A Study Of Byron’s Writing Of Cultural Anxiety In Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage

Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage is a long narrative poem written by George Gordon Byron and mainly records his experience of two visits to the European continent.As is known to all that the poem received much attention and made Byron famous since its publication,many scholars have approached Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage from diverse perspectives.However,few scholars have noticed Byron’s writing about the cultures of different countries in the poem,especially his anxiety about these different cultures.Therefore,it is very necessary to study Byron’s writing of cultural anxiety in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage.This thesis consists of seven parts,including the introduction,five main chapters,and the conclusion.The introduction gives a general description of Byron’s life and Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage and provides a detailed and comprehensive literature review of the poem both abroad and at home.Besides,it also provides the concepts of culture and anxiety,and puts forward the central argument,research method,and research significance of this thesis.Chapter One explores the impacts of the different cultures in Byron’s age and discusses Byron’s anxiety about the British culture.Chapter Two analyzes Byron’s writing of anxiety about the Greek culture,including the worry about the decline of the Greek culture and the lamenting over its incapability of revival.Chapter Three further explores Byron’s writing of anxiety about the Italian culture,including his appreciation of the Italian culture and worry about the Italian culture’s fragility.Chapter Four focuses on Byron’s writing of anxiety about the Oriental culture by analyzing the fear of destructiveness of Oriental culture and the necessity of absorbing the Oriental virtues.Chapter Five mainly studies Byron’s cosmopolitanism in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage,especially the relationship between Byron’s cultural cosmopolitanism and his writing of anxiety about different cultures.The conclusion summarizes the central idea and significant findings of the thesis and tries to point out that Byron is anxious about the cultures of different countries and writes his cultural anxiety from cosmopolitanism in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage.