During the early 19th century, Europe was at the height of the Romantic movement, and nobody represented Romanticism like Lord Byron, the poet whose works were nearly as colorful and epic as his personal life.

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage is a long poem about a traveling young man who journeys across the world to combat his disillusionment with his own society. Since the title character is a "childe", it means he was a noble who forgoes his destiny back home for the exciting unknown. It's also eerily similar to Lord Byron's own life story, of a man who traveled across Europe to take part in other nations' wars.