1. 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?
The poem Don Juan is certainly rich in themes and messages, but I find that it is the way he portrays the themes to be masterfully powerful and effective. His use of historical, Biblical and autobiographical allusions not only makes the poem more interesting to read, but also gives the reader further insight on the discussed theme. His views on love and human nature are very interesting, love being a central theme of the first two cantos. He elaborates on how he believes love should be constant and loyal between two people, but realises that it is impossible. There is some sarcastic humor in the cantos so far, as with Don Juan's fightng "heroically" to protect the alcohol as the ship is sinking. I find it difficult to evaluate these cantos as poems though, because of their narative style. The cantons seem more like stories with a rhyme scheme and stanzas, and it is difficult to evaluate the poetic elements due to the sheer length and amount of information of the cantos. As a story, so far yes they are good, expressing themes concerning society and humanity, and giving a new more "natural" and realistic twist to love and relationships. So in conclusion, in terms of literary worth, they are puissant in terms of theme and use of iterary elements, but perhaps is too difficult to evaluate as a poem.
3 comments:
Danny I couldn't agree with you more
The fact that the Sonnet was made more as a story definitely makes the reader want to read the rest of the story and won't get the reader bored. I also liked how you put some facts about how Don Juan was one of Lord Bryon's best work.
I very much enjoyed your personal reflection and impressions on two important themes: love and human nature. I noticed Lord Byron's unusual references to human nature. For example, when the sailors are starving decide to pray on Pedrillo. Sarcastic humor is all over the two cantos, from the poet's attitude towards a tragic hero, to various allusions (The dove of Noah's Arc), to love sometimes. I don't, though, find it that difficult to evaluate this rather LONG poem in particular. Relatively hard to narratives in prose, yes, but sometimes the sound and rhyme scheme of the poem can tell you a lot about it as a whole. The figurative language and allusions, which were continuously used in these works also constitute key factors in determining the standards of the poem. Your rap-up of the themes, "society and humanity," was very eye opening. GREAT job danny!
I concur, the first two cantos we read from Don Juan prove to be far from all the other "normal" poems. I enjoyed the narrative style greatly and its true that it makes it more difficult to analyze like a poem. It gets you thinking though how much work Lord Biron put into Don Juan. Just to make the entire poem rhyme must have been a plethora of work.
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