NB. The following
bibliography is highly selective and firmly based on the work of Ernest Hartley
Coleridge in The Works of Lord Byron: Poetry, 7 vols., 1898–1904 (B1). Mr Coleridge’s extensive scholarly notes
throughout the whole edition and his nearly exhaustive bibliography in the last
volume are indispensable for anybody seriously interested in Byron’s works.
Unless otherwise noted, all references are to this edition; for example, “I,
xi” means “volume I, page xi” in Mr Coleridge’s edition. The contents in the
end of each entry omit all prefaces and the like: these are listed only about
the editions in which they appear for the first time; unless otherwise noted,
they are reprinted in all subsequent editions. Selected foreign editions and translations
are given only to obtain some idea about Byron’s international fame.
- POETRY
A1. Fugitive
Pieces (1806)
A2. Poems
on Various Occasions (1807)
A3. Hours
of Idleness (1807)
A4. English Bards, and Scotch Reviewers (1809; EBSR)
A5. Childe
Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812, 1816, 1818; CH)
A6. The
Giaour (1813; G)
A7. The
Bride of Abydos
A8. The
Corsair (1814; TC)
A9. Ode
to Napoleon Buonaparte (1814)
A10. Lara
(1814; L)
A11. Hebrew
Melodies (1815; HM)
A12. The
Siege of Corinth
A13. Parisina (1816; P)
A14. The Prisoner of Chillon (1816; PC)
A15. Manfred (1817; Man)
A16. The Lament of Tasso (1817, LT)
A17. Beppo
(1818; B)
A18. Mazeppa (1819; Maz)
A19. Don Juan (1819–24; DJ)
A20. The Prophesy of Dante (1819; PD)
A21. Marino Faliero (1820; MF)
A22. Sardanapalus (1821; S)
A23. The Two Foscari (1821; TF)
A24. Cain (1821; C)
A25. Heaven and Earth (1821; HE)
A26. The Vision of Judgment (1822; VJ)
A27. Werner (1822; W)
A28. The Deformed Transformed (1823; DT)
A29. The Age of Bronze (1823; AB)
A30. The Blues (1823; TB)
A31. The Island (1823; TI)
- MODERN
COLLECTED EDITIONS
B1. The Works of Lord Byron: Poetry (1898-1904), ed. E. H. Coleridge
B2. The Complete
Poetical Works (1980-93), ed.
Jerome J. McGann
B3. Oxford
B4. Penguin Classics (1996, 2005), eds. Susan J. Wolfson
& Peter J. Manning
B5. Modern
Library (2001), ed. Leslie A.
Marchand
B6. Wordsworth
Poetry Library (2006), ed. Paul Wright
- PROSE
C1. Letters and
Journals (1898–1901), ed. R. E.
Prothero
C2. Byron’s Letters
and Journals (1975-82), ed.
Leslie Marchand
C3. The Complete Miscellaneous Prose
(1991), ed. Andrew Nicholson
- POETRY
A1. Fugitive
Pieces (1806)
i.
1806,
1st edn., 4to. Anonymous, without title page. 38 poems, two of them (“The Tear”, “Reply to Some Verses of J. M.
B. Pigot, Esq.”) signed “Byron”. The last piece, “Imitated from Catullus. To
Anna” dated 16 Nov 1806. “The whole of this issue, with the exception of two or
three copies, was destroyed. An imperfect copy, lacking pp. 17-20 and pp.
58-66, is preserved at Newstead. A perfect copy, which had been retained by the
Rev. J. T. Becher, at whose instance the issue was suppressed, was preserved by
his family” (I, xi).
ii.
1886, Chiswick Press. Facsimile reprint of the perfect
copy. 100 numbered copies. For private circulation only.
iii.
Notes. “Of the thirty-eight Fugitive Pieces, two
poems, viz. "To Caroline" and "To Mary," together with the
last six stanzas of the lines, "To Miss E. P. [To Eliza]," have never
been republished in any edition of Byron's Poetical Works.” (I, xi). “Of the
thirty-eight Fugitive Pieces which
constitute the suppressed quarto, only seventeen appear in all three subsequent
issues. Of the twelve additions to Poems
on Various Occasions [A2], four
were excluded from Hours of Idleness
[A3i], and four more from Poems Original and Translated [A3ii].” (I, xii).
iv.
Contents[1]:
On Leaving N...st...d / To E---- / On the Death of Young Lady, Cousin to the
Author and very Dear to him / To D---- / To... / To Caroline / To Maria —— / Fragment of School
Exercises, From the Prometheus Vinctus of Oeschylus [sic] / Lines in "Letters
of an Italian Nun," etc. / Answer to the above, address'd to Miss —— / On a change of Masters, At a Great Public
School / Epitaph on a Beloved Friend / Adrian's Address to his Soul, when dying
/ Translation / To Mary / "When to their airy hall, my father's
voice" / To —— / "When I hear you express an, affection so warm"
/ On a distant view of the Village and School of Harrow on The Hill, 1806 / Thoughts
Suggested by a College Examination / To Mary, on Receiving her Picture / On the
Death of Mr. Fox, the following illiterate Impromptu appeared in the Morning Post – To which the Author of
these Pieces sent the subjoined Reply, for insertion in the Morning Chronicle / To a Lady, who
presented the Author a Lock of Hair, etc. / To a Beautiful Quaker / To Julia / To
Woman / An Occasional Prologue, etc. /
To Miss E. P. / To Tear / Reply to some verses of J. M. B. Pigot, Esq., on the
Cruelty of His Mistress / Granta, A Medley / To the Sighing Strephon / The
Cornelian / To A —— / As the Author was discharging his Pistols in a Garden,
Two Ladies, etc. / Translation form Catullus: Ad Lesbiam / Translation of the
Epitaph on Virgil and Tibullus by Domitius Marsus / Imitation of Tibullus
"Sulpitia ad Cerintum" Lib. Quart. / Translation from Cattulus:
Luctus de Morte Passeris / Imitatated from Catullus. To Anna.
A2. Poems
on Various Occasions (1807)
i.
Jan
1807, 1st edn. Anonymous, privately printed. 48 poems = 36 from A1 + 12 hitherto unpublished.[2]
ii.
Contents (hitherto unpublished only): To M. S. G. / Stanzas
to a Lady, with the Poems of Camoëns / To M. S. G. / Translation from Horace.
Justum et tenacem, etc. / The First Kiss of Love / Childish Recollections / Answer
to a Beautiful Poem, Written by Montgomery, Author of "The Wanderer in
Switzerland," etc., entitled "The Common Lot" / Love's Last
Adieu / Lines Addressed to the Rev. J. T. Becher, on his advising the Author to
mix more with Society / Answer to some Elegant Verses sent by a Friend to the
Author, complaining that one of his descriptions was rather too warmly drawn / Elegy
on Newstead Abbey / ?
A3. Hours
of Idleness: A Series of Poems Original and Translated (1807)
i.
Jun/Jul
1807, 1st edn. 39 poems =
19 from A1 + 8 from A2 + 12 published for the first
time.[3]
LB’s
first officially published work. “By George Gordon, Lord Byron, a Minor.”
Original preface.
ii.
1808, 2nd edn., small octavo. Titled Poems
Original and Translated. 38
poems = 17 from A1 + 4 from A2 + 12 from (i) + 5 published for the first
time.
iii.
Abroad: Paris
iv.
Notes. “The collection of minor poems entitled Hours of Idleness, which has been
included in every edition of Byron's Poetical Works issued by John Murray since
1831, consists of seventy pieces, being the aggregate of the poems published in
the three issues, Poems on Various
Occasions, Hours of Idleness, and
Poems Original and Translated,
together with five other poems of the same period derived from other sources.”
(I, xii). Original epigraph: “[in Greek] Homer. Iliad, 10./ He whistled as he went for want of thought./ Dryden.”
v.
Contents: [12
from (i)?] To George, Earl Delawarr / Damaetas / To Marion / Oscar of Alva
/ Translation from Anacreon. Ode 1 / From Anacreon. Ode 3 / The Episode of
Nisus and Euryalus. A Paraphrase from the Æneid, Lib. 9 / Translation from the
Medea of Euripides [Ll. 627–660] / Lachin y Gair / To Romance / The Death of
Calmar and Orla / To Edward Noel Long, Esq. / To a Lady [5 from (ii)]: When I Roved a Young Highlander / To the Duke of
Dorset / To the Earl of Clare / I would I were a Careless Child / Lines Written
beneath an Elm in the Churchyard of Harrow.
A4. English Bards, and Scotch Reviewers (1809; EBSR)
ii.
Oct
1809, 2nd edn. 1050 lines = 16 lines omitted, 370 added, compared to
(i). Preface enlarged. Postscript added.
iv.
1810, 4th edn., 1st issue. Lines
723-4 added, lines 725-6 altered, probably by LB.
vi.
1811, 5th edn. 1070 lines. Lines 97-102 and 528-39 added, 29 emendations of the
text, probably by LB.
vii.
Abroad: 1st US
edn., Philadelphia , 1811 (iii); 1st
French edn., Paris
viii.
Notes.
First
version published in 1808 as British
Bards: A Satire, 560 lines only. Original epigraphs: “I had rather be a
kitten, and cry, mew! / Than one of these same metre ballad-mongers. /
Shakspeare. / Such shameless Bards we have; and yet 'tis true, / There are as
mad, abandon'd Critics too. / Pope.”
A5. Childe
Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812, 1816, 1818; CH)
i.
10
Mar 1812, 1st edn. Cantos I
& II. Original Preface & Notes. 14 poems.
ii.
17
Apr 1812, 2nd edn., 8vo. Canto I, 93 stanzas; Canto II, 88
stanzas. 6
poems added (20 overall).
iii.
27
Jun 1812, 3rd edn.
iv.
14
Sep 1812, 4th edn. “Addition to the Preface”.
v.
5
Dec 1812, 5th edn.
vi.
11
Aug 1813, 6th edn.
vii.
1
Feb 1814, 7th edn. E.H.C. (I, xii): “ten additional stanzas were inserted towards the end of the Second
Canto.” Canto I, 93 stanzas. Canto II, 98
stanzas. Dedication to Lady Charlotte Harley (“То Ianthe”)
prefixed to Canto I.
viii.
1815,
9th edn.
ix.
1815, 10th edn.
x.
1819, 11th edn.
xi.
18 Nov 1816, 1st edn. Canto III.
xii.
28 Apr 1818, 1st edn. Canto IV. Dedication to John Hobhouse.
xiii.
1819, 2 vols. Cantos I–IV. First complete edition.
xiv.
Abroad: 1st US
edn., Philadelphia, 1812 (I+II); Boston, 1817 (III); 1818, Philadelphia (IV,
other poems); 1st German edn., Leipzig, 1820 (2 vols.); 1st
French edn., 1825 (2 vols.).
xv.
Translations: Italian, 1819 (IV); French, 1828;
Swedish, 1832; German, 1835; Hungarian, 1857; Polish, 1857; Russian, 1864; Armenian,
1872 (IV); Danish, 1880; Bohemian, 1890.
xvi.
Contents (i): Childe Harold I & II / Written in an Album (“As o’er
the cold sepulchral stone”) / To *** (“Oh Lady! when I left the shore”) /
Stanzas, Written in passing the Ambracian Gulph, November 14th,1809
/ Stanzas, composed October 11th 1809, during the night; in a
thunder-storm, when the guides had lost the road to Zitza, near the range of
mountains formerly called Pindus, in Albania / Written at Athens, January 16,
1810 / Written after swimming from Sestos to Abydos, May 9, 1810 / Song (“Maid
of Athens, ere we part”) / Translation from a Greek war song / Translation of a
Romaic song / Written beneath a Picture / On Parting / To Thyrza (“Without a
stone to mark the spot”) / Stanzas (“Away, away, ye notes of woe!”) / To Thyrza
(“One struggle more, and I am free”).
xvii.
Contents (ii): Childe Harold I & II / 14 poems from (i) /
Euthanasia / Stanzas (“And thou art dead, as young and fair”) / Stanzas (“If
sometimes in the haunts of men”) / On a Cornelian Heart which was broken / To a
youthful Friend / To ****** (“Well, thou art happy, and I feel”).
xviii.
Contents (vii): Childe Harold I & II / 14 poems from (i) / 6 poems from (ii) / From the
Portuguese (“In moments to delight devoted”) / Impromptu, in Reply to a Friend
/ Address, spoken at the opening of Drury-lane Theatre, Saturday, October 10th,
1812 / To Time / Translation of a Romaic Love Song (“Ah! Love was never yet
without”) / A Song (“Thou art not false, but thou art fickle”) / On being asked
what was the “Origin of Love” / Remember him, whom passion’s power / From the
Turkish (“The chain I gave was fair to view”) / To a Lady Weeping / Sonnet to
Genevra (“Thine eyes blue tenderness, thy long fair hair”) / Sonnet to Genevra
(“Thy cheek is pale with thought, but not from woe”) / Inscription on the
Monument of a Newfoundland Dog / Farewell (“Farewell! if ever fondest prayer”).
xix.
Notes. Original epigraphs to all cantos; I+II: from Le Cosmopolite[5];
III: “Afin que cette application
vous forgat de penser à autre chose; il n'y à / en vérité de remède que
celui-la et le temps.”/ Lettre du Roi de Prusse à D'Alembert, Sept. 7, 1776”; IV: “Visto ho Toscana, Lombardia, Romagna ,/ Quel Monte che divide, e quel che serra/
Italia, e un mare e l'altro, che la bagna./ Ariosto, Satira iii.”
A6. The
Giaour: A Fragment of a Turkish Tale (1813; G)
i.
5
Jun 1813, 1st edn. 685 lines.
ii.
Jun/Jul
1813, 2nd edn. “A New Edition, with some Additions”. 816 lines.
iii.
End
of July/1st half of Aug 1813, 3rd edn. “With Considerable
Additons.” 1st issue, 950 lines. 2nd issue, 1004 lines.
The second issue is suspect of non-existence!
iv.
Aug
1813, 4th edn. 1048 lines.
vi.
Oct
1813, 6th edn. Putative reprint of (v).
vii.
27
Nov 1813, 7th edn. “With some Additions.” 1334
lines. Notes.
ix.
1
Feb 1814, 9th edn.
xi.
1815,
13th
and 14th edns.
xii.
Abroad:
1st US edn., Boston , Philadelphia
xiii.
Translations:
Italian, 1817; German, 1819 (vii); Russian, 1821; French, 1828; Spanish, 1828; Polish,
1830;
Swedish, 1855; Serbian, 1860; Greek, 1873.
xiv.
Notes.
Original epigraph: “"One fatal remembrance – one sorrow that throws / Its
bleak shade alike o'er our joys and our woes – / To which Life nothing brighter
nor darker can bring, / For which joy hath no balm – and affliction no sting."/
Moore
A7. The
Bride of Abydos
ii.
1813, 2nd edn.
Canto II, 730 lines (misnumbered 724); six additional lines inserted after line
401.
v.
1 Feb 1814, 6th edn. Identical with (ii);
lines 662-3 omitted.
vi.
1814, 7th, 8th & 10th
edns. Identical with (iii).
vii.
1815, 11th edn.
viii.
Abroad: 1st US
edn., Philadelphia
ix.
Translations: French, 1816; Polish, 1818; German,
1819; Russian, 1821; Dutch, 1826; Bulgarian, 1850; Swedish, 1853; Italian,
1854; Bohemian, 1854; Hungarian, 1884.
x.
Notes. Original epigraph from Burns [Farewell to Nancy]: “Had we never loved
so kindly,/ Had we never loved so blindly,/ Never met or never parted,/ We had
ne'er been broken-hearted.”
A8. The
Corsair: A Tale (1814; TC)
i.
1 Feb 1814, 1st edn.
1859 lines (given as 1863 owing to inclusion of broken lines). On the same day
were published A5vii, A6viii and A7ii!
ii.
1814, 2nd edn. 6 poems added: To a Lady Weeping / From
the Turkish / Sonnet 1 (“Thine eyes blue tenderness, thy long fair hair”) /
Sonnet 2 (“Thy cheek is pale with thought, but not from woe”) / Inscription on
the Monument of a Newfoundland Dog / Farewell.
iii.
1814, 3rd edn. Poems omitted; restored from
4th edn. onwards.
iv.
1814, 7th edn. 4 additional lines to stanza
xi. Unnumbered note to line 226. 1863 lines, the additional ones not being
counted.
vi.
1815, beginning, 9th edn. 3000 copies. Long
note to the last line.
vii.
Abroad:
1st US edn., New York , Philadelphia
viii.
Translations:
German, 1816; Italian, 1819; Russian, 1827; Spanish, 1827; Swedish, 1868; Hungarian,
1892.
ix.
Notes. Original epigraph: “"I suoi pensieri in
lui dormir non ponno." / Tasso, Gerusalemme
Liberata, Canto X. [stanza lxxviii. line 8].” “Twenty-five thousand copies
of the Corsair were sold between January and March, 1814.” (III, 222).
A9. Ode
to Napoleon Buonaparte (1814)
i.
16 Apr 1814, 1st edn. 15 stanzas.
iv.
1816, 12th edn. 16 stanzas.
v.
1818, 13th edn.
vi.
1830, Life of
Byron. Concluding stanzas (xvii, xviii, xix) first published as a separate
poem.
vii.
1832, Byron’s Works,
17 vols. Concluding stanzas first appended to (iii).
viii.
Abroad: 1st US
edn., Philadelphia , Boston , New York
ix.
Translations: Spanish, 1829.
x.
Notes. Original epigraph: “"Expende Annibalem: – quot
libras in duce summon / Invenies?" / Juvenal, Sat. X.”
A10. Lara:
A Tale (1814; L)
i.
6
Aug 1814, 1st
edn. Anonymous. Advertisement. Together with Jacqueline:
A Tale (“a somewhat insipid pastoral, betraying the influence of the Lake
School, more especially Coleridge, on a belated and irresponsive disciple, and
wholly out of place as contrast or foil to the melodramatic Lara.” – III, 320) by another author.
iii.
1817, 5th edn. New note on “The event in
section 24, Canto 2d, suggested by the death, or rather burial, of the Duke of
Candia.”
iv.
Abroad: 1st US
edn., Boston , New York
v.
Translations: Italian, 1828; Spanish, 1828; Polish,
1833; Serbian, 1860; Swedish, 1869; Bohemian, 1885; German, 1886.
A11. Hebrew
Melodies (1815; HM)
i.
1815,
1st edn.
24 poems. Preface by Braham &
Nathan.
ii.
Abroad:
1st US edn., Boston , Philadelphia
iii.
Translations: German, 1820; Italian, 1837; Russian,
1860; Swedish, 1862; Danish, 1889; Bohemian, 1890; Hebrew, 1890.
iv.
Contents:
She walks in Beauty / The Harp the Monarch Minstrel swept / If that High World
/ The Wild Gazelle / Oh! weep for those / On Jordan
v.
Notes.
Original
title page: “A Selection of / Hebrew Melodies /
Ancient and Modern / with appropriate Symphonies and accompaniments / By
/ I: Braham & I: Nathan / the Poetry written expressly for the work / By
the Right Honble / Lord Byron / entd at Stars Hall.”
A12. The
Siege of Corinth
i.
7 Feb 1816, 1st edn. Together with A13. Original advertisement and notes.
iii.
Letters and
Journals, 1830, I, 638, the first 45 lines first published, first prefixed to
the poem in the 1832 edn. LB sent them to Murray
iv.
Abroad: 1st US
edn., New York , 1816; 1st French
edn., Paris
v.
Translations: German, 1817; French, 1820; Spanish,
1828; Dutch, 1831; Italian, 1838; Swedish, 1854.
vi.
Notes. Original epigraph: “"Guns, Trumpets,
Blunderbusses, Drums and Thunder." Pope, Sat. i. 26.” Misquoted: “With
Gun, Drum, Trumpet, Blunderbuss, and Thunder”. Dedicated to John Hobhouse.
A13. Parisina (1816; P)
i.
7 Feb 1816, 1st edn. Together with A12. Preface and notes.
ii.
Translations: Italian, 1821; German, 1825; Russian,
1827; Spanish, 1830; Danish, 1854; French, 1900.
iii.
Notes. “The last and shortest of the six narrative
poems composed and published in the four years (the first years of manhood and
of fame, the only years of manhood passed at home in England) which elapsed
between the appearance of the first two cantos of Childe Harold and the third [1812-16]…” (III, 499). Dedicated to
Scrope Beardmore Davies.
A14. The Prisoner of Chillon (1816; PC)
ii.
Abroad: 1st Swiss edn., Lausanne
iii.
Translations: Russian, 1822; Spanish, 1829; Italian,
1830; Swedish, 1853; Dutch, 1856; German, 1861; French, 1892.
iv.
Contents: The Prisoner of Chillon / The Dream / Darkness
/ Churchill’s Grave / Prometheus / A Fragment [Could I remount the river of my
years] / Sonnet to Lake Leman / Stanzas to Augusta
A15. Manfred: A Dramatic Poem (1817; Man)
i.
16
Jun 1817, 1st
edn.
ii.
1817, 2nd edn.
iii.
29
Oct – 14
Nov 1834, Covent Garden, 1st prod.
iv.
Abroad: 1st US
edn., Philadelphia , New York
v.
Translations: German, 1819; Danish, 1820; Spanish, 1829; Italian, 1832; Polish,
1835; Russian, 1841; Hungarian, 1842; Dutch, 1857; French, 1852; Greek, 1864; Bohemian,
1882; Romanian, 1896.
vi.
Notes.
Original epigraph from Hamlet: “There
are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
A16. The Lament of Tasso (1817, LT)
iii.
1818, 6th edn.
iv.
Translations: Italian, 1818.
v.
Notes. Original MS dated “The Apennines, April 20,
1817.”
A17. Beppo:
A Venetian Story (1818; B)
iv.
Abroad: 1st US
edn., Boston , 1818; 1st French edn., Paris
v.
Translations:
Spanish, 1830; Dutch, 1834; Swedish, 1853; French, 1865; Russian, 1863.
vi.
Notes. Written, 6 Sep – 12 Oct 1817 (IV, 155). Original
epigraph from As You Like It (IV.1.):
“Rosalind: Farewell, Monsieur Traveller; Look, you lisp, and wear strange suits:
disable all the benefits of your own country; be out of love with your
Nativity, and almost chide God for making you that countenance you are; or I
will scarce think you have swam in a Gondola.”
A18. Mazeppa (1819; Maz)
i.
28 Jun 1819, 1st edn.
Together with Ode [to Venice
ii.
1819, 2nd edn.
iii.
Abroad: 1st US
edn., Boston , 1819; 1st French edn., Paris
iv.
Translations: German, 1820; Russian, 1821; Spanish,
1830; Hungarian, 1842; Italian, 1847; Danish, 1853; Polish, 1860.
v.
Notes. See Coleridge (IV, 201-3) for an excellent
overview of the historical background.
A19. Don Juan (1819–24; DJ)
i.
15
Jul 1819, 1st edn. Cantos I, II. Original notes.
ii.
8 Aug 1821, 1st edn. Cantons III, IV, V.
Original notes. V.61 omitted. Fifth edn., 1822, “Revised and Corrected”.
iii.
1822, 1st edn., Cantos I–V.
iv.
15 Jul 1823, 1st edn. Cantos VI, VII, VIII.
Preface. Notes.
v.
29 Aug 1823, 1st edn. Cantos IX, X, XI.
Notes.
vi.
17 Dec 1823, 1st edn. Cantos XII, XIII,
XIV.
vii.
26 Mar 1824, 1st edn. Cantos XV, XVI.
Notes. “The errors of the press in this Canto,– if there be any) – are not to
be attributed to the Author, as he was deprived of the opportunity of
correcting the proof-sheets.” (note on the last page).
viii.
1826, 1st edn. 2 vols. Full text. Cantos
I–XVI. One volume, 1826.
ix.
Penguin, 1977, ed. T. G. Steffan. Revised in 1982.
x.
Penguin Classics, 1986, ed. T. G. Steffan. Reprinted
in 2004 with a new Introduction and updated Further Reading by Susan J. Wolfson
and Peter J. Manning.
xi.
Abroad: Paris , 1824
(XII–XIV); Nuremberg & New York
xii.
Translations: French, 1827; Spanish, 1829; Swedish,
1838; German, 1839; Russian, 1846; Romanian, 1847; Italian, 1853; Danish, 1854
(part, 1882-1902 complete in 2 vols.); Polish, 1863 (part); Serbian, 1888.
xiii.
Notes. Began in the autumn of 1818. Left unfinished at
Byron’s death in 1824. Mr Coleridge (VI, xv-xvi): “Canto I. St. Anne; and
Ginger shall be hot i' the / mouth too!" – Twelfth Night, or What you Will / Shakespeare.”(VI–VII, IX–XI,
XII–XIV, XV–XVI)
A20. The Prophesy of Dante (1819; PD)
ii.
Abroad:
1st US edn., Philadelphia ; 1st
French edn., Paris
iii.
Translations:
Italian, 1821; French, 1842; Spanish, 1850.
iv.
Notes.
Written at Ravenna
A21. Marino Faliero: Doge of Venice
ii.
25 Apr 1821, 1st production, Theatre Royal,
Drury Lane
iii.
1821, 2nd edn.
iv.
Abroad: 1st US
edn., Philadelphia , 1821; 1st French
edn., Paris
v.
Translations: German, 1883.
vi.
Notes. Subtitled “An Historical Tragedy In Five Acts.”
Original epigraph: “"Dux inquieti
turbidus Adriae."/ Horace. [Od.
III. c. iii. line 5]”. There are two dedications, one (mocking) to Goethe which
LB enclosed in a letter to Murray
A22. Sardanapalus: A Tragedy (1821; S)
ii.
1829, John Murray. Dedication to “The Illustrious Goethe”
inserted.
iii.
Abroad:
1st US edn., Boston
iv.
Translations: French, 1834; German, 1854; Russian,
1860; Swedish, 1864; Greek, 1865; Polish, 1872; Italian, 1884; Bohemian, 1891.
v.
Notes. “Byron's passion or infatuation for the regular
drama lasted a little over a year. Marino
Faliero, Sardanapalus, and the Two Foscari, were the fruits of his
"self-denying ordinance to dramatize, like the Greeks... striking passages
of history" (letter to Murray
A23. The Two Foscari: A Tragedy (1821; TF)
ii.
Apr 1838, 1st production, Drury Lane Theatre
iii.
Abroad:
1st US edn., Boston , New York , 1822; 1st
French edn., Paris
iv.
Translations:
Spanish, 1846; Russian, 1861.
v.
Notes.
Written between 12 Jun and 9 Jul 1821, Ravenna
A24. Cain; A Mystery (1821; C)
ii.
1822, 1st separate edition, W. Benbow , Castle-Street, Leicester-Square.
iii.
1822, 2nd edn., R. Carlile, 55, Fleet
Street. “To which is added a letter from the Author to Mr Murray, the original
Publisher.”
iv.
Abroad: 1st US
edn., New York , Boston ,
1822; 1st French edn., Paris , 1822; 1st
German edn., Breslau , 1840.
v.
Translations: French, 1823; German, 1831; Italian,
1852-6; Polish, 1868; Bohemian, 1871; Russian, 1881; Hungarian, 1895; Hebrew,
year unknown.
vi.
Notes. Original epigraph from Genesis (III.1): “Now
the Serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had
made.”
A25. Heaven and Earth: A Mystery (1822; HE)
i.
Jan 1822, 1st edn., The Liberal, No. II, pp. 165–206.
ii.
1824, 1st edn. in book form.
iii.
Abroad: 1st French edn., Paris
iv.
Translations: French, 1824; Italian, 1853; Russian, ?.
v.
Notes. Written in October 1821 at Ravenna
A26. The Vision of Judgment (1822; VJ)
i.
15 Oct 1822, 1st edn., The Liberal, No. 1, pp. 3-39.
ii.
1822, W. Dugdale, 1st edn. in book form,
pp. 35-72. Titled The Two Visions; or,
Byron v. Southey. Together with Southey’s The Vision of Judgment.
iii.
Abroad: 1st French edn., Paris
A27. Werner; or, The Inheritance: A Tragedy (1822; W)
i.
23 Nov 1822, 1st edn. Original preface.
ii.
1826, New
York
iii.
Abroad: 1st French edn., Paris
iv.
Translations: Russian, 1829.
v.
Notes. Written between 18 Dec 1821 and 20 Jan 1822. Dedicated
“To the Illustrious Goethe, by one of his humblest admirers”. Last work
published by John Murray.
A28. The Deformed Transformed: A Drama (1823; DT)
i.
20
Feb 1823, 1st edn. Original prefatory note.
ii.
23 Feb 1823, 3rd edn.[8]
iv.
Abroad: 1st French edn., Paris
v.
Translations: Hungarian, 1840.
vi.
Notes. MS dated “Pisa
A29. The Age of Bronze (1823; AB)
i.
1
Apr 1823, 1st edn. “Printed for John Hunt / 22 Old Bond Street
ii.
1823, 2nd edn.
iii.
Notes.
First work published by John Hunt.
A30. The Blues: A Literary Eclogue (1823; TB)
i.
26 Apr 1823, The
Liberal, 1st edn. Anonymous.
A31. The Island ; or,
Christian and his Comrades (1823; TI)
ii.
1823, 2nd and 3rd edns.,
identical with (i).
iii.
Abroad: 1st French edn., Paris ,
1823; 1st US
edn., New York
iv.
Translations: German, 1827; Italian, 1840; Swedish,
1856; Polish, 1859.
v.
Notes. “With the exception of the fifteenth and
sixteenth cantos of Don Juan, The Island was the last poem of any
importance which Byron lived to write, and the question naturally suggests
itself – Is the new song as good as the old? Byron answers the question
himself. He tells Leigh Hunt (January 25, 1823) that he hopes the "poem
will be a little above the ordinary run of periodical poesy," and that,
though portions of the Toobonai (sic) islanders are "pamby," he
intends "to scatter some uncommon
places here and there nevertheless."” (V, 584).
- MODERN COLLECTED EDITIONS
B1. The Works of Lord Byron: Poetry
(1898-1904), 7 vols., ed. E. H. Coleridge
a. John Murray, 1898-1904. A new, revised and
enlarged edition, with illustrations. Second edition, 1905. Reprinted, 1922-24.
b. Notes. Meticulously researched, rigorously
collated and vastly authoritative nearly complete edition. The Bibliography in
the last volume is a treasure trove of hard-to-find data, as are Mr Coleridge’s
introductions and notes to each work.
c. Contents: Vol. 1: early poems & translations (1803-08) / Hints from Horace [1811] / The Curse of
Minerva [1812] / The Waltz [1813] / EBSR; Vol. 2: CH; Vol. 3: poems 1809-13 / poems 1814-16 /
Fare Thee Well / A Sketch / Stanzas to Augusta / G, BA, TC, L, HM, SC, P; Vol. 4: poems Jul-Sep 1816 / Monody on
the Death of Sheridan / Francesca of Rimini (transl. of Dante) / The Morgante
Maggiore (transl. of Pulci) / Ode to Venice / poems 1816-23 / B, VJ, MF, PD,
Maz, Man, B, LT, PC; Vol. 5: S, TF,
C, HE, W, DT, AB, TI; Vol. 6: DJ; Vol. 7: minor poems 1798-1824 / A
Bibliography of the Successive Editions and Translations of Lord Byron's
Poetical Works.
B2. The Complete
Poetical Works (1980-93), 7
vols., ed. Jerome J. McGann
a. Clarendon Press,
1980-93. Oxford
B3. Oxford
World’s Classics (1986, 2000), ed. Jerome J. McGann
a.
Byron, 1986.
b.
The Major Works,
2000. Some revisions. Texts from B2.
c. Notes. This edition must not be confused
with Selected
Poetry (1994), also edited by J. J. McGann and also published in the Oxford
World’s Classics. This is a very short selection (some 200 pages, excluding the
notes) that contains but one – one! – complete work (The Giaour), a hotchpotch of selections from DJ, CH, TC, L, C, B, Man,
and a few short poems. Avoid this edition, no matter at what price it is
offered to you!
d. Contents: complete DJ, CH, TG, C, B, VJ, Man, Maz; selections from EBSR, TC, L; shorter
works: A Fragment (‘When, to their airy hall, my fathers’ voice’) / The
Farewell to a Lady (‘When man expell’d from Eden’s bowers’ / Lines to Mr
Hodgson / Maid of Athens, ere we part / Written Beneath a Picture / To Thyrza
(‘One struggle more, and I am free’) / Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte / Stanzas for
Music (‘I speak not – I trace not – I breathe not thy name’) / She walks in
beauty / Stanzas for Music (‘There’s not a joy the world can give’) / When We
Two Parted / Fare Thee Well! / A Fragment (‘Could I remount the river of my
years’) / Prometheus / Stanzas to Augusta / Epistle to Augusta / Darkness / So,
We’ll Go No More A Roving / Epistle to Mr Murray / To the Po / Stanzas (‘Could
Love for ever’) / Stanzas (‘When a man hath no freedom to fight for at home’) /
Thoughts on Freedom / On This Day I Complete My Thirty-Sixth Year; +
short selection of prose from letters and journals.
B4. Penguin Classics (1996, 2005), eds. Susan J. Wolfson
& Peter J. Manning
a.
Selected Poems, 1996. Preface
and Notes.
c. Contents: complete CH, TG, BA, TC, L, SC, PC, B,
TB, VJ, Man, Maz, S; shorter works:
A Fragment (‘When, to their airy hall, my fathers’ voice’) / To Woman / To
Cornelian / To Caroline (‘You say love, and yet your eye’) / Lines to Mr
Hodgson (Written on Board the Lisbon Packet) / Maid of Athens, ere we part /
Written after Swimming from Sestos to Abydos / To Thyrza (‘Without a stone to
mark the spot’) / An Ode to the Framers of the Frame Bill / Lines to a Lady
Weeping / The Waltz / Remember Thee! Remember Thee! / Ode to Napoleon
Buonaparte / Stanzas for Music / She walks in beauty / The Destruction of
Sennacherib / Napoleon’s Farewell (From the French) / From the French (‘Must
thou go, my glorious Chief’) / When we two parted / Fare thee well! / Prometheus
/ Darkness / Epistle to Augusta / Lines (On Hearing that Lady Byron was Ill) /
So, we’ll go no more a roving/ Epistle from Mr Murray to Dr Polidori (‘Dear
Doctor, I have read your play’) / Epistle to Mr Murray (‘My dear Mr Murray’) /
Stanzas to the Po / The Isles of Greece / Francesca of Rimini (from Dante, Inferno, V) / Stanzas (‘When a man hath
no freedom’) / Who kill’d John Keats? / On This Day I Complete My Thirty-Sixth
Year.
a.
Selected Poetry of
Lord Byron. Introduction by Thomas M. Disch. Notes by Jeffery Vail.
b. Contents: complete CH, EBSR, VJ, G, TPC, B, Man; excerpts from DJ, BA, TC; + a generous selection of shorter
poems.
a. The Works of Lord Byron, 1995. Introduction and
Bibliography, apparently not by Paul Wright.
b. Selected Poetry of Lord Byron, 2006. Introductions
and Notes to all works or groups of works.
c. Contents: complete DJ, G, TC, EBSR, VJ; selections from CH; shorter works: To
Caroline (1, 2, 3) / Lachin Y Gair / Darkness / To Thyrza / The Cornelian /
When We Two Parted / Written After Swimming from Sestos to Abydos / On this Day
I Complete My Thirty Sixth Year.
- PROSE
C1. The Works of Lord
Byron: Letters and Journals
(1898–1901), 6 vols., ed. R. E. Prothero
a.
John Murray,
1898-1901. A new, revised and enlarged edition, with illustrations. Second
Impression, 1902.
b.
Notes. Something like supplement to B1; sometimes regarded as vols. 8 to
13.
C2. Byron’s Letters
and Journals (1975-82), 12
vols., ed. Leslie Marchand
a.
Belknap Press, 1975-82.
C3. The Complete Miscellaneous Prose
(1991), ed. Andrew Nicholson
a. Clarendon Press,
1991. Oxford
[1] Mr Coleridge twice mentions 38 pieces (I,
xi), but in his Bibliography (VII, 247-8), from which these contents are
copied, he gives 40 distinct titles.
[2] Comparison of the contents in Mr
Coleridge’s Bibliography (VII, 246-8) revealed only 11 additional poems, plus
various other discrepancies in the titles and the number of the poems. Without
full copies of A1 and A2, these issues cannot be solved
conclusively. In the ToC of vol. 1, he also gives 11 poems after the heading Poems on Various Occasions.
[3] Copy of the 1st edn. of Hours of Idleness is available online.
Comparison shows that only the number of newly published poems is the same as
Mr Coleridge’s (I, xii). This is to be expected considering the confusion with
the contents of earlier editions (note 2). There is an 1820 edn.
with somewhat different contents, but it doesn’t fit Mr Coleridge’s
description, either.
[4] Mr Coleridge mentions (VII, 183; II, xii)
only nine poems added to the Seventh edition. But a copy from Internet
Archive shows 14 additional poems.
[5] L'univers est une espèce de livre, dont
on n'a lu que la première page quand on n'a vu que son pays. J'en ai feuilleté
un assez grand nombre, que j'ai trouvé également mauvaises. Cet examen ne m'a
point été infructueux. Je haïssais ma patrie. Toutes les impertinences des
peuples divers, parmi lesquels j'ai vécu, m'ont reconcilié avec elle. Quand je
n'aurais tiré d'autre bénéfice de mes voyages que celui-là, je n'en
regretterais ni les frais ni les fatigues.
[6] Mr Coleridge is slightly inconsistent as
regards the publication date of the 5th edn. He mentions once 4 May
(IV, 158) and once 30 May 1818 (VII, 171).
[7] Mr Coleridge is slightly inconsistent as
regards the publication date of the 1st edn. He mentions once 19 Dec
(V, 203) and once 21 Dec 1821 (VII, 176).
[8] Mr Coleridge must be wrong here. The work
is one of Byron’s least known and it was reviewed unfavourably at its first
appearance. It is extremely unlikely that the third edition appeared two days
(!) after the first as claimed by Mr Coleridge (V, 472). In his Bibliography
(VII, 208) he merely states: “A Second and Third Editions, identical with the
First, were issued in 1824”
