Lord Byron’s Sour Fruit

Abstract

An awareness of Byron’s multifaceted sexual identity is gradually emerging, and is no longer restricted to a few academic publications. It has not been easy to arrive at this, partly because Byron himself preferred to keep these experiences to himself, sharing them only with those few friends who were similarly inclined. Besides the importance of women in his life, Byron was strongly attracted to boys, especially those around the age of fifteen, who are referred to in Don Juan as ‘sour fruits’. He had several same-sex experiences in England, through the circle around him and specifically Charles Skinner Matthews, as well as during his Grand Tour. Owing to the revelation of these previously concealed biographical details, different readings of Byron’s literary work have been flourishing in recent years. Thus, numerous allusions to Byron’s hidden life or, rather, to his complex sexual life, which included adultery and incest as well homosexuality, have been gradually brought to light. These references were often purged from the published editions, as a result of the author’s decisions, or conveyed through particular codes, which could be interpreted only by a few people. The poems for John Edleston and Lukas Chalandritsanos, though, now reveal their true content without difficulties.