the reader can enjoy "Francesca of Rimini" as a poem in its own right. The personal touches--the infidelities, if you like--are not slips, but planned insurgencies, and part of the poem's tough vitality. And when Byron risks using feminine endings (surely associated in his mind with comedy and irony) there is pleasure for the ear, as well as a little humour ("the long-sighed-for smile of her"). The concluding lines have a sense of dramatic fatality that is hard to resist. Even the harsh "smote" earns its place by contributing to the rich alliterative music.Francesca of Rimini
from Carol Rumens: The Guardian: Poem of the week: Francesca of Rimini by Lord Byron
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