Yesterday we went to the castle of Chillon where Byron got the inspiration to write The Prisoner of Chillon, a poem about Bonivard who was locked in Chillon for six years. Unexpectedly, it was raining yesterday, which we found irritating at first; however, it helped to lend an eerie mood to the dungeons where so many were tortured and executed for real and imaginary crimes. It has seen true criminals, along with accused witches and heretics. It served as a place of execution to the Jews during the Bubonic plague and a place for those such as Bonivard who simply irritated the wrong person in power.
In the poem, Bonivard and two of h
is brothers, both of them younger than him, are chained to separate pillars, unable to move or to see each other. The only way they are keeping hope is by telling each other stories, though even these eventually run out, leaving them in a sense of hopelessness. As a result, Bonivard's brothers both die leaving Bonivard with no family left in the world and no care for life. On an upside, in an attempt to get to his dying brother he managed to break his chains, leaving him with the freedom to move around. Pacing his prison, he left a path in the floor. Visiting the dungeons, I saw the seven pillars, but I did not see any path he had worn. There was, however, Byron's signature on one of the columns.
is brothers, both of them younger than him, are chained to separate pillars, unable to move or to see each other. The only way they are keeping hope is by telling each other stories, though even these eventually run out, leaving them in a sense of hopelessness. As a result, Bonivard's brothers both die leaving Bonivard with no family left in the world and no care for life. On an upside, in an attempt to get to his dying brother he managed to break his chains, leaving him with the freedom to move around. Pacing his prison, he left a path in the floor. Visiting the dungeons, I saw the seven pillars, but I did not see any path he had worn. There was, however, Byron's signature on one of the columns. What I most liked about the poem was the last stanza, where Bonivard is rescued. I don't like it because he is rescued; I like it because he no longer wants to be. He has been in this place for so long that he is comfortable here (though not literally...The entire place is stone, and it isn't smooth stone.) He says in the poem, "half I felt as they were come/ to tear me from a second home." It says a lot about the human mind that even a dungeon like that in Chillon can become something of a home when one is there long enough. The place is extremely gloomy and depressing, but in a way beautiful. It is of stone, and thus unlikely to change willingly. When everything is going wrong, a sense of constancy can be wonderful. The dungeon Bonivard lived in, and the mountains he stared at are both something seemingly unchanging which may have been a comfort.
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