William Blake was one of the earliest Romantic Period writers. Burns inspired many of the writers during the Romantic Period. His most notable works are “Auld Lang Syne” (1788) and “Tam o’ Shanter” (1791). Although his death in 1796 precedes what many consider the start of Romanticism, his lyricism and sincerity mark him as an early Romantic writer. Robert Burns is considered the pioneer of the Romantic Movement. Although writers of this time did not think of themselves as Romantics, Victorian writers later classified them in this way because of their ability to capture the emotion and tenderness of man. Romanticism was a reaction against this spread of industrialism, as well as a criticism of the aristocratic social and political norms and a call for more attention to nature. After the Agricultural Revolution people moved away from the countryside and farmland and into the cities, where the Industrial Revolution provided jobs and technological innovations, something that would spread to the United States in the 19 th century. Calls for the abolition of slavery became louder during this time, with more writing openly about their objections. There was a lot of social change during this period. The political and economic atmosphere at the time heavily influenced this period, with many writers finding inspiration from the French Revolution.

The Romantic Period began roughly around 1798 and lasted until 1837. Although Byron's mood starts, after this, to grow darker and his bitterness at English hypocrisy to grow sharper, his discursive comedy and precise and intriguing rhyme is rarely better than in Canto V.Special thanks to Eastern's own Catherine Allegretti for writing this introduction!

This was the last Canto published by the stuffy John Murray (who had, however, made a tidy fortune on the earlier parts of the Epic). Unbelievably, Byron's publisher almost baulked at this feast of allusive irony, blasphemy (mild), calumny, scorn, lesse-majeste, cross-dressing, bestiality, assassination, circumcision and dwarf-tossing. Dressed as an odalisque, he is smuggled into the Sultan's harem for a steamy assignation. Juan, captured by Turkish pirates and sold into slavery is bought by a beautiful Princess as her toy-boy.

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