The Byron Journal

Abstract

This article examines the handwritten notes Byron scribbled in 1816 in a copy of the fourth edition of his 1809 poem English Bards and Scotch Reviewers. It argues that these notes shed new light on both Byron's composition practice and the complex interplay the poet creates between fixed and unstable versions of his authorial identity. It also claims that the notes highlight the need for scholars to establish a more sensitive understanding of Romantic-period textual practices.