Don Juan (Canto 1) - Lord Byron
A Satirical and Scandalous Beginning to Byron’s Epic Poem
Original Poem (English), selected stanzas (due to length):
Note: Don Juan is Lord Byron’s long satirical poem published in multiple cantos from 1819 onward. It is written in ottava rima and is widely considered a masterpiece of Romantic-era satire and wit. Below are key excerpts from Canto 1. For the full text, please consult a comprehensive edition.
Stanza 1
I want a hero: an uncommon want,
When every year and month sends forth a new one,
Till, after cloying the gazettes with cant,
The age discovers he is not the true one;
Of such as these I should not care to vaunt,
I’ll therefore take our ancient friend Don Juan—
We all have seen him, in the pantomime,
Sent to the devil somewhat ere his time.
Stanza 22
His mother was a learned lady, famed
For every branch of every science known—
In every Christian language ever named,
With virtues equalled by her wit alone;
She made the cleverest people quite ashamed,
And even the good with inward envy groan,
Finding themselves so very much exceeded
In their own way by all the things that she did.
Stanza 53
Don Juan was taught from out the best edition,
Expurgated by learned men, who placed,
Judiciously, from out the schoolboy’s vision,
The grosser parts; but, fearful to deface
Too much their modest bard by this omission,
And yet to keep the boy from every base
And vice, they treated him, as mothers do
Their children, not exactly, but nigh, true.
Stanza 116
Young Juan slept all day, and when the night
Came, heard, around, no sound except the breeze,
That hummed along the walls in which the bright
Moon shone, and shook the shadows of the trees—
Juan’s eyes were open, but he saw no sight
Of his late perils, nor of those decrees
Which had been passed on him by the “old folks,”
But lay contented as a purring cat that strokes.
(…Canto 1 proceeds through 222 stanzas in total…)
(…the above excerpts illustrate Byron’s playful tone and satirical edge…)
Context Note: In Canto 1, Byron reimagines the legendary figure of Don Juan not as the older, scheming seducer of lore, but as an impressionable young man thrown into comedic entanglements—first with Donna Julia—and eventually exiled from home. The canto lampoons conventional morals, educational norms, and societal hypocrisies, all while winking self-reflexively at the reader.
In Canto 1 of Don Juan, Lord Byron kicks off his sprawling, mischievous ‘epic satire’ by turning the traditional myth of Don Juan on its head. Instead of portraying him as a jaded womanizer, Byron presents Juan as a naïve youth whose romantic escapades begin at home, thanks in large part to a mismatched upbringing by a hyper-literate mother (Donna Inez) and a hapless father (Don José). This makes for a comedic backdrop to his first affair—with the married Donna Julia—leading to scandal and Juan’s forced departure.
Stylistically, the poem uses ottava rima—an eight-line stanza with a crisp rhyme scheme (ABABABCC). Byron revels in rhymes that are both witty and playful, often pausing mid-stanza to break the ‘fourth wall’ with remarks about writing itself. Consequently, the reader is pulled into a comedic dance between narrative and authorial asides, merging high-flown language with intentionally jarring colloquialisms.
Throughout Canto 1, Byron skewers what he sees as societal and literary hypocrisy—exposing supposedly virtuous education as partially misguided, showcasing religious and moral codes as flexible under desire, and lampooning both romantic clichés and conservative social norms. This irreverent spirit, matched with the poem’s comedic touches and capacity for sudden poignancy, ensures that Don Juan arrives on the literary scene as both a novel spin on a classic figure and a sly commentary on Byron’s own era.
By the canto’s close, the stage is set for broader adventures. Juan, having become an ‘exile,’ will wander across Europe (and beyond), encountering figures and cultures that allow Byron to aim his satirical arrows in new directions. Indeed, the tone and structure of Canto 1 preview the poem’s grand design: an unorthodox ‘epic’ that burlesques epic pretensions, a comedic yet penetrating critique of the poet’s contemporary world, and an enduring display of Byron’s virtuoso command of poetic style. (Approx. 280 words)
Key points
1. Byron recasts Don Juan as an innocent youth, overturning the traditional seducer archetype.
2. Ottava rima stanzas blend comedic, satirical, and often self-referential commentary.
3. Educational and moral hypocrisy are prime targets of Byron’s wit.
4. The scandalous affair with Donna Julia propels Juan into exile, launching the poem’s broader odyssey.
5. Canto 1 establishes the poem’s irreverent tone, setting the stage for Byron’s far-ranging social satire.
