Pathos and Pathology in the Life of Lord Byron

George Gordon Byron died of blackwater fever in his 37th year in the mosquito infested marshes of Missolonghi, having written with great premonition three weeks previously his last poem. Byron had believed all his life that he would die in his 37th year and was very conscious of the family background he had inherited. His great-grandfather had been a bad tempered gentleman dubbed "the wicked Lord". His grandfather though an Admiral of some distinction had been nicknamed "Foulweather Jack" by his crew, while his own father carried the appelation of the "mad lord". Byron was born lame and without a title in an impecunuous household. His mother kept on talking about his lameness and was insenstitive about it; even on one occasion calling her son a "lame brat". This had marked the boy and throughout his life he strove to conceal his infirmity. As a result the nature of his lameness became the subject of much discussion after his death, and much speculation surrounds it to this very day.