"Darkness" is a poem written by Lord Byron in July 1816 on the theme of an apocalyptic end of the world which was published as part of the 1816 The Prisoner of Chillon collection.
The year 1816 is today known as the Year Without a Summer, because Mount Tambora had erupted in the Dutch East Indies the previous year, casting enough sulphur into the atmosphere to reduce global temperatures and cause abnormal weather across much of north-east America and northern Europe. This pall of darkness possibly inspired Byron to write his poem.
"Darkness" is widely regarded as the first major "Last Man" story written originally in English. It established the post-apocalypse paradigm of a solitary surviving narrator who chronicles the extinction of mankind on the earth. The poem influenced later apocalyptic literature and science fiction, establishing the "Last Man" trope or subgenre.
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Historical context
Byron's poem was written during the Romantic period. During this period, several events occurred which resembled (to some) the biblical signs of the apocalypse. Many authors at the time saw themselves as prophets with a duty to warn others about their impending doom. However, at the same time period, many were questioning their faith in a loving God, due to recent fossil discoveries revealing records of the deaths of entire species buried in the earth.