Lord Byron visited the Castle of Chillon on Lake Geneva in Switzerland in 1816 and was intrigued by the legend of Francis Bonnivard who was said to have been imprisoned there in medieval times. The title poem of this collection was written in response to that visit.
Originally published in 1816 this collection was extended after Byron's death. The final poem was written on his 36th birthday, just 3 months before he died. - Summary by Alan Mapstone
Originally published in 1816 this collection was extended after Byron's death. The final poem was written on his 36th birthday, just 3 months before he died. - Summary by Alan Mapstone
LibriVox recordings are public domain in the United States; copyright status may differ elsewhere.
Chapters
- Chapter 1
The Prisoner of Chillon
25:32 - Chapter 2
Sonnet on Chillon
01:34 - Chapter 3
Fare Thee Well
05:12 - Chapter 4
She Walks in Beauty
01:10 - Chapter 5
The Destruction of Sennacherib
01:51 - Chapter 6
Jephthah's Daughter
01:23 - Chapter 7
On a Distant View of the Village and School of Harrow on the Hill
02:59 - Chapter 8
Maid of Athens, ere we part
01:32 - Chapter 9
Stanzas to Augusta
04:19 - Chapter 10
Epistle to Augusta
10:20 - Chapter 11
When we two parted
01:44 - Chapter 12
Stanzas for Music
03:34 - Chapter 13
The Dream
11:08 - Chapter 14
To Thomas Moore
00:56 - Chapter 15
So, we'll go no more a-roving
00:49 - Chapter 16
On the Bust of Helen by Canova
00:43 - Chapter 17
A very mournful ballad on the Siege and Conquest of Alhama
07:17 - Chapter 18
Stanzas: "Could love for ever"
02:59 - Chapter 19
Darkness
07:00 - Chapter 20
Prometheus
04:06 - Chapter 21
Stanzas written on the road between Florence and Pisa
01:47 - Chapter 22
On this day I complete my thirty-sixth year
03:00