From Praise to Disparagement: Byron's Critical Reception

Lord Byron has been in his time, and still is one of the most notorious writers in English literature. Therefore, criticism on his oeuvre has fluctuated from praise to disparagement beginning with his contemporaries and continuing up to the present day critical thought. This paper devoted on Byron’s canon will focus on several aims. Firstly, it intends to present the most significant critical approaches of Byron’s works from the time Byron lived and created. Secondly, it aims to focus on those critics who have specifically examined Byron’s The Giaour and have contributed to the knowledge of this Oriental tale. Further on, it will examine literary criticism that has made a significant advancement or a change in the treatment of Byron’s Oriental heroes, especially in The Giaour and the other Oriental tales, focusing on the inclusion of supernatural or vampiric elements. Finally, it seeks to present different critical trends in a chronological manner so as to note the general development of approaches towards Byron’s canon, commencing from the critical response to Byron’s work by his contemporaries, then enfolding the attitudes of the Victorian critic, followed by the most distinguished critics of the twentieth century. The paper involves diverse perspectives and trends of the previous century, such as Marxism, feminism, gender studies and other, and evaluates their contribution to the critical estimation of Byron’s poetry. It particularly focuses on the impact of Byron’s poetry and persona on the creation and development of the Byronic Hero, while pointing to the evident Gothic strand which combined with his charismatic character fashioned a line of literary vampires