English Bards and Scotch Reviewers

First edition title page

English Bards and Scotch Reviewers is a satirical poem written by Lord Byron. It was first published, anonymously, in March 1809, and a second, expanded edition followed in 1809, with Byron identified as the author. The opening parodies the first satire of Juvenal.

The text is referred to in Tom Stoppard's play Arcadia. It is also referenced in John Edward Williams' novel Stoner, in which it is mistaken by an incompetent graduate student as John Keats' work.

Byron published his first book of poetry, Hours of Idleness in 1807. It received a brutal, scathing review by Henry Brougham, published anonymously in the Edinburgh Review. That review is a classic of humiliating criticism, often published with Byron's works. Destructive as it seemed, it was probably the making of Byron's career. That first work was juvenile and not particularly distinguished.

Byron reacted to the review with this poem. Though he incorrectly attributed the criticism to Jeffrey, his fury stimulated him to write it with a passion and with such care that made him a first rate poet; and those characteristics never left him.

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