Lord Byron's Poems Lesson Plan

What is the psychological portrait Byron constructs of Bonivard's imprisonment?

Students should hone in on specific linguistic decisions which contribute to a portrait of Bonivard's psychological state. For instance, repeated words and caesuras appear frequently, the latter contributing to a stream of consciousness effect. In addition to frequently using words like "free" and "dead/died," Byron subtly breaks meter to emphasize "I" and "Lone" in the following passages:

I only stirr'd in this black spot

I only lived – I only drew

The accursed breath of dungeon dew (Stanza 8)

And

Lone – as the corse within its shroud,

Lone - as a solitary cloud (Stanza 10)

In stanza 13, when...