Lord Byron (1788-1824)

George Gordon Byron (1788-1824) was an English Romantic poet. Despite his literary celebrity, Byron is not a major figure on the GRE. He's as famous for his tumultuous lifestyle--and for his namesake brooding "Byronic hero"--as he is for his poetry. He died of a fever while fighting for (oddly enough) Greek independence from the Ottomans.

For the GRE Literature exam, associate the following with Byron.

1. "She Walks in Beauty"

2. Manfred (dramatic poem)
-Part of a ghost story craze; based on the Faust legend

3. Childe Harold's Pilgrimages (narrative poem)
-about masculinity; protagonist is typical Byronic hero
-four of the cantos are written in Spenserian stanzas

4. Don Juan (narrative poem)
-identifiable by its distinctive rhyme scheme: ab ab ab cc (link)

Byron is not worth adding to your GRE Literature reading list.