Which poet, known for his "Lyrical Ballads" with William Wordsworth, also penned the novella "The Vampyre" (1819), popularizing the vampire figure in literature?
ASamuel Taylor Coleridge
BLord Byron
CPercy Bysshe Shelley
DJohn Keats
Answer:
B. Lord Byron
Read Explanation:
Lord Byron's Literary Contributions and Influence
- A Romantic Era Icon: Lord Byron (George Gordon Byron) was a leading figure of the Romantic movement in English literature, known for his passionate, often melancholic, and rebellious poetry.
- Collaborative Masterpiece: He co-authored Lyrical Ballads (1798) with his close friend and fellow Romantic poet, William Wordsworth. This collection is considered a seminal work that defined the Romantic sensibility in poetry.
- Pioneering Gothic Fiction: Byron's name is famously, though indirectly, associated with the creation of the modern vampire figure through his novella The Vampyre, published in 1819.
- The Genesis of The Vampyre: While attributed to Byron, The Vampyre was actually written by his physician, John Polidori. Polidori was inspired by a ghost story competition at Lake Geneva in 1816, where Byron, Wordsworth, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Mary Shelley were present. Byron had started a story featuring a vampire, which influenced Polidori's work.
- Popularizing the Vampire: Polidori's novella, initially misattributed to Byron, became immensely popular and established many of the tropes associated with vampires in subsequent literature and folklore, including the aristocratic, seductive, and predatory vampire.
- Byron's Other Notable Works: Beyond his association with Lyrical Ballads and The Vampyre, Byron is celebrated for epic narrative poems like Childe Harold's Pilgrimage and Don Juan, which explored themes of adventure, disillusionment, and social critique.
- Impact on Literature: Byron's life and works, characterized by scandal, wit, and profound emotion, had a significant impact on subsequent generations of writers and continue to be studied for their literary merit and historical context.