The Politics and Poetry of Byron's Romantic Hellenism: Fragmentation as a Discursive Strategy in The Giaour
2016
Abstract
The Giaour differs from fragments by other Romantics, since it testifies to the transitoriness of political, cultural and aesthetic values by thematizing the temporality of language and randomness of signification. From discussing the temporality of The Giaour and other fragments and its relation to historical time and events, the chapter proceeds to fragmentation as the technique of critical reflection of political stances and ideologies, traditional oral and literary forms (folklore narrative and classical epic) and epic heroism, as the key feature of Byron's Romantic Hellenism.