The Siege of Corinth (Annotated)

The Siege of Corinth is a rhymed, tragic narrative poem by Lord Byron. Published in 1816, it was inspired by the Ottoman massacre of the Venetian garrison holding the Acrocorinth - an incident in the Ottoman conquest of Morea during the Ottoman-Venetian Wars. Byron recounts the final, desperate resistance of the Venetians on the day the Ottoman army stormed Acrocorinth: revealing the closing scenes of the conflict through the eyes of Alp (a Venetian renegade fighting for the Ottomans) and Francesca (the beautiful maiden daughter of the governor of the Venetian garrison: Minotti). Alp - whose impassioned suit for Francesca's hand had been previously refused by Minotti - had later fled the Venetian Empire after being falsely denounced by anonymous accusers via the infamous "Lion's Mouth" at the Doge's palace (see insert). Enlisting under the Turkish flag, he repudiates both his nationality and his religion, as well as his old name 'Lanciotto', only to be challenged by Francesca herself the night before the final assault to repent his apostasy, to forgive his accusers, and to save the Venetian garrison from certain slaughter. Alp's ensuing moral dilemma: viz. to forgive those who unjustly accused him and save the lives of his enemies; or to prosecute his revenge on Venice using all the Turkish forces under his command - forms the climax of the unfolding drama as the battle between the Ottomans and the Venetians presses to its conclusion.