Rousing Sardanapalus: Byron's Dionysian Poetics

Rethinking the Romantic revitalization of the furor poeticus from the perspective of Nietzsche's Dionysian aesthetics, I examine Byron's Dionysianism, focusing on Sardanapalus (1821). The play challenges imperialist expansionism and militaristic hero-worship, releasing the multiple drives interior to poetic language itself. Investigating the archaic iconography of Dionysus Sardanapale and interrogating the multiple meanings of "rouse," I argue that the Assyrian king embodies Dionysian poetics through his unique blend of revelry, pacifism, and "effeminacy," upending the logic of power and militarism. Sardanapalus's apparently "mad," fiery ending, exemplifying a Nietzschean affirmation, spurs on Byron's political commitment to the freedom movement.