Byron Stuff

I have just been listening to an interesting podcast about Lord Byron, author of "So, we'll go no more a roving" that may interest you.

Please note that though this discussion is about Byron, it is about a very long poem by him titled Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. It is not about "So, we'll go no more a roving". In other words, while this podcast includes a lot of interesting biographical information about the poet, do not expect it to provide "answers" concerning "So, we'll go no more a roving". In particular, please note that unlike Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, "So, we'll go no more a roving" is not written in Spencerian stanzas.

(Now that you know what this is not, here it is.)




On the subject of Byron, you may also be interested to listen to some recordings that are of "So, we'll go no more a roving". You'll notice that all these recordings are in song form and use the words of Byron's poem, but that they are also quite different from each other.


This one is by Gervase Elwes from 1911. That's right, about one hundred years ago, but also about one hundred years after Byron. The video is obviously by someone whose hobby is old recordings.



This is Joan Baez from 1964.



This is Leonard Cohen from 2004.

Which of these recordings do you think is the most effective adaptation of Byron's poem? Why?