|df=y}}
| Alias = D'arcy
|deathplace = [[Messolonghi]], [[Greece]]
| Born = {{Birth date and age|1968|5|1}}<br/>[[South Haven, Michigan|South Haven]], [[Michigan]], [[United States|U.S.]]
|occupation = [[Poet]], [[revolutionary]]
| Died =
|influences = [[John Milton|Milton]], [[Alexander Pope|Pope]]
| Instrument = [[Bass Guitar]], [[vocals]]
|influenced = [[Pushkin]], [[romanticism]], [[Ebenezer Elliott]], [[John Clare]]
| Genre = [[Alternative rock]]
| Occupation = [[Musician]]
| Years_active = 1988-1999
| Label =
| Associated_acts = [[The Smashing Pumpkins]]<br />[[Filter (band)|Filter]]<br />[[Catherine (alternative rock band)|Catherine]]<br />[[Starchildren]]
| URL =
}}
}}
'''D'arcy Elizabeth Wretzky''' (born [[May 1]], [[1968]] in [[South Haven, Michigan|South Haven]], [[Michigan]]) is a rock musician best known for her work as a [[bassist|bass player]] with the [[alternative rock]] band [[The Smashing Pumpkins]].

'''George Gordon Byron''', later '''Noel, 6th Baron Byron''' [[Royal Society|FRS]] ([[22 January]] [[1788]]–[[19 April]] [[1824]]) was an [[Anglo-Scottish]] [[poet]] and a leading figure in [[Romanticism]].

Amongst are the brief poems "[[She walks in beauty]]," and "[[So, we'll go no more a roving]]". Byron's fame rests not only on his writings but also on his life, which featured extravagant living, numerous love affairs, debts, separation, and marital exploits. He was famously described by [[Lady Caroline Lamb]] as "mad, bad, and dangerous to know."<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/04/13/reviews/970413.13castlet.html</ref>

Byron served as a regional leader of Italy's revolutionary organization the [[Carbonari]] in its struggle against [[Austria]]. He later travelled to fight against the [[Ottoman Empire]] in the [[Greek War of Independence]], for which [[Greeks]] revere him as a [[national hero]].<ref>"Byron had yet to die to make philhellenism generally acceptable" William Plomer "The Diamond of Jannina" (Taplinger Publishing New York 1970)</ref> He died from a [[fever]] in [[Messolonghi]] in Greece.


==Early life==
==Early life==
Wretzky was born and raised in Michigan, where her mother, a musician, encouraged D'arcy and her sisters to perform music. Growing up, she played the [[violin]] and [[oboe]], and performed in choirs.<ref>Goldberg, Michael. "[http://web.archive.org/web/19970616040711/www.addict.com/issues/1.12/Features/D'Arcy/page2.html Smashing Pumpkin D'arcy Dares to be Happy]." ''Addicted to Noise'', December 1995. Retrieved on 2007/09/23.</ref> She also performed [[gymnastics]].<ref name ="spin96">Marks, Craig. "[http://blamo.org/newsarchive.php?id=1526 Zero Worship]." [[Spin Magazine]]: June 1996.</ref> She would later refer to her father, a building contractor with a love of [[horseback riding]], as "a very strange man."<ref name ="spin96"/> The young Wretzky was a self-described "[[tomboy]]", and had a contentious relationship with her sister.<ref>"[http://www.starla.org/articles/madm.htm A Babe in Boyland]." ''Mademoiselle'', December 1995. Retrieved on 2007/09/23</ref> She attended South Haven's L.C. Mohr High School, where she grew interested in [[post-punk]] and played in cover bands. After high school, she moved to [[France]] to join a band, but the band had already disbanded upon her arrival, prompting her to return to the United States. She then moved to [[Chicago]] and spent the summer living with friends and attending concerts.<ref>Pullen, Doug. "[http://www.starla.org/articles/flint.htm Michigan Native D'arcy Ready For More Successes]." [[The Flint Journal]]: 1996/06/26. Retrieved on 2007/09/23.</ref>
[[Image:Byronmother.jpg|thumbnail|Catherine Gordon, Byron's mother]]
[[Image:Lochnagar.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The mountain [[Lochnagar]] is the subject of one of Byron's poems, in which he reminsces about his childhood]]
{{main|George Gordon Byron's early life}}
Byron was born in a house on Hollis Street in [[London]],<ref name="nytimes 1898">{{cite news
| title = Byron as a Boy.; His Mother's Influence -- His School Days and Mary Chaworth.
| work = ''The New York Times''
| date = 1898-02-26
| url = http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9E03E3D91638E433A25755C2A9649C94699ED7CF&oref=slogin
| accessdate = 2008-07-11 }}</ref> the son of [[Captain John Byron|Captain John "Mad Jack" Byron]] and his second wife, the former Catherine Gordon, heiress of [[Gight]] in [[Aberdeenshire (traditional)|Aberdeenshire]], [[Scotland]]. Byron's paternal grandparents were [[John Byron|Vice-Admiral John "Foulweather Jack" Byron]] and Sophia Trevanion.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=sRYYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA791#PPA792,M1 "Bibliotheca Cornubiensis: ACatalogue..."]</ref> Vice Admiral John Byron had circumnavigated the globe and was the younger brother of the [[William Byron, 5th Baron Byron|5th Baron Byron]], known as "the Wicked Lord."


==The Smashing Pumpkins==
He was christened George Gordon at [[St Marylebone Parish Church]], after his maternal grandfather, [[George Gordon of Gight]], a descendant of [[James I of Scotland|King James I]]. This grandfather committed [[suicide]]<ref name="nytimes 1898"/> in 1779. Byron's mother Catherine had to sell her land and title to pay her husband's debts. John Byron may have married Catherine for her money<ref name="nytimes 1898"/> and, after squandering it, deserted her.{{Fact|date=June 2007}} Catherine regularly experienced mood swings and bouts of melancholy.<ref name="nytimes 1898"/>
After a concert at a local rock club, Wretzky overheard [[Billy Corgan]] criticizing the band that had performed. An argument and discussion followed, and Corgan recruited her into his band, the nascent [[Smashing Pumpkins]], which, at the time, was merely Corgan, [[James Iha]], and a [[drum machine]]. Wretzky accepted, and [[Jimmy Chamberlin]] completed the lineup a few months later, after Joe Shanahan encouraged Corgan to add a live drummer.


Wretzky's time in the band was marked by alternating periods of happiness and discomfort. Corgan considered her the "moral authority" and "moral conscience" of the band.<ref>{{cite news | last = Blashill | first = Pat | title = Out on a Limb | publisher = [[Details Magazine]] | date = October 1996}}</ref> In the aftermath of the success of 1995's ''[[Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness]]'', Corgan said she began an "apparent slow descent into insanity and/or drugs (take your pick)."<ref>Corgan, Billy. "[http://billycorgan.livejournal.com/2005/04/13/ Way Out in Outpost Canyon]." ''The Confessions of Billy Corgan''. 2005/04/13.</ref> Finally, in 1999, Wretzky left the band to pursue an acting career. Corgan later said she was "fired for being a mean spirited drug addict who refused to get help."<ref>[http://billycorgan.livejournal.com/2004/02/17/ Billy Corgan's Personal Blog]. Written February 17, 2004</ref> She was replaced with former [[Hole (band)|Hole]] bassist [[Melissa Auf der Maur]].
Catherine moved back to [[Scotland]] shortly afterward, where she raised her son in [[Aberdeen]].<ref name="nytimes 1898"/> On [[21 May]] [[1798]], the death of Byron's great-uncle, the "wicked" Lord Byron, made the 10-year-old the 6th Baron Byron, inheriting the title and estate, [[Newstead Abbey]], in Nottinghamshire, England. His mother proudly took him to England. Byron only lived at his estate infrequently as the Abbey was rented to [[Henry Yelverton, 19th Baron Grey de Ruthyn|Lord Grey de Ruthyn]], among others, during Byron's adolescence.


Wretzky is the credited bassist on the Smashing Pumpkins' first five studio albums - ''[[Gish]]'', ''[[Siamese Dream]]'', ''[[Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness]]'', ''[[Adore (album)|Adore]]'', and ''[[Machina/The Machines of God]]''. It was confirmed by both Corgan and herself, however, that Corgan would often record the bass tracks for albums because he could complete them in far fewer takes.<ref>Chamberlin, Jimmy; Corgan, Billy (interview subjects). ''Inside the Zeitgeist'' (Reprise Records, 2007).</ref><ref>Azzerrad, Michael. "Smashing Pumpkins' Sudden Impact". ''Rolling Stone''. October 1993.</ref> Wretzky often contributed backing vocals in concert, and on studio albums. She sang in some Smashing Pumpkins songs including "[[Daydream (Smashing Pumpkins song)|Daydream]]", from ''Gish'', "Farewell and Goodnight" and "Beautiful", from ''Mellon Collie'', and "[[Dreaming (Blondie song)|Dreaming]]" and "The Bells", from ''[[The Aeroplane Flies High]]''. Wretzky also cowrote one Smashing Pumpkins song, "[[Daughter (Smashing Pumpkins song)|Daughter]]".
In August 1799, Byron entered the school of [[William Glennie]], an [[Aberdonian]] in [[Dulwich]].<ref>Jerome McGann, ‘Byron, George Gordon Noel, sixth Baron Byron (1788–1824)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Oct 2007</ref> Byron would later say that around this time and beginning when he still lived in Scotland, his governess, May Gray, would come to bed with him at night and "play tricks with his person."<ref name="byron shelley">{{cite news
| author = Ian Gilmour
| work = ''The Making of the Poets: Byron and Shelley in Their Time''
| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=tjG-lZOR-dYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=byron+may+gray&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0
| accessdate = 2008-07-11 }}</ref> According to Byron, this "caused the anticipated melancholy of my thoughts--having anticipated life."<ref name="akstate">{{cite web
| author = Jeffrey D. Hoeper
| title = The Sodomizing Biographer: Leslie Marchand's Portrait of Byron
| publisher= Arkansas State University
| url = http://engphil.astate.edu/gallery/marchand.html
| accessdate = 2008-07-11 }}</ref> Gray was dismissed for allegedly beating Byron when he was 11.<ref name="akstate"/>


==Personal life==
Byron received his early formal education at [[Aberdeen Grammar School]]. In 1801 he was sent to [[Harrow School|Harrow]], where he remained until July 1805.<ref name="nytimes 1898"/> He represented Harrow during the very first [[eton college|Eton]] v Harrow cricket match at [[Lord's]] in 1805.<ref>{{cite web
Wretzky and bandmate James Iha dated for a time in the early 1990s, with their breakup adding considerable tension to the recording of ''Siamese Dream''. Wretzky went on to marry Kerry Brown, the drummer of the band [[Catherine (alternative rock band)|Catherine]], in 1994. Her vocals were featured on the tracks "Four Leaf Clover" and "Punch Me Out" on the band's 1996 LP, ''Hot Saki and Bedtime Stories''. She also appeared in the video for "Four Leaf Clover". The couple has since been [[divorce]]d for several years. She is still friends with James Iha{{Fact|date=November 2007}}. Incidentally, Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin recorded ''[[Zeitgeist (Smashing Pumpkins album)|Zeitgeist]]'' at Brown's home studio in 2006.<ref name ="inside">{{cite video |people = Chamberlin, Jimmy and Billy Corgan. (Interview subjects) |date2 = 2007-10-30 |title = Inside the Zeitgeist |medium = [[DVD]] |publisher = [[Reprise Records]]}}</ref> She can also be heard singing backup vocals on the [[Filter (band)|Filter]] songs "[[Take A Picture]]" and "Cancer." She was rumored to have been involved with singer [[Richard Patrick]] at the time and the song "Miss Blue" is supposedly about her{{fact|date=August 2008}}. She also sings backing for the [[Fulflej]] song "Shells", and harmony vocals on the [[James Iha]] song "One And Two"
| author = Martin Williamson
| title = ''The oldest fixture of them all''
| publisher = Cricinfo
| url = http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/211281.html
| accessdate = 2008-07-23 }}</ref> After school he went on to [[Trinity College, Cambridge]].


Wretzky was arrested [[January 25]], [[2000]] in Chicago after she purchased three bags of [[crack cocaine]]. According to police, undercover officers observed Wretzky and a male companion enter a building on West Grand Avenue and then shortly afterwards returned to their car. The driver, identified as Tony Young, then drove off without his headlights on and proceeded to make two illegal [[U-turn]]s before police stopped the car. When searched, the police found drugs in Young's pocket. The driver insisted they were not his, claiming that Wretzky "handed me some rocks to hold." Upon questioning, she admitted giving him the three plastic bags. She successfully completed a court-ordered drug education program, and the charges were dropped.


Wretzky lived in [[Watervliet, Michigan]] from 2000 to 2006, where she owns a horse farm and three [[antique]] shops. One of her horses, "Jet Set Miss", was accepted into the [[Arabian horse|Arabian Horse]] Pilot Program in August 2000 after passing inspection in [[Romeo, Michigan]].<ref>[http://www.americantrakehner.com/newsletter/newsnovdec2000.htm Crakehner Times Newsletter]</ref>


Her older sister Tanya Wretzky operates Mammoth Stables in Watervliet and younger sister Molly (a former artist) is an attorney in [[Chicago]] and skates for the [[Windy City Rollers]] under the moniker Ying of Fire. They appeared on the cover of the "Today" single.
===First Travels to the East===
Byron racked up numerous debts as a young adult due to what his mother termed a reckless disregard for money.<ref name="nytimes 1898"/> She lived at Newstead during this time, in fear of her son's creditors.<ref name="nytimes 1898"/>


She has remained almost entirely out of the public eye since 2000; in 2006 she was living in Austin, Texas but according to the lawsuit against [[Virgin Records]] she currently resides in [[Berrien County, Michigan|Berrien County]], [[Michigan]].<ref>http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_documents/0724_pumpkins.pdf</ref>
From 1809 to 1811, Byron went on the [[Grand Tour]] then customary for a young nobleman. The [[Napoleonic Wars]] forced him to avoid most of [[Europe]], and he instead turned to the [[Mediterranean]]. Correspondence among his circle of Cambridge friends also suggests that a key motive was the hope of [[homosexual]] experience,<ref>Crompton, Louis: ''Byron And Greek Love'' (1985), pp123–128</ref> and other theories saying that he was worried about a possible dalliance with the married Mary Chatsworth, his former love (the subject of his poem from this time, "To a Lady: On Being Asked My Reason for Quitting England in the Spring.")<ref name="akstate"/> He travelled from [[England]] over [[Spain]] to [[Albania]] and spent time at the court of [[Ali Pasha]] of Ioannina<ref>"In fact (as their critics pointed out) both Byron and Hobhouse were to some extent dependent upon information gleaned by the French resident [[Francois Pouqueville|Francois_Pouqueville]], who had in 1805 published an influential travelogue entitled Voyage en Moree, a Constantinople, en Albanie...1798-1801" Drummond Bone The Cambridge Companion to Byron (Cambridge Companions to Literature)</ref>, and in [[Athens]]. For most of the trip, he had a traveling companion in his friend [[John Cam Hobhouse]].

While in Athens, Byron had a torrid love affair with [[Nicolò Giraud]], a boy of 15 or 16 who was teaching him Italian. Byron sent Giraud to school at a monastery in [[Malta]] and bequeathed him seven thousand pounds sterling – almost double what he was later to spend refitting the Greek fleet. The will, however, was later cancelled (MacCarthy, p.135).<ref name="McC2002">MacCarthy, Fiona: ''Byron: Life and Legend''. John Murray, 2002.</ref>

===Later love life===
After this break-up of his domestic life Byron again left England, forever as it turned out. He passed through [[Belgium]] and continued up the [[Rhine River]]. In the summer of 1816 he settled at the [[Villa Diodati]] by [[Lake Geneva]], [[Switzerland]] with his personal physician, [[John William Polidori]]. There Byron befriended the poet [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]], and Shelley's future wife [[Mary Shelley|Mary Godwin]]. He was also joined by Mary's stepsister, [[Claire Clairmont]], with whom he had had an affair in London. Byron initially refused to have anything to do with Claire, and would only agree to remain in her presence with the Shelleys, who eventually persuaded Byron to accept and provide for [[Allegra Byron|Allegra]], the child she bore him in January 1817.{{Fact|date=June 2007}}

Kept indoors at the Villa Diodati by the "incessant rain" of [[Year Without a Summer|"that wet, ungenial summer"]] over three days in June, the five turned to reading fantastical stories, including "[[Fantasmagoriana]]", and then devising their own tales. Mary Shelley produced what would become ''[[Frankenstein|Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus]]'' and Polidori was inspired by a fragmentary story of Byron's to produce ''[[The Vampyre]]'', the progenitor of the [[romanticism|romantic]] [[vampire]] [[genre]].{{Fact|date=June 2007}} Byron's story fragment was published as a postscript to ''Mazeppa''; he also wrote the third canto of ''Childe Harold''. Byron wintered in Venice, pausing his travels when he fell in love with Marianna Segati, in whose Venice house he was lodging, and who was soon replaced by 22-year-old Margarita Cogni; both women were married.<ref name="byronbook"/> Cogni could not read or write, and she left her husband to move into Byron's Venice house.<ref name="byronbook"/> Their fighting often caused Byron to spend the night in his [[gondola]]; when he asked her to leave the house, she threw herself into the Venetian canal.<ref name="byronbook"/>

In 1817, he journeyed to Rome. On returning to Venice, he wrote the fourth canto of ''Childe Harold''. About the same time, he sold Newstead and published ''Manfred'', ''Cain'', and ''The Deformed Transformed''. The first five cantos of ''Don Juan'' were written between 1818 and 1820, during which period he made the acquaintance of the young [[Teresa, Contessa Guiccioli|Countess Guiccioli]], who found her first love in Byron, who in turn asked her to elope with him.<ref name="byronbook"/> It was about this time that he received a visit from Thomas Moore, to whom he confided his [[autobiography]] or "life and adventures," which Moore, Hobhouse and Byron's publisher, John Murray<ref name="byronbook"/>, burned in 1824, a month after Byron's death.<ref name="real byron">{{cite web
| author = Mark Bostridge
| date = 2002-11-03
| title = On the trail of the real Lord Byron
| publisher= ''The Independent on Sunday''
| url = http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/on-the-trail-of-the-real-lord-byron-603280.html
| accessdate = 2008-07-22 }}</ref>

===Children===
Byron had a child with Anne Isabella Milbanke ("Annabella"), who was Augusta Ada Byron, Lady Byron, later Lady Wentworth:

* [[Ada Lovelace|The Hon. Ada Augusta Byron]] ([[10 December]] [[1815]]-[[29 November]] [[1852]]), later Countess of Lovelace

[[Ada Lovelace]], notable in her own right, collaborated with [[Charles Babbage]] on the [[analytical engine]], a predecessor to modern computers.

He also had one [[legitimacy|illegitimate]] child with [[Claire Clairmont]], stepsister of [[Mary Shelley]] and stepdaughter of ''Political Justice'' and ''Caleb Williams'' writer, [[William Godwin]]:

* [[Allegra Byron|Clara Allegra Noel-Byron]] ([[12 January]] [[1817]]-[[20 April]] [[1822]]).

Allegra is not entitled to the style "The Hon." as is usually given to the daughter of barons since she was illegitimate. Born in Switzerland in 1817, Allegra lived with Byron for a few months in Venice; he refused to allow an Englishwoman caring for the girl to adopt her, nor for her to be raised in the Shelleys' household.<ref name="byronbook"/> He wished for her to be brought up Catholic and not marry an Englishman.<ref name="byronbook"/> He made arrangements for her to inherit 5,000 lira upon marriage or reaching age 21, provided she did not marry a native of Britain.<ref name="byronbook">{{cite web
| author = Karl Elze
| date = 1886
| title = ''Lord Byron''
| publisher= ''Google Books''
| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=kDYBAAAAQAAJ&printsec=titlepage&dq=lord+byron+thorwaldsen&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0
| accessdate = 2008-07-11 }}</ref> However, the girl died at five years old of a fever in [[Bagna Cavallo, Italy]] while Byron was in Pisa; he was deeply upset by the news.<ref name="byronbook"/> He had Allegra's body sent back to England to be buried at his old school, Harrow, because Protestants could not be buried in consecrated ground in Catholic countries.<ref name="byronbook"/> At one time he himself had wanted to be buried at Harrow. Byron was indifferent towards Allegra's mother, Claire Clairmont.<ref name="byronbook"/>

==Political career==
Byron eventually took his seat in the [[House of Lords]] in 1811, shortly after his return from the Levant, and made his first speech there on [[27 February]] [[1812]]. A strong advocate of social reform, he received particular praise as one of the few [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliamentary]] defenders of the [[Luddites]]: specifically, he was against a [[death penalty]] for Luddite "frame breakers" in [[Nottinghamshire]], who destroyed textile machines that were putting them out of work. His first speech before the Lords was loaded with sarcastic references to the "benefits" of automation, which he saw as producing inferior material as well as putting people out of work. He said later that he "spoke very violent sentences with a sort of modest impudence" and thought he came across as "a bit theatrical".<ref>Thomas Moore, ''Life of Lord Byron, with his Letters & Journals'', published in 1829, Vol. 1, pp. 154 and 676.</ref> In another Parliamentary speech he expressed opposition to the established religion because it was unfair to people of other faiths.<ref>''Ibid'', p. 679.</ref> These experiences inspired Byron to write political poems such as "Song for the Luddites" (1816) and "The Landlords' Interest" (1823). Examples of poems in which he attacked his political opponents include "[[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Wellington]]: The Best of the Cut-Throats" (1819) and "The Intellectual Eunuch [[Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh|Castlereagh]]" (1818).{{Fact|date=June 2007}}<ref>Note: "The Landlords' Interest" will not be found in any Byron anthology; it is Canto XIV of "The Age Of Bronze" (1823)</ref>

==Life abroad==
===Byron and the Armenians in Venice===
Ultimately, Byron resolved to escape the censure of British society (due to his perceived [[sodomy]] and allegations of [[incest]]) by living abroad,<ref name="real byron"/> thereby freeing himself of the need to conceal his sexual interests (MacCarthy pp.86, 314).<ref name="McC2002"/> Byron left England in 1816 and did not return for the last eight years of his life, even to bury his daughter.<ref name="real byron"/><ref name="byronbook"/>

In 1816, Byron visited [[S. Lazzaro degli Armeni Island|Saint Lazarus Island]] in [[Venice]] where he acquainted himself with [[Armenian culture]] through the [[Mekhitarist Order]]. He learned the [[Armenian language]]<ref name="byronbook"/> from Fr. H. Avgerian and attended many seminars about language and history. He wrote ''"English grammar and the Armenian"'' in 1817, and ''"Armenian grammar and the English"'' (1819) in which he quoted samples from [[Classical Armenian|classical]] and [[Armenian language|modern Armenian]]. He participated in the compilation of ''"English Armenian dictionary''" (1821) and wrote the preface where he explained the relationship of the Armenians with and the oppression of the [[Turkish people|Turkish]] "[[pasha]]s" and the [[Persians|Persian]] [[satrap]]s, and their struggle of liberation. His two main translations are the ''"Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians''", several chapters of [[Movses Khorenatsi|Khorenatsi's]] ''"Armenian History''" and sections of [[Nerses of Lambron|Lambronatsi]]'s ''"Orations''".{{Fact|date=June 2007}} When in [[Polis (disambiguation)|Polis]] he discovered discrepancies in the Armenian vs. the English version of the [[Bible]] and translated some passages that were either missing or deficient in the English version. His fascination was so great that he even considered a replacement of [[Cain and Abel|Cain story]] of the Bible with that of the legend of Armenian patriarch [[Haik]].{{Fact|date=June 2007}} He may be credited with the birth of [[Armenian studies|Armenology]] and its propagation.{{Fact|date=June 2007}} His profound lyricism and ideological courage has inspired many Armenian poets, the likes of [[Ghevont Alishan|Fr. Ghevond Alishan]], [[Smbat Shahaziz]], [[Hovhannes Tumanyan]], [[Ruben Vorberian]] and others.{{Fact|date=June 2007}}

Byron had a bust sculpted of him by [[Bertel Thorvaldsen]] at this time.<ref name="byronbook"/>

===Byron in Italy and Greece===
{{see|Greek War of Independence}}
[[Image:Lord Byron in Albanian dress.jpg|thumbnail|George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, painted by [[Thomas Phillips]] in 1813]]

In 1821 to 1822, he finished Cantos 6–12 of ''Don Juan'' at Pisa, and in the same year he joined with [[Leigh Hunt]] and [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]] in starting a short-lived newspaper, ''The Liberal'', in the first number of which appeared "The Vision of Judgment." His last Italian home was [[Genoa]], where he was still accompanied by the Countess Guiccioli, and where he met [[Charles John Gardiner, 1st Earl of Blessington]] and [[Marguerite, Countess of Blessington]] and provided the material for her work ''Conversations with Lord Byron'', an important text in the reception of Byron in the period immediately after his death.

Byron lived in Genoa until 1823 when— growing bored with his life there and with the Countess{{Fact|date=July 2008}}— he accepted overtures for his support from representatives of the movement for [[Greece|Greek]] independence from the [[Ottoman Empire]].{{Fact|date=June 2007}} On July 16, Byron left Genoa on the ''Hercules'', arriving at [[Kefalonia]] in the [[Ionian Islands]] on August 4. He spent £4000 of his own money to refit the Greek fleet, then sailed for [[Messolonghi]] in western Greece, arriving on December 29 to join [[Alexandros Mavrokordatos]], a Greek politician with military power.{{Fact|date=June 2007}} During this time, Byron pursued his Greek page, Lukas Chalandritsanos, but the affections went unrequited.<ref name="real byron"/> When the famous Danish sculptor Thorvaldsen heard about Byron's heroics in Greece, he voluntarily resculpted his earlier bust of Byron in Greek marble.<ref name="byronbook"/>

Mavrokordatos and Byron planned to attack the Turkish-held fortress of [[Naupactus|Lepanto]], at the mouth of the [[Gulf of Corinth]]. Byron employed a fire-master to prepare artillery and took part of the rebel army under his own command and pay, despite his lack of [[Military history of Greece|military]] experience, but before the expedition could sail, on [[15 February]] [[1824]], he fell ill, and the usual remedy of bleeding weakened him further.{{Fact|date=June 2007}} He made a partial recovery, but in early April he caught a violent cold which the bleeding &mdash; insisted on by his doctors &mdash; aggravated. The cold became a violent fever, and he died on April 19.{{Fact|date=June 2007}} It has been said that had Byron lived, he might have been declared King of Greece.<ref name="real byron"/>

==Post mortem==
[[Image:Lord Byron on his Death-bed c. 1826.jpg|thumb|Lord Byron on his [[deathbed]] as depicted by [[Joseph-Denis Odevaere]] c.1826 Oil on canvas, 166 × 234.5 cm Groeninge Museum, [[Bruges]]. Note the sheet covering his misshapen right foot.]]

[[Alfred, Lord Tennyson]] would later recall the shocked reaction in Britain when word was received of Byron's death.<ref name="real byron"/> The Greeks mourned Lord Byron deeply, and he became a hero. The national poet of Greece, [[Dionysios Solomos]], wrote a poem about his unexpected loss, named "To the Death of Lord Byron."<ref>([http://www.sarantakos.com/kibwtos/solwmos_lordbyron.html Εις το Θάνατο του Λόρδου Μπάιρον])</ref> Βύρων (''Vyron''), the Greek form of "Byron", continues in popularity as a masculine name in Greece, and a suburb of Athens is called [[Vyronas]] in his honour.

Byron's body was embalmed, but the Greeks wanted some part of their hero to stay with them. According to some sources, his heart remained at [[Messolonghi]].<ref>[[Time Magazine]], 1933, '[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,753874,00.html Heart Burial]'.</ref> According to others,{{Fact|date=September 2008}} it was his lungs, which were placed in an urn that was later lost when the city was sacked. His other remains were sent to England for burial in [[Westminster Abbey]], but the Abbey refused for reason of "questionable morality."<ref>[http://www.neuroticpoets.com/byron/ Neurotic Poets - Lord Byron<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref name="real byron"/> Huge crowds viewed his body as he lay in state for two days in London.<ref name="real byron"/> He is buried at the [[Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Hucknall|Church of St. Mary Magdalene]] in [[Hucknall]], [[Nottingham]].

At her request, [[Ada Lovelace]], the child he never knew, was buried next to him. In later years, the Abbey allowed a duplicate of a marble slab given by the [[List of Kings of Greece|King of Greece]], which is laid directly above Byron's grave. Byron's friends raised the sum of 1,000 pounds to commission a statue of the writer; Thorvaldsen offered to sculpt it for that amount.<ref name="byronbook"/> However, when the statue was completed in 1834, most British institutions it was offered to turned it down for more than 10 years as it remained in storage-- the [[British Museum]], [[St. Paul's Cathedral]], Westminster Abbey and the [[National Gallery (London)|National Gallery]] in turn.<ref name="byronbook"/> Trinity College, Cambridge finally placed the statue of Byron in its library.<ref name="byronbook"/>

In 1969, 145 years after Byron's death, a memorial to him was finally placed in Westminster Abbey.<ref name="Westminster Abbey Official Poets' Corner Page">[http://www.westminster-abbey.org/visitor/plan-of-the-abbey/13614<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>The memorial had been lobbied for since 1907; ''The New York Times'' wrote, "People are beginning to ask whether this ignoring of Byron is not a thing of which England should be ashamed... a bust or a tablet might put in the Poets' Corner and England be relieved of ingratitude toward one of her really great sons."<ref name="nytimes 1907">{{cite news
| title = Byron Monument for the Abbey: Movement to Get Memorial in Poets' Corner Is Begun
| work = ''The New York Times''
| date = 1907-07-12
| url = http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9D02E2DF173EE033A25750C1A9619C946697D6CF
| accessdate = 2008-07-11 }}</ref>

Upon his death, the barony passed to a cousin, [[George Byron, 7th Baron Byron|George Anson Byron]],<ref>(1789&ndash;1868)</ref> a career military officer and Byron's polar opposite in temperament and lifestyle.{{Fact|date=June 2007}}

==Poetic works==
Byron wrote prolifically.<ref>[http://readytogoebooks.com/LB-list.htm List of Byron's works]. Retrieved on ?.</ref> In 1833 his publisher, [[John Murray (publisher)|John Murray]], released the complete works in 17 duodecimo volumes, including a life by [[Thomas Moore]].

Although Byron falls chronologically into the period most commonly associated with Romantic poetry, much of his work looks back to the satiric tradition of [[Alexander Pope]] and [[John Dryden]].

==="Don Juan"===
{{main|Don Juan (Byron)}}

Byron's [[magnum opus]], ''Don Juan'', a poem spanning 17 cantos, ranks as one of the most important long poems published in England since [[John Milton|Milton]]'s [[Paradise Lost|''Paradise Lost'']].{{Fact|date=June 2007}} The masterpiece, often called the [[Epic poetry|epic]] of its time, has roots deep in literary tradition and, although regarded by early [[Victorians]] as somewhat shocking, equally involves itself with its own contemporary world at all levels—social, political, literary and ideological.

Byron published the first two cantos anonymously in 1819 after disputes with his regular publisher over the shocking nature of the poetry; by this time, he had been a famous poet for seven years and when he self-published the beginning cantos, they were well-received in some quarters.<ref name="companion">{{cite web
| author = Duncan Wu
| work = ''A Companion to Romanticism''
| publisher= Blackwell Publishing via Google Books
| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=kJCHB0tqd1kC&pg=PA247&lpg=PA247&dq=byron+don+juan+published+anonymously&source=web&ots=uVK-1l0wWi&sig=cgQQvS-mGIXaEloX9_FpgfdwVjc&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result
| accessdate = 2008-07-11 }}</ref> It was then released volume by volume through his regular publishing house.<ref name="companion"/> By 1822, cautious acceptance by the public had turned to outrage, and Byron's publisher refused to continue to publish the works.<ref name="companion"/> In Canto III of "[[Don Juan]]," Byron expresses his detestation for poets such as [[William Wordsworth]] and [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]].<ref name="companion"/><ref>''Don Juan'', Canto III, XCIII-XCIV.</ref>

[[Image:LordByron.jpg|thumb|'''Lord Byron''' (1803), as painted by [[Marie Louise Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun]].]]

===Byronic hero===
The figure of the [[Byronic hero]] pervades much of his work, and Byron himself is considered to epitomize many of the characteristics of this literary figure.<ref name="real byron"/> Scholars have traced the literary history of the Byronic hero from [[John Milton]], and many authors and artists of the [[Romanticism|Romantic movement]] show Byron's influence during the 19th century and beyond, including [[Charlotte Bronte|Charlotte]] and [[Emily Bronte]].<ref name="real byron"/> The Byronic hero presents an idealised but flawed character whose attributes include{{Fact|date=June 2007}}: having great talent, exhibiting great passion, having a distaste for society and social institutions, expressing a lack of respect for rank and privilege, thwarted in love by social constraint or death, rebelling, suffering exile, hiding an unsavoury past, arrogance, overconfidence or lack of foresight, and ultimately, acting in a self-destructive manner.

===Parthenon marbles===
{{main article|Elgin Marbles}}
Byron was a bitter opponent of [[Lord Elgin]]'s removal of the [[Parthenon marbles]] from Greece, and "reacted with fury" when Elgin's agent gave him a tour of the Parthenon in which he saw the missing friezes and metopes. He penned a poem, "The Curse of Minerva," to denounce Elgin's actions.<ref>{{cite book | last = Atwood | first = Roger | title = ''Stealing History: Tomb Raiders, Smugglers, And the Looting of the Ancient World'' | year = 2006 | id = ISBN 0312324073 | pages = p. 136}}</ref>

==Character and description==
Lord Byron, by all accounts, had a magnetic personality.{{Fact|date=June 2007}} He obtained a reputation as being extravagant, melancholy, courageous,<ref name="nytimes 1898"/> unconventional, eccentric, flamboyant<ref name="real byron"/> and controversial.<ref name="hudsonreview">{{cite web
| author = Brooke Allen
| date = Summer 2003
| publisher= ''The Hudson Review''
| title=Bryon [sic]: Revolutionary, libertine and friend
| url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4021/is_200307/ai_n9278558/pg_1?tag=artBody;col1
| accessdate = 2008-07-11 }}</ref> He was independent and given to extremes of temper; on at least one trip, his traveling companions were so puzzled by his mood swings they thought he was mentally ill.<ref name="nytimes 1898"/><ref name="hudsonreview"/> He enjoyed adventure, especially relating to the sea.<ref name="nytimes 1898"/>

He believed his depression was inherited, and he wrote in 1821, "I am not sure that long life is desirable for one of my temper & constitutional depression of Spirits."<ref name="hudsonreview"/>

Byron was noted even during his time for the extreme loyalty he inspired in his friends.<ref name="hudsonreview"/> Hobhouse said, "No man lived who had such devoted friends."<ref name="hudsonreview"/>

===Physical description===
Byron's adult height was about 5'10", his weight fluctuating between 9 1/2 to 14 stone (133–196 pounds). He was renowned for his personal beauty, which he enhanced by wearing curl-papers in his hair at night.<ref name=JHB/> He was athletic, being competent at boxing and an excellent swimmer. At Harrow, he played cricket despite his lameness.

From birth, Byron suffered from an unknown deformity of his right foot, causing a limp that resulted in lifelong misery for him, aggravated by the suspicion that with proper care it might have been cured.<ref name="byron shelley"/> However, he refused to wear any type of mechanical device that could improve the limp,<ref name="nytimes 1898"/> although he often wore specially made shoes that would hide the deformed foot.<ref name="real byron"/>

Byron and other writers such as his friend John Cam Hobhouse left detailed descriptions of his eating habits. From the time that he entered Cambridge he went on a strict diet to control his weight. He also exercised a great deal and at that time wore a great number of clothes to cause himself to perspire. For most of his life he was a vegetarian and often lived for days on dry biscuits and white wine. Occasionally he would eat large helpings of meat and desserts, after which he would purge himself. His friend Hobhouse claimed that when he became overweight, the pain of his deformed foot made it difficult for him to exercise.<ref name=JHB>JH Baron, ''Illnesses and creativity: Byron's appetites, James Joyce's gut, and Melba's meals and mésalliances'', BJM, (Dec 20th, 1997)[http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/315/7123/1697]</ref>

===Celebrity===
Byron is considered to be the first modern-style celebrity. His image as his own Byronic hero personified fascinated the public,<ref name="real byron"/> and his wife Annabella coined the term "Byromania" to refer to the mania surrounding him.<ref name="real byron"/> His self-awareness and personal promotion are seen as a beginning to what would become the modern [[rock star]]; he would instruct artists painting portraits of him not to paint him with pen or book in hand, but as a "man of action."<ref name="real byron"/>

While Byron first welcomed fame, he later turned away from it by going into voluntary exile from Britain.<ref name="hudsonreview"/>

===Fondness for animals===
Byron had a great fondness for animals, most famously for a [[Newfoundland dog]] named Boatswain; when Boatswain contracted [[rabies]], Byron reportedly nursed him without any fear of becoming bitten and infected.{{Fact|date=June 2007}} Boatswain lies buried at Newstead Abbey and has a monument larger than his master's. Byron at one point expressed interest in being buried next to Boatswain.<ref name="byronbook"/> The inscription, Byron's "[[Epitaph to a Dog]]," has become one of his best-known works, reading in part:

<!-- Spelling & capitalisation are as they occur on Boatswain's monument; 'ferosity' was a legitimate variant at the time. -->
:: Near this Spot
:: are deposited the Remains of one
:: who possessed Beauty without Vanity,
:: Strength without Insolence,
:: Courage without Ferosity,
:: and all the Virtues of Man without his Vices.
:: This praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery
:: if inscribed over human Ashes,
:: is but a just tribute to the Memory of
:: BOATSWAIN, a DOG,
:: who was born in Newfoundland May 1803,
:: and died at Newstead Nov.<sup>r</sup> 18<sup>th</sup>, 1808.<ref>[http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/byron/byron_ind.html A Collection Of Poems By George Gordon Byron<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

Byron also kept a bear while he was a student at Trinity College, Cambridge (reputedly out of resentment of Trinity rules forbidding pet dogs—he later suggested that the bear apply for a college fellowship).{{Fact|date=June 2007}} At other times in his life, Byron kept a [[fox]], monkeys, a [[parrot]], [[cat]]s, an [[eagle]], a [[crow]], a [[crocodile]], a [[falcon]], peacocks, guinea hens, an Egyptian [[crane (bird)|crane]], a [[badger]], [[goose|geese]], and a [[heron]].

==Lasting influence==
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:BBC Byron.jpg|thumb|Lord Byron as portrayed by [[Jonny Lee Miller]] in a 2003 BBC drama]] -->

The re-founding of the [[Byron Society]] in 1971 reflects the fascination that many people have for Byron and his work.<ref>[http://www.byronsociety.com The Byron Society]. Retrieved on ?.</ref> This society has become very active, publishing a learned annual journal. Today some 36 International Byron Societies function throughout the world, and an International Conference takes place annually. Hardly a year passes without a new book about the poet appearing. In the last 20 years, two new feature films about him have screened, and a television play has been broadcast.{{Fact|date=June 2007}}

Byron exercised a marked influence on Continental literature and art, and his reputation as a poet is higher in many European countries than in Britain or America, although not as high as in his time, when he was widely thought to be the greatest poet in the world.<ref name="hudsonreview"/> Byron has inspired the works of [[Franz Liszt]] and [[Giuseppe Verdi]].<ref name="hudsonreview"/>

===Fictional depictions===
Byron first appeared as a thinly disguised fictional character in his ex-love Lady Caroline Lamb's book ''Glenarvon'', published in 1816.<ref name="real byron"/>

Byron is the main character of the film ''Byron'' by the Greek film maker [[Nikos Koundouros]].

Byron's spirit is one of the title characters of the ''[[Ghosts of Albion]]'' books by [[Amber Benson]] and [[Christopher Golden]], published by [[Del Rey Books|Del Rey]] in 2005 and 2006.

Byron is an immortal still alive in modern times in the hit television show ''[[Highlander: The Series]]'' in the fifth season episode "The Modern Prometheus," living as a decadent rock star.

[[John Crowley]]'s novel ''Lord Byron's Novel: The Evening Land At Night'' (2005) involves the rediscovery of a lost manuscript by Lord Byron, as does [[Frederic Prokosch]]'s ''The Missolonghi Manuscript'' (1968).

[[Tom Holland (author)|Tom Holland]], in his 1995 novel ''The Vampyre'', romantically describes how Lord Byron became a vampire during his first visit to Greece— a fictional transformation that explains much of his subsequent behaviour towards family and friends, and finds support in quotes from Byron poems and the diaries of John Cam Hobhouse. It is written as though Byron is retelling part of his life to his great great-great-great-granddaughter. He describes traveling in [[Greece]], [[Italy]], [[Switzerland]], meeting [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]], Shelley's death and many other events in life around that time. The Byron as vampire character returns in the 1996 sequel ''Supping with Panthers''.

Byron appears as a character in [[Tim Powers]]' ''The Stress of Her Regard'' (1989) and [[Walter Jon Williams]]' novella ''Wall, Stone Craft'' (1994), and also in [[Susanna Clarke]]'s ''[[Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell]]'' (2004).

Byron and [[Percy Shelley|Percy]] and [[Mary Shelley]] are portrayed in [[Roger Corman]]'s final film ''[[Frankenstein Unbound]],'' where the time traveler Dr. Buchanan (played by [[John Hurt]]) meets them as well as [[Victor von Frankenstein]] (played by [[Raul Julia]]).

''The Black Drama'' by [[Manly Wade Wellman]]<ref>(''[[Weird Tales]]'', 1938; ''Fearful Rock and Other Precarious Locales'', 2001)</ref> involves the rediscovery and production of a lost play by Byron (from which Polidori's ''The Vampyre'' was plagiarised) by a man who purports to be a descendant of the poet.

[[Tom Stoppard]]'s play ''[[Arcadia (play)|Arcadia]]'' revolves around a modern researcher's attempts to find out what made Byron leave the country.

Television portrayals include a major 2003 [[BBC]] drama on Byron's life, and minor appearances in ''[[Highlander: The Series]]'' (as well as the Shelleys), ''[[Blackadder the Third]]'', ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy]]'', and episode 60 ([[Darkling (Voyager episode)|Darkling]]) of ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]''.

He makes an appearance in the [[Alternate history (fiction)|alternative history]] novel ''[[The Difference Engine]]'' by [[William Gibson]] and [[Bruce Sterling]]. In a Britain powered by the massive, steam-driven, mechanical computers invented by [[Charles Babbage]], he is leader of the "Industrial Radical Party," eventually becoming [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]].

The events featuring the Shelleys' and Byron's relationship at the house beside Lake Geneva in 1816 have been fictionalized in film at least three times.
#A 1986 British production, ''[[Gothic (movie)|Gothic]]'', directed by [[Ken Russell]], and starring [[Gabriel Byrne]] as Byron.
#A 1988 Spanish production, ''[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093840/ Rowing with the Wind]'' (''Remando al viento''), starring [[Hugh Grant]] as Byron.
#A 1988 U.S.A. production ''Haunted Summer.'' Adapted by Lewis John Carlino from the speculative novel by Anne Edwards, staring Philip Anglim as Lord Byron.

The brief prologue to ''[[Bride of Frankenstein]]'' includes Gavin Gordon as Byron, begging Mary Shelley to tell the rest of her Frankenstein story.

The writer and novelist, Benjamin Markovits, is in the process of producing a fictional trilogy about the life of Byron. ''Imposture'' (2007) looked at the poet via his friend and doctor, John Polidori. ''A Quiet Adjustment'', which came out in January 2008, is an account of Byron's marriage more sympathetic to his wife, Annabella, than many of its predecessors. He is currently writing the third installment.

Byron is portrayed as an immortal in the book, "Divine Fire," by Melanie Jackson.

==Musical settings of, or music inspired by, poems by Byron==
*[[Hector Berlioz]]—''[[Harold en Italie]]'' (1834) Symphony in four movements for viola and orchestra
*[[Giuseppe Verdi]]—''[[Il corsaro]]'' (1848) Opera in three acts
*[[Giuseppe Verdi]]—''[[I due Foscari]]'' (1844) Opera in three acts
*[[Robert Schumann]]—Overture and incidental music to ''[[Manfred]]'' (1849)
*[[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]]—[[Manfred Symphony|Manfred Symphony in B minor, Op.58]] (1885)
*[[Hugo Wolf]]—"Vier Gedichte nach Heine, Shakespeare und Lord Byron" (1896) for voice and piano: 3. Sonne der Schlummerlosen 4. Keine gleicht von allen Schönen
* Pietro Mascagni, "Parisina" (1916) Opera in four acts
*[[Germaine Tailleferre]]—[[Deux Poèmes de Lord Byron (Tailleferre)|"Two Poems of Lord Byron"]](1934) 1. Sometimes in moments... 2. 'Tis Done I heard it in my dreams... for Voice and Piano (Tailleferre's only setting of English language texts)
*[[Arnold Schoenberg]]—"Ode to Napoleon" (1942) for reciter, string quartet and piano
*[[Arion Quinn]]—"[[She Walks in Beauty]]" (mid-70s)
*[[Solefald]]—"When the Moon is on the Wave" (1997)
*[[Kris Delmhorst]]—"We'll Go No More A-Roving" (2006)
*[[Ariella Uliano]]—"So We'll Go No More A'Roving" (2004)
*[[Cockfighter (band)]]—"Destruction" (2005)
*[[Leonard Cohen]]—"No More A-Roving" (2004)
*[[Cradle Of Filth]]—"The Byronic Man" with HIMs Ville Valo as Lord Byron (2006)
*[[Warren Zevon]]—"Lord Byron's Luggage" (2002)

==Bibliography==
{{Wikisource author|George Gordon, Lord Byron}}
===Major works===
*''[[Hours of Idleness]]'' (1806)
*''[[English Bards and Scotch Reviewers]]'' (1809) [http://readytogoebooks.com/LB-Eng-P1.html]
*''[[Childe Harold's Pilgrimage]]'' (1818) [http://www.geocities.com/~bblair/chpindex.htm]
*''[[The Giaour]]'' (1813) [http://www.photoaspects.com/chesil/byron/giaour.html]
*''[[The Bride of Abydos]]'' (1813)
*''[[The Corsair]]'' (1814)
*''[[Lara (Byron)|Lara]]'' (1814)
*''[[Hebrew Melodies]]'' (1815)
*''[[The Siege of Corinth (poem)]]'' (1816)
*''[[Parisina]]'' (1816)
*''[[The Prisoner of Chillon]]'' (1816) ([[Wikisource:The Prisoner of Chillon|text on Wikisource]])
*''[[The Dream (Lord Byron poem)|The Dream]]'' (1816)
*''[[Prometheus (poem)|Prometheus]]'' (1816)
*''[[Darkness (poem)|Darkness]]'' (1816)
*''[[Manfred]]'' (1817) ([[Wikisource:Manfred, a dramatic poem|text on Wikisource]])
*''[[The Lament of Tasso]]'' (1817)
*''[[Beppo (poem by Byron)|Beppo]]'' (1818)
*''[[Mazeppa (Byron)|Mazeppa]]'' (1819)
*''[[The Prophecy of Dante]]'' (1819)
*''[[Marino Faliero (drama)|Marino Faliero]]'' (1820)
*''[[Sardanapalus]]'' (1821)
*''[[The Two Foscari]]'' (1821)
*''[[Cain (poem by Byron)|Cain]]'' (1821)
*''[[The Vision of Judgement]]'' (1821)
*''[[Heaven and Earth (drama)|Heaven and Earth]]'' (1821)
*''[[Werner (Byron)|Werner]]'' (1822)
*''[[The Deformed Transformed]]'' (1822)
*''[[The Age of Bronze (poem)|The Age of Bronze]]'' (1823)
*''[[The Island (Byron)|The Island]]'' (1823)
*''[[Don Juan (Byron)|Don Juan]]'' (1819–1824; incomplete on Byron's death in 1824)

===Minor works===
*''[[So, we'll go no more a roving]]'' ([[Wikisource:So We'll Go No More A-Roving|text on Wikisource]])
*''[[The First Kiss of Love]]'' (1806) ([[Wikisource:The First Kiss of Love|text on Wikisource]])
*''[[Thoughts Suggested by a College Examination]]'' (1806) ([[Wikisource:Thoughts Suggested by a College Examination|text on Wikisource]])
*''[[To a Beautiful Quaker]]'' (1807) ([[Wikisource:To a Beautiful Quaker|text on Wikisource]])
*''[[The Cornelian]]'' (1807) ([[Wikisource:The Cornelian|text on Wikisource]]}
*''[[Lines Addressed to a Young Lady]]'' (1807) ([[Wikisource:Lines Addressed to a Young Lady|text on Wikisource]])
*''Lachin y Garr'' (1807) ([[Wikisource:Lachin y Gair|text on Wikisource]])
*''[[Epitaph to a Dog]]'' (1808) ([[Wikisource:Epitaph to a Dog|text on Wikisource]])
*''[[She Walks in Beauty]]'' (1814) ([[Wikisource:She walks in Beauty|text on Wikisource]])
*''[[When We Two Parted]]'' ([[Wikisource:When We Two Parted|text on Wikisource]])
*Love's Last Adieu

==See also==
*[[Lord Byron (chronology)]]
*[[Bridge of Sighs]]
*[[3306 Byron|Asteroid 3306 Byron]]
*[[Henry Edward Yelverton, 19th Baron Grey de Ruthyn]]

==Further reading==
*[[Phyllis Grosskurth|Grosskurth, Phyllis]]:''Byron: The Flawed Angel''. Hodder, 1997.ISBN 034060753X.
*MacCarthy, Fiona: ''Byron: Life and Legend''. John Murray, 2002. ISBN 071955621X.
*[[Jerome McGann|McGann, Jerome]]: ''Byron and Romanticism''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-521-00722-4.
*Rosen, Fred: ''Bentham, Byron and Greece.'' Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1992. ISBN 0198200781
* [[Harvard University Press]] Edition of Byron's Letters. Marchand, Leslie A., editor:
**[http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/BYRLE1.html ''Byron's Letters and Journals, Volume I, 'In my hot youth', 1798-1810''], [[Harvard University Press]], (1973).
**[http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/BYRLE2.html ''Byron's Letters and Journals, Volume II, 'Famous in my time', 1810-1812''], [[Harvard University Press]], (1973).
**[http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/BYRLE3.html ''Byron's Letters and Journals, Volume III, 'Alas! the love of women', 1813-1814''], [[Harvard University Press]], (1974).
**[http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/BYRLE4.html ''Byron's Letters and Journals, Volume IV, 'Wedlock's the devil', 1814-1815''], [[Harvard University Press]], (1975).
**[http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/BYRLE5.html ''Byron's Letters and Journals, Volume V, 'So late into the night', 1816-1817''], [[Harvard University Press]], (1976).
**[http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/BYRLE6.html ''Byron's Letters and Journals, Volume VI, 'The flesh is frail', 1818-1819''], [[Harvard University Press]], (1976).
**[http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/BYRLE7.html ''Byron's Letters and Journals, Volume VII, 'Between two worlds', 1820''], [[Harvard University Press]], (1978).
**[http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/BYRLE8.html ''Byron's Letters and Journals, Volume VIII, 'Born for opposition', 1821''], [[Harvard University Press]], (1978).
**[http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/BYRLE9.html ''Byron's Letters and Journals, Volume IX, 'In the wind's eye', 1821-1822''], [[Harvard University Press]].
**[http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/BYRL10.html ''Byron's Letters and Journals, Volume X, 'A heart for every fate', 1822-1823''], [[Harvard University Press]], (1980).
**[http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/BYRL11.html ''Byron's Letters and Journals, Volume XI, 'For freedom's battle', 1823-1824''], [[Harvard University Press]], (1981).
**[http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/BYRL12.html ''Byron's Letters and Journals, Volume XII, 'The trouble of an index', index''], [[Harvard University Press]], (1982).
* Marchand, Leslie A., editor. [http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/BYRLOR.html ''Lord Byron: Selected Letters and Journals''], [[Harvard University Press]], (1982).
** Oueijan, Naji B. ''A Compendium of Eastern Elements in Byron’s Oriental Tales''. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 1999.
*[[Jean-Pierre Thiollet|Thiollet, Jean-Pierre]]: ''Carré d'Art : Barbey d'Aurevilly, lord Byron, Salvador Dali, Jean-Edern Hallier'', Anagramme éditions, 2008. ISBN 2 35035 189 6
*Kirkland, John C.: ''[[Love Letters of Great Men]], Vol. 1'', CreateSpace (2008). ISBN 1438257244


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
:{{A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature}}
{{reflist|2}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.smashingpumpkins.com Smashing Pumpkins.com]
{{wikiquotepar|Lord Byron}}
*[http://www.myspace.com/smashingpumpkins Official Smashing Pumpkins MySpace Page]
{{commons|George Gordon Byron}}
{{wikisource|Author:George Gordon Byron}}
*[http://www.east-durham.co.uk/seaham/byronswalk/ Pictures of Byron's Walk, Seaham, County Durham]
*[http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=81299 Poems by Lord Byron at PoetryFoundation.org]
*[http://www.johnkeats.org A Website of the Romantic Movement]
*{{gutenberg author |id=George_Byron |name=George Byron}}
*[http://www.byronsociety.com The Byron Society]
*[http://www.poetsgraves.co.uk/byron.htm Byron's Grave]
*[http://www.hucknall-parish-church.org.uk/byron.htm Hucknall Parish Church, Byron's final resting place]
*[http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php?pageid=501 Statue of Byron at Trinity College, Cambridge]
*[http://www.rc.umd.edu/reference/chronologies/byronchronology/index.html The Byron Chronology]
*[http://www.englishhistory.net/byron/ The Life and Work of Lord Byron]
*[http://www.iatp.am/byron/years.htm Byron's 1816-1824 letters to Murray and Moore about Armenian studies and translations]
*[http://www.literaturecollection.com/a/lord-byron/ Lord George Gordon Byron—Biography & Works]
*[http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/english/research/byron/ Centre for Byron Studies, University of Nottingham]
*[http://www.online-literature.com/byron/ Byron page on The Literature Network]
*[http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/research/fa/byron.html Byron Collection] at the [[Harry Ransom Center]] at the [[University of Texas at Austin]]
*[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=9794095 George Gordon, Lord Byron] at Find-A-Grave
*[http://byron.strangecompany.org Creative Commons animated adaption of "When We Two Parted"]

{{start box}}
{{s-reg|en}}
{{succession box |before=[[William Byron, 5th Baron Byron|William Byron]] |title=[[Baron Byron]] |after=[[George Byron, 7th Baron Byron|George Byron]] |years=1798–1824}}
{{end box}}

{{Romanticism}}


{{Smashing Pumpkins}}
<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->


{{Persondata
{{Persondata
|NAME= Wretzky, D'arcy
|NAME= Byron, George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Byron, Lord
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= English [[Poet]]
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= [[Musician]]
|DATE OF BIRTH= {{birth date|1788|1|22|df=y}}
|DATE OF BIRTH= 1968-5-1
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[London]], [[England]]
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[South Haven, Michigan|South Haven]], [[Michigan]], [[United States|U.S.]]
|DATE OF DEATH= {{death date|1824|4|19|df=y}}
|DATE OF DEATH=
|PLACE OF DEATH= [[Messolonghi|Missolonghi]], [[Greece]]
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wretzky, D'arcy}}
{{BD|1788|1824|Byron, George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron}}
[[Category:Aberdeen Grammar School alumni]]
[[Category:1968 births]]
[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Alternative musicians]]
[[Category:Anglo-Scots]]
[[Category:American female guitarists]]
[[Category:Armenian studies]]
[[Category:American rock bass guitarists]]
[[Category:Barons in the Peerage of England]]
[[Category:Female bass guitarists]]
[[Category:Bisexual writers]]
[[Category:Illinois musicians]]
[[Category:English poets]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Lord Byron]]
[[Category:The Smashing Pumpkins members]]
[[Category:Old Harrovians]]
[[Category:Michigan musicians]]
[[Category:People from London]]
[[Category:Philhellenes]]
[[Category:People of the Greek War of Independence]]
[[Category:Regency era]]
[[Category:Romantic poets]]
[[Category:People with bipolar disorder]]


[[ar:لورد بايرون]]
[[da:D'arcy Wretzky]]
[[az:Corc Bayron]]
[[de:D’arcy Wretzky]]
[[es:D'arcy Wretzky]]
[[bn:লর্ড বায়রন]]
[[fr:D'arcy Wretzky]]
[[zh-min-nan:George Gordon Byron]]
[[bs:George Gordon Byron]]
[[gl:D'arcy Wretzky]]
[[br:George Byron]]
[[it:D'arcy Wretzky]]
[[nl:D'Arcy Wretzky]]
[[bg:Джордж Байрон]]
[[ca:Lord Byron]]
[[no:D'Arcy Wretzky]]
[[cs:George Gordon Byron]]
[[pl:D'arcy Wretzky]]
[[cy:George Gordon Byron]]
[[pt:D'arcy Wretzky]]
[[ru:Рецки, Д'арси]]
[[da:Lord Byron]]
[[de:George Gordon Byron]]
[[sv:D'Arcy Wretzky]]
[[et:George Gordon Byron]]
[[el:Λόρδος Βύρων]]
[[es:Lord Byron]]
[[eo:George Byron]]
[[eu:Lord Byron]]
[[fa:جورج گوردون بایرون]]
[[fr:Lord Byron]]
[[gl:Lord Byron]]
[[ko:조지 고든 바이런]]
[[hy:Ջորջ Բայրոն]]
[[hi:जार्ज बैरन]]
[[hr:George Gordon Byron]]
[[id:George Gordon Byron]]
[[is:Byron lávarður]]
[[it:George Gordon Byron]]
[[he:ג'ורג' ביירון]]
[[ka:ჯორჯ ნოელ გორდონ ბაირონი]]
[[kk:Байрон, Джордж Ноэл Гордон]]
[[sw:George Byron]]
[[la:Georgius Gordon Byron]]
[[lv:Bairons]]
[[lb:George Byron]]
[[lt:George Gordon Byron]]
[[hu:George Byron]]
[[mk:Џорџ Гордон Бајрон]]
[[ml:ജോര്‍ജ്ജ് ബൈറണ്‍]]
[[mr:जॉर्ज गॉर्डन बायरन]]
[[mn:Жорж Гордон Баирон]]
[[nl:Lord Byron]]
[[ja:ジョージ・ゴードン・バイロン]]
[[no:Lord Byron]]
[[nn:George Gordon Byron]]
[[pl:George Gordon Byron]]
[[pt:Lord Byron]]
[[ro:George Gordon Byron]]
[[ru:Байрон, Джордж Гордон]]
[[sa:जार्ज बैरन]]
[[sq:George Gordon Byron]]
[[simple:George Byron]]
[[sk:George Gordon Byron]]
[[sl:George Noel Gordon Byron]]
[[sr:Џорџ Гордон Бајрон]]
[[sh:George Gordon Byron]]
[[fi:George Gordon Byron]]
[[sv:George Gordon Byron]]
[[ta:ஜார்ஜ் கோர்டன் பைரன்]]
[[vi:Lord Byron]]
[[tr:George Gordon Byron]]
[[uk:Байрон Джордж Гордон]]
[[ur:لارڈ بائرن]]
[[vo:George Gordon Byron]]
[[zh-yue:拜倫]]
[[bat-smg:Džuordžos Nuoelės Guorduons Bairuons]]
[[zh:喬治·戈登·拜倫]]

Revision as of 20:37, 10 October 2008

D'arcy Wretzky

D'arcy Elizabeth Wretzky (born May 1, 1968 in South Haven, Michigan) is a rock musician best known for her work as a bass player with the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins.

Early life

Wretzky was born and raised in Michigan, where her mother, a musician, encouraged D'arcy and her sisters to perform music. Growing up, she played the violin and oboe, and performed in choirs.[1] She also performed gymnastics.[2] She would later refer to her father, a building contractor with a love of horseback riding, as "a very strange man."[2] The young Wretzky was a self-described "tomboy", and had a contentious relationship with her sister.[3] She attended South Haven's L.C. Mohr High School, where she grew interested in post-punk and played in cover bands. After high school, she moved to France to join a band, but the band had already disbanded upon her arrival, prompting her to return to the United States. She then moved to Chicago and spent the summer living with friends and attending concerts.[4]

The Smashing Pumpkins

After a concert at a local rock club, Wretzky overheard Billy Corgan criticizing the band that had performed. An argument and discussion followed, and Corgan recruited her into his band, the nascent Smashing Pumpkins, which, at the time, was merely Corgan, James Iha, and a drum machine. Wretzky accepted, and Jimmy Chamberlin completed the lineup a few months later, after Joe Shanahan encouraged Corgan to add a live drummer.

Wretzky's time in the band was marked by alternating periods of happiness and discomfort. Corgan considered her the "moral authority" and "moral conscience" of the band.[5] In the aftermath of the success of 1995's Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Corgan said she began an "apparent slow descent into insanity and/or drugs (take your pick)."[6] Finally, in 1999, Wretzky left the band to pursue an acting career. Corgan later said she was "fired for being a mean spirited drug addict who refused to get help."[7] She was replaced with former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur.

Wretzky is the credited bassist on the Smashing Pumpkins' first five studio albums - Gish, Siamese Dream, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Adore, and Machina/The Machines of God. It was confirmed by both Corgan and herself, however, that Corgan would often record the bass tracks for albums because he could complete them in far fewer takes.[8][9] Wretzky often contributed backing vocals in concert, and on studio albums. She sang in some Smashing Pumpkins songs including "Daydream", from Gish, "Farewell and Goodnight" and "Beautiful", from Mellon Collie, and "Dreaming" and "The Bells", from The Aeroplane Flies High. Wretzky also cowrote one Smashing Pumpkins song, "Daughter".

Personal life

Wretzky and bandmate James Iha dated for a time in the early 1990s, with their breakup adding considerable tension to the recording of Siamese Dream. Wretzky went on to marry Kerry Brown, the drummer of the band Catherine, in 1994. Her vocals were featured on the tracks "Four Leaf Clover" and "Punch Me Out" on the band's 1996 LP, Hot Saki and Bedtime Stories. She also appeared in the video for "Four Leaf Clover". The couple has since been divorced for several years. She is still friends with James Iha[citation needed]. Incidentally, Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin recorded Zeitgeist at Brown's home studio in 2006.[10] She can also be heard singing backup vocals on the Filter songs "Take A Picture" and "Cancer." She was rumored to have been involved with singer Richard Patrick at the time and the song "Miss Blue" is supposedly about her[citation needed]. She also sings backing for the Fulflej song "Shells", and harmony vocals on the James Iha song "One And Two"

Wretzky was arrested January 25, 2000 in Chicago after she purchased three bags of crack cocaine. According to police, undercover officers observed Wretzky and a male companion enter a building on West Grand Avenue and then shortly afterwards returned to their car. The driver, identified as Tony Young, then drove off without his headlights on and proceeded to make two illegal U-turns before police stopped the car. When searched, the police found drugs in Young's pocket. The driver insisted they were not his, claiming that Wretzky "handed me some rocks to hold." Upon questioning, she admitted giving him the three plastic bags. She successfully completed a court-ordered drug education program, and the charges were dropped.

Wretzky lived in Watervliet, Michigan from 2000 to 2006, where she owns a horse farm and three antique shops. One of her horses, "Jet Set Miss", was accepted into the Arabian Horse Pilot Program in August 2000 after passing inspection in Romeo, Michigan.[11]

Her older sister Tanya Wretzky operates Mammoth Stables in Watervliet and younger sister Molly (a former artist) is an attorney in Chicago and skates for the Windy City Rollers under the moniker Ying of Fire. They appeared on the cover of the "Today" single.

She has remained almost entirely out of the public eye since 2000; in 2006 she was living in Austin, Texas but according to the lawsuit against Virgin Records she currently resides in Berrien County, Michigan.[12]

References

  1. ^ Goldberg, Michael. "Smashing Pumpkin D'arcy Dares to be Happy." Addicted to Noise, December 1995. Retrieved on 2007/09/23.
  2. ^ a b Marks, Craig. "Zero Worship." Spin Magazine: June 1996.
  3. ^ "A Babe in Boyland." Mademoiselle, December 1995. Retrieved on 2007/09/23
  4. ^ Pullen, Doug. "Michigan Native D'arcy Ready For More Successes." The Flint Journal: 1996/06/26. Retrieved on 2007/09/23.
  5. ^ Blashill, Pat (October 1996). "Out on a Limb". Details Magazine.
  6. ^ Corgan, Billy. "Way Out in Outpost Canyon." The Confessions of Billy Corgan. 2005/04/13.
  7. ^ Billy Corgan's Personal Blog. Written February 17, 2004
  8. ^ Chamberlin, Jimmy; Corgan, Billy (interview subjects). Inside the Zeitgeist (Reprise Records, 2007).
  9. ^ Azzerrad, Michael. "Smashing Pumpkins' Sudden Impact". Rolling Stone. October 1993.
  10. ^ Chamberlin, Jimmy and Billy Corgan. (Interview subjects). Inside the Zeitgeist (DVD). Reprise Records. {{cite AV media}}: Unknown parameter |date2= ignored (help)
  11. ^ Crakehner Times Newsletter
  12. ^ http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_documents/0724_pumpkins.pdf

External links

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lord_Byron&oldid=244441406"