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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. ROMANTICISM AT ITS BESTBy Claudia EtheridgeWhen preparing the review; I could not help noting that the book itself is unusual. The front page shows the portrait of Lord Byron by a romantic painter; with the title - MANFRED (rather than ldquo;Manfred: A Dramatic Poemldquo;; as described by the author ) by LORD BYRON - in rather small capitals. The name of the publisher; FIRST RATE PUBLISHERS; appears in much larger types in a separate white space; on the bottom of the page. The title page is very understated; again a very small ldquo;Manfred By: Lord Byronldquo;; printed on two lines on the top middle of an otherwise blank page. There is no copyright page. A two and a half lines ldquo;Introductionrdquo; is on the next page; giving the essentials on the author and the book. There is then a third page with the table of contents; Introduction; Act I; Scene I; Act I; Scene IIhellip;..; etc. There are no critical; literary or other comments prior to the actual work; only the text itself; which I have estimated to be around 50 pages long. You guessed it; there are no page numbers. The EAN code is on the very last page; along with the publisherrsquo;s address; San Bernardingo; CA and the date of publication; 08 June 2015. The ISBN number and a different EAN code are on the bottom of the back cover; which is otherwise all white.MANFRED - a typically Romantic work - is constructed as a play; as it consists of three acts and ten scenes; with the story developing both inside Manfredrsquo;s castle and outside among the mountainous regions of the Swiss Alps. Yet very seldom has Byronrsquo;s Manfred been presented to the public as such during the 20th century; mostly due to the technical difficulties in reproducing on a theater stage some of the spectacular views of the Alps. For such reason; the work is more often read than acted; and is considered to be a poem; rather than a play; even though Lord Byron himself described it as ldquo;a metaphysical dramardquo;.Manfred is a young nobleman from England; who moved to his castle in the Swiss Alps in order to forget the intense feelings of guilt caused by his association with Astarte; a woman whom he apparently loved very deeply and who is dead at the time of the story. To do so; he summons the seven spirits who rule the various components of the physical world - air; earth; water; heath/fire; weather; darkness; and the prime mover (or Destiny itself). Unfortunately; because the spirits cannot control past events; Manfred is unsuccessful in his effort to put the past behind and remains alone with his guilt.He decides to commit suicide.Destiny prevents him from doing so for a certain amount of time. Resisting the pressure from the local abbot; as well as from the various metaphysical powers that surround him; he does die eventually; after uttering the memorable last words : "Old man! tis not so difficult to die"; in the presence of the abbot; powerless in his effort to help.Who is Astarte and why is Manfred so ravaged by guilt? Is she the ancient goddess from the Middle East whom he should not have dared to love? Is she a real person? Is she his half sister? Manfredrsquo;s description of her in Scene II of Act II - ldquo;She was like me in lineaments; her eyes; her hair; her features; all to the very tone even of her voice; they said were like mine.ldquo; - would confirm the last assumption; thus justifying Manfredrsquo;s guilt. As a matter of fact; the last assumption is the most common: Astarte is Lord Byronrsquo;s half sister; with whom it was rumored that he had an illicit relationship; and Manfred is an autobiographical work.But then again; like with most works of art; Manfred is much more than that. Manfred is a myth; very possibly the most universal myth of all; love itself; along with its elusive nature. And Astarte is a dream; a phantom who briefly appears in Manfredrsquo;s life out of nothing - the way she does in Scene IV of Act II - remains for a short while; then disappears as quickly as she appeared; without answering any of Manfredrsquo;s questions. ldquo;Am I forgiven?rdquo; hellip;hellip; ldquo;Shall we meet again?ldquo;hellip;. ldquo;. And the final desperate plead: ldquo;One word for mercy! Say; thou lovest me.rdquo;Never fully appreciated as a poem; Manfred has inspired several composers; among them Tchaikovsky who wrote the ldquo;Manfred Symphonyldquo;; expressing comparable feelings of guilt; and Schumann who composed a work of incidental music titledldquo;Manfred: Dramatic Poem with Music in Three Partsldquo; - the music consisting of the well known Manfred overture; and of two more movements.Friedrich Nietzsche also drew inspiration from the poem. Although not generally known as a composer; he wrote a number of musical compositions; among them the ldquo;Manfred Meditationrdquo; depicting Manfred as a super-human being.If properly filmed and acted; in the Swiss Alps themselves; with the emphasis on the dramatic contrast between the guilt feelings that bring the protagonist to an early death and the indifferent spectacular beauty of the background; Lord Byronrsquo;s Manfred would probably make an incredibly beautiful movie.Four stars. I have taken off one star because of the book itself. It should at least have had page numbers.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. This particular work of Byrons is an excellent example of the late Romantic era fascination with mysticism ...By Matt93.This particular work of Byrons is an excellent example of the late Romantic era fascination with mysticism and the influence of the Bohemian lifestyle. Ol Clubfoot did this one right!I would recommend a night of Absinthe; William Blakes "The Book of Thel;" and then a reading of "Manfred." I might also recommend a black drop or two for maximum effect.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. BeautifulBy Kindle CustomerI absolutely loved it. Very beautifully written. Lord Byron shows himself in Manfred. Roman emperors; Greek mythology; and religious places are all mentioned to help the play along. It makes you think. Really amazing.