34 The Rice Institute Pamphlet
the great Italian poet and artists. The nationalism of these
men interested him most, and he found his own theme of
liberty in the poetry of each.
Italy will, in the end, honor the name of the great poet
who thus prophesies her future, and the vengeance of his
verse will outlive all the pride and wealth that Florence and
Italy hold dear. It shall also outlive the worst of all evils, the
sway of petty tyrants in a state. The second canto ends on
the theme of the poem and explains how Italy might gain
her freedom:
Wbat is there wanting then to set thee free,
And show thy beauty to the fullest light?
To make the Alps impassable; and we
Her sons may do this with one deed—unite!21
The consistency in Byron’s social doctrine is exemplified in
his dramas as well as in his poetry. On April 9,1820, he wrote
to Murray that he had begun work on Marino Faliero, Doge
of Venice. The drama was completed in July, 1820, and pub-
lished with The Prophecy of Dante the following year. He
found the story in Marin Sanuto’s Lives of the Doges.
The plot is motivated by the action of Michele Steno, who,
having been affronted by the Doge, wrote on the chair of
state an offensive lampoon on Marino and his wife. The man
was tried and given a sentence which Marino felt was in-
adequate. Discontented with this action and with his lot in
general, the Doge entered into a conspiracy with a group
of men who wanted to overthrow the Venetian Constitution
and the rule of the governing body, called the Council of
Ten, which they felt was oppressive and tyrannical. They set
up Marino Fafiero as their sovereign. The plot was discov-
ered, the Consphators captured, and the Doge executed.
Although the tragedy was not completed until 1820, it was
on Byron’s mind a long time before that date. In the preface