Marino Faliero

Byron wrote this blank verse tragedy about the 14th-century doge of Venice who tried to undermine the constitution of his city-state. Like Byron’s other works in dramatic form, this was intended to be read rather than staged. Unlike his other such works, this one was actually staged during his lifetime. Despite a lawsuit filed by Byron to stop the performance, a production took the stage in London in April 1821, the month that the poem was published.