The Margins of Genius: Byron, Nationalism and the Periodical Reviews

Abstract

This is a case study of the intricate conflict at the margins of genius and celebrity and the intersection of high and low culture in the Romantic period. The main focus is on accounts of Byron and his relationship with fame and genius in literary periodicals, most prominently Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine and the London Magazine during the period of 1818 to 1824. The main argument of the essay is that the vast amount of attention awarded to the concept of genius, combined with the heightened sense of nationalism in this period, caused critics to view genius as a national property wasted by Byron in his search for celebrity