is Byron's first major work after his volume of juvenilia

. It is a satire (just over a thousand lines long) written in heroic couplets and largely in imitation of Alexander Pope. Byron would later admit he did not have the “cunning” for this form. The foundation for

was a poem called

, written by Byron in October 1807. By December 1807 it was over 400 lines long and was initially intended to be a satire on contemporary poetry and a lament for the lost models of the neoclassical era. Byron expanded the poem following the publication of a particularly venomous critique of

in the influential Scottish journal, the

in February 1808. Byron thought the review had been…

1565 words

Citation: O'Connell, Mary. "English Bards, And Scotch Reviewers". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 April 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16884, accessed 25 November 2024.]