Hours of Idleness: A Series of Poems, Original and Translated My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I enjoyed reading Byron’s first book of published poetry, Hours of Idleness. I’d read a few of these items in a collected works edition, but it was nice to see it all together. I simply love reading Byron’s poetry. Even if I don’t always recall the specific work, the joy I feel when reading is such a treat. A purely visceral treat.

A Fragment is one of my favorite early pieces. It was also included in Fugitive Pieces, his very first collection of poetry that was almost completely destroyed after it was printed. I enjoyed The Tear, though it felt a little like teenage angst poetry. Oscar of Alva (p. 37) was a great story of two brothers and a bride. “Thoughts suggested by a College Examination” (p. 103) was very cool and true. Fact memorization vs understanding and knowledge are two very different things. The “Essay on Newstead Abbey” (p. 128) has a note about Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries, which was so timely given that I just read about that in The English Library before 1700. “Stanzas” (p. 156) had great flow and a nice “sadness” about it. I especially liked the 4th stanza.