Byron's Habits. (April 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Shears, Jonathon
• Is Part Of: Keats-Shelley review. Volume 28:Number 1(2014)
• Page Start: 25
• Page End: 36
• Publication Date: 2014-04
• Subjects: English poetry -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Romanticism -- England -- Periodicals; Periodicals; Periodicals; 821.709
• DOI: 10.1179/0952414214Z.00000000040
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0952-4142

Abstract

<abstract> <title> <x content-type="archive" xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p>This article considers Byron's accounts of his habitual behaviour and the observations of his habits by others within the context of the philosophy of habitus deriving from the likes of Aquinas, William James, and Pierre Bourdieu. It argues that, even at his most spontaneous, Byron's actions demonstrate a type of internalized necessity that, once identified, reveals hitherto concealed patterns. Attending to the subject of habits, the essay attests, allows us to revisit episodes of Byron's life — such as his vacillation over whether to return to England or journey on to the Middle East in 1811 — and understand why Byron never seems to be more in control of events than when he appears to relinquish control.</p> </abstract>