Essay Questions

Using Lord Byron’s “Written after Swimming from Sestos to Abydos”, compare and contrast Death Instinct to Life Instinct.

The Life Instinct induces Lord Byron’s swimming who resolves to swim when the weather conditions are propitious; thus they cannot imperil his life. Lord Byron’s life Instinct guides him to make a non-risky option that will help him preserve his life by the end of the swimming. Comparatively, the Death Instinct governs Leander’s swimming. Leander swims when the weather is adverse as it is the winter season, and the strong tides and storms are inevitable. Leander indulges in the precarious endeavor, which is attributed to the Death Instinct, which culminates in his drowning.

How does Lord Byron employ intertextuality in “Written after Swimming from Sestos to Abydos”? What is the effect of the Intertextuality?

Lord Byron employs intertextuality by alluding to the Mythology of Leander and Hero. Lord Byron compares and contrasts his story with the myth, and plays a part in shaping the poem. Through the comparison and contrast, Lord Byron denotes that his swimming is not imaginary; it is real. The contrast reinforces Lord Byron’s achievement in swimming which is not trouble free in view of Leander, whom Lord Byron delineates as a connoisseur of swimming, perished the course of swimming.

How does Satire develop the key theme in “Written after Swimming from Sestos to Abydos”?

Satire manifests in the line: “According to the doubtful story”. This line casts doubt on the truthfulness of Leander and Hero’s story. Through the satire, Lord Byron makes the reader aware that the myth could have fictional. In other words, “Written after Swimming from Sestos to Abydos” is a parody of Leander and Hero myth which particularizes the correlation between poetry and mythology or the how mythology can prompt poems.