Canto II Stanzas 1-5

In Canto II by Lord Byron, he is basically criticizing Don Juan in stanzas 1 through 5. In stanza 1, Byron states

O ye who teach the ingenuous youth of nations,

Holland, France, England, Germany, or Spain,

I pray ye flog them upon all occasions;

It mends their morals, never mind the pain.

The best of mothers and of educations

In Juan’s case were but employed in vain,

Since in a way that’s rather of the oddest, he

Became divested of his native modesty.

Byron begins to critique Juan within a few sentences. The last sentence he digs deep to say that he was stripped of his natural diffidence. Byron uses diction to condemn Juan throughout stanzas 1 through 5.

In stanza 2, it states “Had he been placed at public school, In the third form or even in the fourth, His daily task had kept his fancy cool”. Here, he basically says that his mom should have put him in public school. In the same stanza, Byron states “A lad of sixteen causing a divorce”. His choice of words is appalling because lad may be a derogative term for young boy. Throughout the rest of the stanzas, Byron is speaking on Juan’s family and where Juan moved to (Cadiz). He not only criticizes Juan but his mother as well. He states “His lady mother, mathematical, A- never mind”. For him not to finish his sentence about his mother means that he has nothing good to say about her. He seems to use everyday words to criticize Juan and his mother.

In stanza 5, it states “And such sweet girls-I mean, such graceful ladies. Their walk would make your bosom swell;” He not only talks about Juan but about the girls in the town where Juan moved. Byron has something to say about everyone in this Canto. Mainly he uses diction to censure everyone especially Juan.