Although Lord Byron is obviously most well-known because of his poetry, his personal life was often talked about. His relationships were often thrust out into the public, mostly due to his well-documented love affairs that he was constantly involved in.
Because of this personal life that Lord Byron lived, he often transferred his lifestyle over to his poetry. In Canto II, we see this through his “affair” that Don Juan has with Haidee, despite the fact that he still has Julia at home.
The growing relationship between Don Juan and Haidee is beautifully described. Byron shows in this section why he is often credited for his romantic style of writing. His descriptions are so deep and touching, yet at the same time, easy to understand. He picks out metaphors that many people are able to relate to. The language throughout Don Juan is very simple, yet very well-thought out and detailed at the same time.
One of the best examples of this style of writing is seen in stanzas 148-152, when Don Juan awakes for the first time after being stranded to see Haidee. The instant connection that the two of them have is very obvious, as the reader is overcome with the description of the love they have at first sight. This same sort of language is seen in stanzas 176-178. Byron’s language is so simple, yet so easy to connect with and understand. For example, in stanza 176 he says, “…like a young flower snapped from the stalk, drooping and dewy on the beach he lay, and thus they walked out in the afternoon, and saw the sun set opposite the moon.”
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Canto II
In Don Juan, Canto II, there is initially a shipwreck in which Don Juan is the only sole survivor. When Don Juan realizes that all of his ship mates have passed and died, he begins to have visions of death. This is apparent in stanzas 108 to 113.
At the beginning of stanza 108, Don Juan is trying to hold on for dear life but is being thrown around because of the treacherous waves of the ocean. The vocabulary that Lord Byron uses to describe what Don Juan is going through at this time is used to set a sad, depressing mood in which the reader may believe Don Juan will not survive. For instance, “There breathless, with his digging nails he clung Fast to the sand, lest the returning wave…”, this quote is the first line of 108 and sets the mood for the stanzas to follow. When I read this line, it was as though I was there seeing him hold on in order to survive.
There came a point in stanza 110, where I felt as though Don Juan was going to give up because of all the negative things that were occurring around him. He saw his ship mates’ body on the sand and he was continuing to sink. In reality, many people would be considering giving up since it seems as though there was nothing he could do. This is supposed to be an epic poem, but giving up is not what heroes in epic poems would do. There is no heroic deed done by Don Juan, except for the human’s instinct to give up when things seem to be going wrong.
This poem continues to show negative signs of this being an epic poem. In stanza 112 Don Juan seems to have truly given up by closing his eyes and hoping for death. It is not until a “lovely female face of seventeen” happens to swim by that he gains hope for life and forgets about the thoughts of death. If this is supposed to be an epic poem and Don Juan is supposed to be a heroic figure, then why is it that a seventeen year old female with a pretty face had to give him hope for survival?
Canto 2
Don Juan is an epic poem written by Lord Byron which most likely seen as a mock epic in which Byron criticizes the other deep thinking poets of his time. Byron’s mock of nature as the sublime is one of the big themes in the poem. In Don Juan’s Canto 2, stanzas 104-108 Byron uses word choice, rhymes, and imagery to portray nature as relentless and dangerous in contrast to Wordsworth who mostly describes nature and its positive attributes.
Byron’s use of words portraying danger, hopelessness, and fatality help to depict the ocean and nature as relentless. In lines 104-108 words such as wild, senseless, reluctant, danger, and clung are frequently used to describe the ocean and Don Juan’s experience with nature. For example, in line 104, the shore is described as, “wild, without a trace of man/ and girt by formidable waves.” Then once again in line 108 the sea he states,” There, breathless, with his digging nails he clung/ fast to the sand, lest the returning wave/ from whose reluctant roar his life he wrung/ should suck him back to her insatiate grave.” In addition these stanzas contain a lot of action verbs such as swimming, wading, scrambling, rolled, and digging. These action verbs allow the reader to feel the desperation and the need for Don Juan to survive.
Byron also utilizes imagery as a way to show how much force nature actually has. The way he describes the situation Don Juan is in makes the reader picture the ocean and the beach as life-threatening entities. In stanza 106, when describing swimming towards shore you can feel the desperation when Don Juan is described as swimming with “his boyish limbs” or when he described “the greatest danger here was from a shark.” In stanza 105 he also describes the river he learned to swim in as a “sweet river.” By making this contrast between what most of society knows as “nature” and what nature is actually like out at sea Byron is once again portraying nature as the sublime and a great and dangerous force. While describing these situations Byron is able to paint a picture for the reader so that the reader can feel what is going on in the poem.
Through the use of word choice, imagery and rhymes Byron successfully portrays nature to the extreme as a relentless force of evil. By portraying nature as such a dangerous, scary force Byron seems in some form to be mocking poets such as Wordsworth. Byron contrasts Wordsworth’s view of nature by depicting it as dangerous, negative, and something that should not be messed around with. It seems as though nature is a major character in the poem and is used in some ways as the major antagonist. It is what sets him back on his trip, and what almost takes his life. This is far off from how Wordsworth describes nature in The Prelude as a place where he develops his deepest thoughts and great mind. Nature is not nurturing in Don Juan but rather an evil.
Byron’s use of words portraying danger, hopelessness, and fatality help to depict the ocean and nature as relentless. In lines 104-108 words such as wild, senseless, reluctant, danger, and clung are frequently used to describe the ocean and Don Juan’s experience with nature. For example, in line 104, the shore is described as, “wild, without a trace of man/ and girt by formidable waves.” Then once again in line 108 the sea he states,” There, breathless, with his digging nails he clung/ fast to the sand, lest the returning wave/ from whose reluctant roar his life he wrung/ should suck him back to her insatiate grave.” In addition these stanzas contain a lot of action verbs such as swimming, wading, scrambling, rolled, and digging. These action verbs allow the reader to feel the desperation and the need for Don Juan to survive.
Byron also utilizes imagery as a way to show how much force nature actually has. The way he describes the situation Don Juan is in makes the reader picture the ocean and the beach as life-threatening entities. In stanza 106, when describing swimming towards shore you can feel the desperation when Don Juan is described as swimming with “his boyish limbs” or when he described “the greatest danger here was from a shark.” In stanza 105 he also describes the river he learned to swim in as a “sweet river.” By making this contrast between what most of society knows as “nature” and what nature is actually like out at sea Byron is once again portraying nature as the sublime and a great and dangerous force. While describing these situations Byron is able to paint a picture for the reader so that the reader can feel what is going on in the poem.
Through the use of word choice, imagery and rhymes Byron successfully portrays nature to the extreme as a relentless force of evil. By portraying nature as such a dangerous, scary force Byron seems in some form to be mocking poets such as Wordsworth. Byron contrasts Wordsworth’s view of nature by depicting it as dangerous, negative, and something that should not be messed around with. It seems as though nature is a major character in the poem and is used in some ways as the major antagonist. It is what sets him back on his trip, and what almost takes his life. This is far off from how Wordsworth describes nature in The Prelude as a place where he develops his deepest thoughts and great mind. Nature is not nurturing in Don Juan but rather an evil.
Don Juan, Canto II, Stanzas 100-216
Emanuela Kucik on Don Juan
In stanzas 100-216 of Canto II of Lord Byron’s Don Juan, Don Juan is the sole survivor of the shipwreck in the preceding stanzas. Juan manages to swim to an island, where he is rescued by the mistress Haidee and her maid, Zoe. As time passes, Juan and Haidee fall in love, and the canto ends without assurance of what exactly their relationship will lead to. One of the most interesting aspects of stanzas 100-216 is Haidee’s love for, and borderline obsession with, Juan. Byron uses visual imagery to depict the extent of Haidee’s love for Juan, particularly in the scenes in which Juan is sleeping and Haidee is watching over him.
This use of visual imagery in the sleeping scenes is exemplified in stanza 168. In this stanza, Haidee’s habit of coming into the cave early “to see her bird reposing in his nest,” is clearly depicted. The visual imagery in this stanza shows Haidee gently playing with Juan’s hair, so as not to wake him. The stanza continues to show Haidee “breathing all gently o’er his cheek and mouth,” a line which creates visual imagery clearly associated with both love and obsession. Since Haidee does not truly know Juan yet, I feel this borders more on obsession.
Haidee’s observation of Juan continues in stanza 171, which states that Juan woke to “the finest eyes,” implying that Haidee still watches Juan while he sleeps. This depiction of observation creates a clear visual image of a beautiful maiden standing over a sleeping, shipwrecked but beautiful man with a mixture of curiosity, love, and hope that she may restore him.
Through the visual imagery depicted in the scenes describing Haidee’s observation of Juan as he slumbers, Byron begins Juan and Haidee’s love story. Although Juan is unaware of Haidee’s watchful eyes as he sleeps, he is enraptured by those same eyes when he wakes. However, without the visual imagery created by Haidee’s watchfulness in the sleeping scenes, the depth of her passions would not be as clearly presented, for it is one thing to gaze lovingly at someone while he is awake, but it is another thing entirely to gaze lovingly at that person while he sleeps.
In stanzas 100-216 of Canto II of Lord Byron’s Don Juan, Don Juan is the sole survivor of the shipwreck in the preceding stanzas. Juan manages to swim to an island, where he is rescued by the mistress Haidee and her maid, Zoe. As time passes, Juan and Haidee fall in love, and the canto ends without assurance of what exactly their relationship will lead to. One of the most interesting aspects of stanzas 100-216 is Haidee’s love for, and borderline obsession with, Juan. Byron uses visual imagery to depict the extent of Haidee’s love for Juan, particularly in the scenes in which Juan is sleeping and Haidee is watching over him.
This use of visual imagery in the sleeping scenes is exemplified in stanza 168. In this stanza, Haidee’s habit of coming into the cave early “to see her bird reposing in his nest,” is clearly depicted. The visual imagery in this stanza shows Haidee gently playing with Juan’s hair, so as not to wake him. The stanza continues to show Haidee “breathing all gently o’er his cheek and mouth,” a line which creates visual imagery clearly associated with both love and obsession. Since Haidee does not truly know Juan yet, I feel this borders more on obsession.
Haidee’s observation of Juan continues in stanza 171, which states that Juan woke to “the finest eyes,” implying that Haidee still watches Juan while he sleeps. This depiction of observation creates a clear visual image of a beautiful maiden standing over a sleeping, shipwrecked but beautiful man with a mixture of curiosity, love, and hope that she may restore him.
Through the visual imagery depicted in the scenes describing Haidee’s observation of Juan as he slumbers, Byron begins Juan and Haidee’s love story. Although Juan is unaware of Haidee’s watchful eyes as he sleeps, he is enraptured by those same eyes when he wakes. However, without the visual imagery created by Haidee’s watchfulness in the sleeping scenes, the depth of her passions would not be as clearly presented, for it is one thing to gaze lovingly at someone while he is awake, but it is another thing entirely to gaze lovingly at that person while he sleeps.
Friday, April 24, 2009
In-class assignment for Friday, April 24
Find a passage in our readings from Canto II in which nature is personified. Once you have selected a passage of 2 or 3 cantos, discuss he following questions:
1. How does the narrator present nature’s actions? Does he seem to judge or evaluate them? If so, then how? Is his evaluation consistent, or does he suggest different ways in which nature’s actions might be construed?
2. How do the characters in the story react to nature’s actions? Are their reactions sensible or appropriate? Why or why not?
3. How do nature’s actions in your passage square with the portrayal of nature throughout Canto II? On the whole, what is nature like in Canto II? What are its predominant characteristics? What kinds of adjectives would you use to describe it?
1. How does the narrator present nature’s actions? Does he seem to judge or evaluate them? If so, then how? Is his evaluation consistent, or does he suggest different ways in which nature’s actions might be construed?
2. How do the characters in the story react to nature’s actions? Are their reactions sensible or appropriate? Why or why not?
3. How do nature’s actions in your passage square with the portrayal of nature throughout Canto II? On the whole, what is nature like in Canto II? What are its predominant characteristics? What kinds of adjectives would you use to describe it?
Byron 2
In Lord Byron’s second canto, the character of Don Juan is more deeply explored. What makes this poem stand out compared to those read thus far is the humorous tone upheld by Byron. Rather than being completely abstract and difficult to comprehend, Byron gives us a story that is straightforward and rather entertaining.
When telling the story to readers, Byron strays away from the 8 syllable words, and the whole “lets discover the secret of life” that was visible in Wordsworth’s poetry. Not only does Byron use simple language, he also introduces the story to the reader as a playwright would to an audience. “first, there was his lady—mother, mathematical, A – nevermind; his tutor, an old ass; a pretty woman (that’s quite natural, or else the thing had hardly come to pass); A husband rather old, not much in unity with his young wife—a time, and opportunity.” What I like about this also is that he talks to the reader as a friend who is dishing gossip to a neighbor. Hand him a martini and he would fit right in on the Sex and the City set.
Byron gives another sense of being one with the reader, when he talks about the necessities of being human, including paying taxes, making love, etc. Also, we see him stray from the story and talk about other things, and then tell the audience that he must find his way back to the actual story. Byron tells his story with much familiarity and a greater sense of entertainment than other poems we have read.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
DJ canto II
Lord Byron’s Don Juan is a well crafted poem that establishes an original style of epic poetry. He does not try to write with elite form or class, using fancy words or high-culture topics. Rather, Byron’s writing is down to earth and conversational, as if an old friend is telling you the story. His Canto the Second provides good examples of this. He writes in an informal style, with running commentary on his own poetic process, random asides and jokes, and language and content fit for close friends rather than strangers.
Throughout the poem he maintains a sort of running commentary in which he speaks directly to the reader either about his own poetic process or part of what he has just written. In the 6th stanza, he is describing Cadiz and the women, but stops, saying “Alas! To dwell upon such things would very near absorb a canto – then their feet and ankles, - well, thank Heaven I’ve got no metaphor quite ready….” Not only does he tell the reader directly that he could go on to write a whole canto about them, he also says that he hasn’t got a metaphor ready. This glimpse into his writing process brings us there with him, as if we are by his side as he relates this story. Again, in the 17th stanza he brings us in on the writing process, saying “I like so much to quote; you must excuse this extract, - ‘t is where she, the Queen of Denmark, for Ophelia brought flowers to the grave….” He explains the quote he has just used, again making us feel close with the poet, almost part of an ongoing conversation.
Byron also uses jokes and comments to the reader, often in the form of parenthesis that create in informal atmosphere with which he relates the story. He does not go for the high and mighty all-knowing philosophical poet persona that we may see in Wordsworth or others; rather, he creates a friendly, playful dynamic between reader and writer that puts us both on the same level. In stanza 13, he says “The best of remedies is a beef steak against sea-sickness; try it, Sir, before you sneer….” This random comment to the reader is hardly relevant to the plot, but helps build a friendly relationship with the reader, whom he directly addresses and gives advice to. In stanza 16 he talks about the importance of travel for young men, then adds, “the next time their servants tie on behind their carriages their new portmanteau, perhaps it may be lines with this my canto.” This joke is also not relevant, but provides a little humor to the reader and shows that Byron can laugh at himself, implying that his poem would be fit to line the inside of luggage. These and other parenthesized comments throughout the canto build a relationship with the reader.
Finally, the subject matter of Don Juan and the candidness with which he describes it would hardly be appropriate coming from a stranger, creating the impression that is coming from someone the reader knows personally. In the 5th stanza, he talks about the girls in Cadiz, and describes how “their very walk would make your bosom swell,” as if he were a buddy describing the girls at a party. On the ship, he describes the sea-sickness with more detail than most would care to hear. In stanza 20, he writes about Don Juan, “Here he grew inarticulate with retching.” Further, he talks about cannibalism and how the sailors killed and ate another in order to survive the hunger. From stanza 77: “Part was divided, part thrown to sea, and such things as the entrails and the brains regaled two sharks… The sailors ate the rest of poor Pedrillo.” This vivid account of regurgitation and cannibalism seems like locker room talk, only suitable for private conversation between pals. It is vulgar and certainly not considered proper in 19th century Britain.
Byron does a good job of creating a unique style of epic poetry. By using direct commentary on his own writing, conversational language directed straight at the reader, and personal and even disgusting subject matter, he creates a very personal and friendly atmosphere in which he relates his story.
Throughout the poem he maintains a sort of running commentary in which he speaks directly to the reader either about his own poetic process or part of what he has just written. In the 6th stanza, he is describing Cadiz and the women, but stops, saying “Alas! To dwell upon such things would very near absorb a canto – then their feet and ankles, - well, thank Heaven I’ve got no metaphor quite ready….” Not only does he tell the reader directly that he could go on to write a whole canto about them, he also says that he hasn’t got a metaphor ready. This glimpse into his writing process brings us there with him, as if we are by his side as he relates this story. Again, in the 17th stanza he brings us in on the writing process, saying “I like so much to quote; you must excuse this extract, - ‘t is where she, the Queen of Denmark, for Ophelia brought flowers to the grave….” He explains the quote he has just used, again making us feel close with the poet, almost part of an ongoing conversation.
Byron also uses jokes and comments to the reader, often in the form of parenthesis that create in informal atmosphere with which he relates the story. He does not go for the high and mighty all-knowing philosophical poet persona that we may see in Wordsworth or others; rather, he creates a friendly, playful dynamic between reader and writer that puts us both on the same level. In stanza 13, he says “The best of remedies is a beef steak against sea-sickness; try it, Sir, before you sneer….” This random comment to the reader is hardly relevant to the plot, but helps build a friendly relationship with the reader, whom he directly addresses and gives advice to. In stanza 16 he talks about the importance of travel for young men, then adds, “the next time their servants tie on behind their carriages their new portmanteau, perhaps it may be lines with this my canto.” This joke is also not relevant, but provides a little humor to the reader and shows that Byron can laugh at himself, implying that his poem would be fit to line the inside of luggage. These and other parenthesized comments throughout the canto build a relationship with the reader.
Finally, the subject matter of Don Juan and the candidness with which he describes it would hardly be appropriate coming from a stranger, creating the impression that is coming from someone the reader knows personally. In the 5th stanza, he talks about the girls in Cadiz, and describes how “their very walk would make your bosom swell,” as if he were a buddy describing the girls at a party. On the ship, he describes the sea-sickness with more detail than most would care to hear. In stanza 20, he writes about Don Juan, “Here he grew inarticulate with retching.” Further, he talks about cannibalism and how the sailors killed and ate another in order to survive the hunger. From stanza 77: “Part was divided, part thrown to sea, and such things as the entrails and the brains regaled two sharks… The sailors ate the rest of poor Pedrillo.” This vivid account of regurgitation and cannibalism seems like locker room talk, only suitable for private conversation between pals. It is vulgar and certainly not considered proper in 19th century Britain.
Byron does a good job of creating a unique style of epic poetry. By using direct commentary on his own writing, conversational language directed straight at the reader, and personal and even disgusting subject matter, he creates a very personal and friendly atmosphere in which he relates his story.
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