Blogging for Byron- Bleck.

Sorry Mike, but we as a group have decided that Byron is not our cup of tea. I understand that he had some amazing works of literature and was popular in his day as well as finding a place in the present. Since we have read his poems for this class, we have seen Byron quotes all over- on a pub window in London, "What's drinking? A mere pause from thinking," on the floor stones of Westminster Abbey (he had a white stone in contrast to all those around him because apparently people love him so much they go stroke and lay on the stone!!?!), on magnets at Shakespeare's birthplace house in Stratford Upon Avon, and random references elsewhere. Byron has polluted by brain to the point where if I see something narcissistic I think, 'Oh how Byronic.' Simply awful.


I must say that Newstead Abbey was beautiful. I cannot see how Byron could be so bored that he needed to escape to Spain, Portugal, and Greece. There were so many gardens that were immaculately maintained (although I doubt Byron would have had the Japanese Garden) and picturesque ponds with all sorts of wildlife (including a pushy, pesky peacock). I really enjoyed being on the grounds of Newstead. The house itself was dark and gothic. I could see where the house could be depressing- it would have been very cold and with Byron's diminishing (nonexistant) funds, the majority of it would be unfurnished. I enjoyed looking at the satirical comics of Byron- abandoning his wife and child, "spitting game" with the ladies, etc. The rooms had very dark paneling and could have been very lonely. The most redeeming qualities of the Abbey were seeing a document signed by Henry VIII, listening to the woman talk about the Black Monk (creepy story about how Byron saw it his wedding day and knew he shouldn't get married, but did anyway and ended up having a disastrous marriage- and how people still see it today!), and Top Model: Newstead Edition (a.k.a. playing dress ups in Newstead Abbey! According to one of the museum volunteers, it is a recent acquistion to the Abbey).


The gift shop was similar to the Bronte gift shop in that there was a focus on Byron the poet with many little trinkets to take away the concept of the Abbey with you. However, the gift shop also had a lot of modge-podge, throw in whatever we think people will buy, that included recipe books, Beatrix Potter books and stuffed animals (how that fits into Byron I am unsure), bookmarks of other European and American authors, wax-seal kits, and other items. I daresay that it did not leave a lasting impression though, as not one person from our group felt the need to purchase anything.


In comparison to other field sites we have visited, Newstead Abbey had far more "civilized" formal gardens than the wild of Sherwood Forest or the Moors. It is interesting that our whole group liked the wild grounds (Sherwood, Bronteland) signifcantly more than Newstead Abbey and Nottingham castle. There was definitely a submile quality to the formal gardens, but they did not instill visions of wonder and adventure that you could imagine walking through Sherwood Forest. I don't think the lackluster opinion we had on Byron's works helped make the experience any better. I'm sure everyone will be much more excited to visit Baker Street (even though it is in a different kind of wild: London!).