APOSTROPHE TO THE

OCEAN
By Lord Byron
George Gordon (Lord Byron)
Author Biography
George Gordon, Lord Byron, was born in London on January 22, 1788, to "Mad Jack" Byron and Catherine Gordon. Born with a club-
foot, he spent the first ten years living with his mother in Aberdeen. Although she had been rich, her fortune was misspent by her
husband. In 1798, George’s great-uncle died and he succeeded to the title, Baron Byron of Rochdale. Byron could afford to attend
Trinity College, Cambridge where he had married controversy with his love affairs. In 1802, while in Newstead, he met Augusta Leigh
who was his half-sister and she gave birth to his illegitimate daughter. Lord Byron was highly judged for this behavior. In 1809, Byron
went on his grand tour for Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage which came out in 1812. He visited Spain, Malta, Albania and Greece. In 1815
Byron married Anne Isabella Milbanke; she came from a wealthy family. The relationship ended a year later. He moved to Venice
where he met Teresa Guiccioli, who became his mistress. Lord Byron had a great love for animals especially his Newfoundland dog
named Boatswain. When the animal contracted rabies, Byron nursed him without any thought or fear of being bitten and infected.
In his 1811 will, Byron requested that he be buried with him. He had a monument of Boatswain made in Newstead Abbey, larger than
his own. Aside from Boatswain, Byron also kept a tame bear while he attended Trinity out of resentment for not being allowed to
bring his dog. In addition to numerous dogs and horses, Byron kept a fox, four monkeys, a parrot, five cats, an eagle, a crow, a
crocodile falcon, five peacocks, two guinea hens, an Egyptian crane, a badger, three geese, a heron, and a goat with a broken leg.
Expect for the horses, they all stayed indoors at his homes in England, Switzerland, Italy, and Greece. In 1822 Byron, Leigh Hunt, and
Percy Bysshe Shelley traveled to Italy where the 3 men published the political journey, liberal. They went to Italy to avoid being
prosecuted by British authorities. August, 1822, the Liberal came to an end after Shelly’s death. For a long time Lord Byron had
supported attempts by the Greek people to free them from Turkish rule. In 1823, Byron formed the Byron Brigade and joined the
Greek insurgents who had risen against the Turks. However, on February 15, 1824, Lord Byron fell ill, and the usual remedy of
bloodletting weakened him further. He made a PARTIAL recovery, but in early April he caught a violent cold with therapeutic
bleeding which made his condition worse. It is suspected this treatment, carried out unsterilized medical tools, may have caused him
to develop sepsis. He died April 19, 1824 of marsh fever in Missolonghi before he saw any military action and was buried in the family
vault. His physician at the time, Julius van Millingen,was unable to prevent his death and it has been been said that if Byron had
lived, he might have been declared King of Greece.
Historical Background
During the romantic period many of the poets
focused more on nature’s beauty rather than gods.
Written in the summer of 1816
Bryon’s love for the ocean.
Summary of the poem
Byron loves the ocean which is the inanimate object
like a woman and is happiest when he’s playing in it.
Analysis of poem
Byron was born with a clubbed foot so he was
naturally a good swimmer and loved the ocean. The
poem is about his love for the ocean and how "man
marks the earth with ruin" but his control stops with
the ocean shore, man cannot control the ocean.