After two introductory sessions to the life, myth, and images of Byron in the past two centuries, eight weeks will be devoted to the works that have contributed to the formation of Byron’s unique hero type—the Byronic hero. From Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, through two oriental tales (“The Giaour” and “The Corsair”) to two metaphysical plays (Manfred and Cain). A wide range of relevant issues will be explored, such as history, politics, religion, orientalism, narcissism, incest, and melancholy. Verse tales by other contemporary popular writers (e.g. Thomas Moore or Sir Walter Scott), Shelley’s The Cenci, as well as Freud’s papers on narcissism and melancholia will also be studied for comparison. The final six weeks will be spent on Byron’s two satires—A Vision of Judgement and the first four episodes of Don Juan. Besides foregrounding the witty and humorous aspects of Byron’s personality and poetry, this part of the course will present Byron as a cosmopolitan man who is lively engaged with the world and the time he lives in, by tracing his interest in the social life in Regency England, the raging revolutionary spirits in Italy and Greece, contemporary poetics, and the literary market. Southey’s The Vision of Judgement and Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock” will be examined for their close relevance to these two satires.