ABSTRACT
Byron, Childe Harold, I-II (1812); Eclectic Review, VIII (June 1812), 630–641. The unknown reviewer shows awareness both of Byron’s earlier poetry and his political career, alluding to the influence of his Whig connections as assisting his reputation as a poet (p. 631). This review is a good example of the power of Byron’s poetry to overcome the hostile prejudices of the critics. The Eclectic reviewer does not like Byron the better for being a lord or a Whig or anti-religious, but by page 634, he reveals clearly that he is under the spell of Childe Harold.
