Manfred was a 1817 poem by Lord Byron, and is considered by some to be his response to the ghost story craze sweeping through England at the time. Manfred was adapted musically by Robert Schumann in 1852, in a composition entitled , and later by Pyotr Tchaikovsky in his Manfred Symphony, Op. 58.

Characters

• Manfred
• Chamois Hunter
• Abbot of St. Maurice
• Manuel
• Herman
• Witch of the Alps
• Arimanes
• Nemesis
• The Destinies
• The Seven Spirits

Scenes

• ACT I
  • SCENE I: MANFRED alone. -- Scene, a Gothic Gallery. -- Time, Midnight.
  • SCENE II: The Mountain of the Jungfrau. -- Time, Morning.-- MANFRED alone upon the Cliffs.

• ACT II
  • SCENE I: A Cottage amongst the Bernese Alps. MANFRED and the CHAMOIS HUNTER.
  • SCENE II: A lower Valley in the Alps.-- A Cataract.
  • SCENE III: The Summit of the Jungfrau Mountain.
  • SCENE IV: The Hall of ARIMANES.-- ARIMANES on his Throne, a Globe of Fire, surrounded by the SPIRITS.

• ACT III
  • SCENE I: A Hall in the Castle of Manfred.
  • SCENE II: Another Chamber. MANFRED and HERMAN.
  • SCENE III: The Mountains.-- The Castle of MANFRED at some distance.-- A Terrace before a Tower.-- Time, Twilight. HERMAN, MANUEL, and other Dependants of MANFRED.
  • SCENE IV: Interior of the Tower.

External Links

text of poem