Fallen Stars

Lord Byron’s “Ode to Napoleon Bonaparte” makes several allusions to historic and mythical figures that have gone from hero to villain. Byron seems to be calling Napoleon a tragic hero: someone who has fallen from grace and is now conflicted and full of pain. The allusion in the first stanza in particular illustrates this. Byron compares Napoleon to Milton’s Lucifer, who was the fairest of all the angels, the Morning Star, until he rebelled against God. Perhaps Byron feels that Napoleon had been the most suitable person to rein in the violence and chaos of the French Revolution, but overstepped his bounds when he proclaimed himself emperor. Byron’s hopes for a reasonable republic in France were crushed by Napoleon’s drive for power, causing him to lament the man’s lost potential.