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Analyzing Lord Byron's "Epitaph to a Dog" and the Peninsular War.
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Analyzing Lord Byron's "Epitaph to a Dog" and the Peninsular War.
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Lord Byron's poem "Epitaph to a Dog" is about his beloved dog Oswald, who died from rabies. The poem connects Oswald's death to the Peninsular War and explores themes of grief, societal norms, discrimination, and illness. Byron honors Oswald with a tombstone, highlighting the unique bond between humans and pets. The poem also criticizes society for disregarding the coping mechanisms of war veterans and for not honoring dogs in the same way. Byron's love for Oswald goes beyond societal norms, emphasizing the importance of true friendship and companionship. Howdy, I'm Lauren Ramirez and I will be your host for this episode of Brit Letter, a podcast dedicated to engaging listeners with works of literature from Britain and its colonies. Today I will dive into Epitaph to a Dog by Lord Byron. Lord Byron wrote this enduring piece in remembrance of his beloved dog, Oswald. This work was written in 1808 during the height of the Peninsular War. So for this episode, I will correlate the Peninsular War with Lord Byron's work. According to the National Army Museum, this war between Britain and France was because of Portugal's resistance to obey the continental bloc. This resulted in a total of six years of battles. This denial of following the bloc urged the colony to send French troops over the Pyrenees to ultimately invade the territory. The piece, Epitaph to a Dog, correlates the Peninsular War because of both of the 1808 events in India and the inevitability of death. Despite Byron's efforts to nurse his pet back to health, Oswald's life was cut short due to a rabies infection. For context, Oswald was a Newfoundland breed which typically have an average lifespan of eight to ten years. However, Oswald only had five years of life. Similar to war, rabies can cause an untimely turn of events that can completely offset the trajectory of one's life. Lord Byron, like many dog owners, are aware of the increasingly narrow lifespan of their pets. However, Oswald's abrupt end caused the trajectory of grief for Lord Byron at the young age of only 15. Because of this grief, Lord Byron processes his first and long-term death with intense emotion by giving Oswald a tombstone. It is very unusual to honor a pet like this, typically a gift that is traditional for a human's death. However, to Byron, his pet was a member of his family and surely complements his life just as well as a human's capabilities. Next, the events correlate because of the way society plays a key role in disregarding its victims' coping mechanisms. Humans contain many negative qualities, which war tends to bring out most often, because of the sociological warfare of community standards. Soldiers are often left with PTSD from the ongoing battles, yet society didn't make therapy accessible within 1808. Therefore, society put the challenge on the troops who were left scarred. On the other hand, dogs create such a unique demonstration of unconditional love that ensues qualities like courage, strength, and virtue, according to Byron's epitaph to a dog. Despite possessing such admirable qualities, many owners do not honor their dogs in this manner because of society's standards. Dogs dedicate their lives to their owners, like soldiers to war. Dogs are loyal companions to their owners, yet don't get honored in such a memorable way because society is simply not allowing it. Not to argue that a dog is just an animal, but Lord Byron expresses that a spurned friend is much more and should be honored as such, despite those norms. Additionally, a journal from the Historical Association from the Camden Library database notes that the Portuguese and Lisbon were marked out as dirty, vulgar, and idle in both body and mental faculties. Some soldiers also commented upon skin color. This description of discrimination in the war emphasizes the human nature of categorizing one another based on physical attribution. Lord Byron refuted these social expectations and treated his canine with utter respect. The typical norms of simply discarding a pet's body was ignored by Byron, so he opted to rest in his own thoughts and beliefs, which were to ultimately honor both swans, despite his lack of human characteristics. Next, illness was the final factor I want to recognize for both events. While both swans' lives were cut short due to raping, many soldiers experienced Guadiana fever during the war. This fever created the heaviest loss within the war period, according to Danford's research. Illness and disease is a heavy burden on a patient's loved one. The idea of death must be acknowledged so the loved one's family can create a way of understanding the sudden changes. Unfortunately, Lord Byron didn't have such time when understanding the inevitable loss of both swans. Similar to how soldiers do not expect sudden losses through illness to rain terror on their squadrons. Finally, war contributed to the mentality that a soldier played the role of conserving his country. Jobs mirrored his obedience by serving their owners. Byron presents some valuable takeaways from such a short piece. Although the National Library of Medicine states that oxytocin, often called a love hormone, played a key role in why owners loved their pets so dearly, Byron had a genuine love for his pet, disregarding signs and emphasizing his art. The way Byron kept both swans comfortable in his pet's last days and goes above and beyond for the memorial is not based on oxytocin or signs, but true love for his dear friend. I appreciate examining this piece because Lord Byron acknowledges the immense impact both swans had on his life and allows the reader to dwell on the loss of a significant companion, excluding societal norms of a pet lost. His loss didn't depend on the species, but his best friend. Thank you for listening. I hope you enjoyed it. Bye.
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