The mock epic poem Don Juan is considered by many scholars to be Lord Byron's greatest work. What are your thoughts as to the literary worth of the first two cantos that we have read? Are they good poetry?
I haven't read any of Byron's other works, and so i cannot judge whether or not Don Juan is his greatest work. But after reading the first two cantos, I can tell that it is really a masterpiece. The language is so rich- it is full of diverse allusions and refernces, which reveal Byron's well-rounded intellectual background. In my opinion, Byron chose to write in simple, straight-forward language that flows easily to keep to readers interested and captivated by the story, despite its length. I thought that he was able to establish a laudable mock-epic by using satyr, which was good-natured at times and cuastic at others, and through the characters. For, contrary to typical "epic heroes", Don Juan is naive and lacks the physical strength. Byron uses this poem as an outlet for expressing his feelings towards certain individauls and aristocratic groups of people. However, his humourous sarcasm makes the poem light and enjoyable rather than offensive. All in all, i think that this poem is worthy of all the praise and recognition it has acquired.
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3 comments:
I agree with all that you have written and I admire how you stressed on poem's satirical nature. I find that it is Byron's poke-fun-at nature that makes this poem so great. He mocks not only the ideas of romanticism but the writers behind this idea. He also mocks certain aristocratic behaviors and ways of life. You also mentioned how he uses an epic style of poetry, which also adds to the satirical aspect of the poem.
I very much agree with you Dima. I liked how you mentioned the humorous and satirical nature of the poem, Lord Byron's mocking of certain societal rings. Also, it is interesting that you mentioned that Don Juan is not a stereotypical "epic hero", with his many flaws. What is truly interesting about the flawed Don Juan, is that Byron chose to use a naive and physically weak character to portray his personal views on the world, suggesting the frailty and flaws of humanity perhaps?
Did you have to use the technique of suspension of disbelief while reading Don Juan? Did you notice the subtle jibes at human nature while reading the the first Canto? I deduced from your commentary that those features of Byron's epic were what you enjoyed most about reading it. However, I do not fully agree that 'Don Juan' is worthy of all the praise and acclaim it got.
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