Bloomsbury Poetry Classics are selections from the work of some of our greatest poets. The series is aimed at the general reader rather than the specialist and carries no critical or explanatory apparatus. This can be found elsewhere. In the series the poems introduce themselves, on an uncluttered page and in a format that is both attractive and convenient. The selections have been made by the distinguished poet, critic and biographer Ian Hamilton. George Gordon Byron was born in 1788 in London. He was educated at Cambridge University and then travelled widely in Europe. On his return he wrote The Bride of Abydos and The Giaour. The real value of his poetry lies in his evocation of past civilizations. He die in 1863.