Childe Harold's Pilgrimage

a narrative poem in four cantos, by Lord Byron. The first two cantos were published in 1812, the third in 1816, and the last in 1818. The third canto is the best. The poem is autobiographical in style and describes the impressions and reflections of a misanthropical young man traveling through southern Europe. See Byron

"In Childe Harold the scenic background to the somber figure of the pilgrim is Europe itself, brought before us with a sympathetic breadth and truth unmatched in the history of the literature."