The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 10.1206 Thursday, 1 July 1999.
From: Laura Fargas <
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Date: Wednesday, 30 Jun 1999 08:58:59 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: 10.1088 Re: Tangent to Byron Comment
Comment: Re: SHK 10.1088 Re: Tangent to Byron Comment
> > > Who is this Byron, by the way? I'm doing research on Shakespeare. Is
> > > he/she as good as him?
> >
> >No, he/she is not as good as him/her.
> >
> >Byron was an English Lord who was, probably without warrant, accused of
> >having an incestuous relationship with his sister, probably with warrant
> >regarded as bisexual, and a radical revolutionary. In other words, he
> >was politically correct before it was politically correct to be
> >politically correct.
> >
> >He was also a very great poet, but who the hell cares?
> >
> > Roger Schmeeckle
>
> He was very handsome and wore his ties undone, revealing chestal hair.
> this style became known as the Byronic Tie and was considered quite the
> hoo-hah for his day. he also had a wee clubfoot, something women are
> supposed to like a great deal. it certainly seemed no hindrance to him,
> nor to Dudley Moore.
He was an early British diet maven, dining even at a Duke's table on
boiled potatoes sauced with vinegar. This lead the Duke's daughter to
characterize him as mad, bad, and dangerous to feed. (She later became
completely hysterical and wrote a novel, whereas Byron remained sane and
at large and merely became Europe's fictional proto-vampire.) His
epicurean innovations reputedly extended to oenophilia, as well, since
it was rumored he drank his wine from a skull. His first book of poems
sold out 5,000 copies within a week, which to this day is an uncommon
feat for a poet in the English language. Shakespeare is not rumored
ever to have sold like that. A quick comparison of their portraits will
reveal why: Byron had what became known as the Byronic hairstyle, while
Shakespeare had what became known as male pattern baldness.
Laura Fargas
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