The Humor in Don Juan
When
the name Don Juan is uttered in modern society people think about a suave, good
looking, and womanizing man. In the literary world Don Juan is the name
Lord Byron's mock epic that was written during the early 19th century.
Lord Byron is considered to be one of the great second generation romantic
poets, alongside Percy Shelley and John Keats. The story of Don Juan is
written into 16 separate cantos that Lord Byron wrote throughout the last six
years of his life. The epic poem breaks off in the 16th canto even
though it is said that he started the 17th before his death "but even in
its unfinished state Don Juan is the longest satirical poem, and indeed
one of the longest poems of any kind in English."[1]
The combined epic is 16,000 lines long not counting the seventeenth canto and
is written in ottava Rima which was "Originally an Italian stanza of eight
11-syllable lines, with a rhyme scheme of ABABABCC."[2]
The narrative is told in the third person point of view and the speaker who is
Lord Byron is telling the story of Don Juan who in his eyes wanted to tell the
story of a hero and so picked the story of Don Juan who himself was a fictional
character. The first canto focuses on Don Juan's childhood right up until his
mother sends him off to see the world after an encounter with the husband of
his first lover. What is it that makes this particular poem memorable? It is
the aspects of comedy within the narrative and Lord Byron's sense of humor
throughout his narrative of Don Juan's life.
Don
Juan's younger
years are met with the comedy that revolves around his parents and how they
raised their son around their slight hatred of one another. After the
unfortunate death of his father Don Jóse, the epic's titular character is raise
by his mother Donna Inez who was as formidable as a tiger mom would be today.
Donna Inez was a well-educated woman in science, language and mathematics which
is something rare in the time that the original story of Don Juan took place in
the 14th century as well as the time that Lord Byron's epic takes place in the
mid to late 18th century. One area in which Juan was educated in was Mythology,
in which his mother detested. This passage is partially humorous because of how
the teaching of this subject is in a way prophesizing his future life. The
first lines of the 41st section says "His classic studies made
a little puzzle, Because of filthy loves of gods and goddesses, Who in earlier
ages made a bustle, But never put on pantaloons or bodices;"[3] In the future sections Don Juan is caught in
situations because of his love with women throughout his years. Yet since he
was being taught these particular titles; The Aeneid, The Iliad, and The
Odyssey, which were essential in the education of any young male especially if
they learn them in their original language, the tutors had to constantly
apologize to Donna Inez. What makes this particular humorous is the image of an
educator of this time apologizing for doing their duty, which is reminiscent of
modern times when parents are constantly making the educators apologize for
their own children's failing grades or the curriculum in which they have to
teach in schools today. In the 21st century the teachings of the
Greek classics aren't as essential as they were during the 18th
century, maybe Lord Byron knew that things would turn out this way or he found
humor in the fact of an educator apologizing for what they have to teach. Much of
what Don Juan learns during the years in which his mother was in charge of his
education wouldn’t be useful in the real world which means that she was as much
of an overprotective parent as any modern day parents.
Another
passage in which the humor of Lord Byron is prominent is in the 55th
section of the first Canto in which the reader is introduced to Don Juan's
first love Donna Julia who is a married woman and seven years older than him. Donna
Julia is a friend of the family who has watched the young man grow up. What makes this section especially surprising
is that the final four lines are in a way a joke by Lord Byron towards Donna
Julia. In describing Donna Julia the epic says
5"Of many charms in her as
natural
6As sweetness to the flower, or salt
to ocean,
7 Her zone to Venus, or his bow to
Cupid,
8(But this last simile is trite and
stupid.)"[4]
The sixth line is a simile in which
the speaker of the poem compares Donna Julia to the nectar of a flower which is
the aroma of a flower and is the sweetest part, but also to the salt in the
water in the ocean. The final couplet in this section in itself lays a joke by
Lord Byron in which he compares Donna Julia to wearing a belt in which makes
her irresistible to anyone, and then he says that the simile he wrote lacks
originality and then just calls it stupid. This humor from the author himself
is what makes this an interesting form of an epic poem because he’s addressing
the audience in the fact that he could make something sound so clichéd and
silly, even though that was the main focal point in him writing the mock epic.
The
first romance of Don Juan’s life is met with the most clichéd end in any form
of literature and is probably the basis of what most comedic films of the 20th
and 21st centuries base the escape of someone after being caught in
a compromising position. Even though an age difference between Don Juan and
Donna Julia wasn't was much of an issue during this time the fact that she was
married was much more of an issue. A married man could have as many affairs as
they wanted but heaven forbid if a woman would do this. In the 137th
section of this epic poem illustrates the humor in the hurried tones of the
maid of Donna Julia because of course the husband Don Alfonso has speculated of
his wife’s affair with the young man and of course it’s the maid’s hurried
tones that set the stage for the humor of a man being caught in bed with a
married woman.
"For
God's sake, Madam - Madam - here's my master,
With more than half the city at his
back -
Was ever heard of such a curst
disaster!
'Tis not my fault - I kept good watch
- Alack!
Do pray undo the bolt a little
faster -
They're on the stair just now, and
in a crack
Will all be here; perhaps he yet may
fly -
Surely the window's not so very
high!"[5]
The maid uses words like Alack to
express her regret for not being able to keep the oncoming husband from coming;
the word crack also has a different meaning because it means that he would be
there in a moment. She even suggests that Don Juan jump out the window; this
sounds like the most extreme reaction to being found out of an affair. Of
course the window isn't too high, just make sure he takes his shoes with him.
The most surprising thing about this particular section is that it’s delivered
as dialogue, and creates the imagery of what is happening with the dialogue
which will have the reader reacting to the hurried tones of the maid. This
isn’t the first time that Lord Byron uses dialogue in Don Juan but this is the first time where it’s delivered in such a
humorous tone that the reader can almost forget they’re reading an epic poem.
The
humor in the first Canto of Don Juan
is what makes the mock epic worth reading as it hooks the reader into the story.
The characterization and actions of each person who makes an appearance
throughout the first Canto is vivid in the minds of readers. Don Juan is sent
away by his mother after the incident with Donna Julia, who hopes that her son
will learn better in the world. Julia is sent is sent to a convent because
that’s where wayward wives are sent when they have affairs unbecoming of a
lady. What makes each of these sections different is how Lord Byron creates
tension in the characters but also how each passage has its own form of humor,
either using his own words within the text or how the maid’s hurried tones come
across just before the husband finds his wife with another man. Compared to
other works of the romantic era it’s easy to see why this particular piece has
become a favorite of many and is considered a great work by an author. Most of
the works that came out during this time were teeming with the sadness and
struggle of the time as well as how many writers were attempting to write for
the common man but Lord Byron decided to write something that would make people
laugh. Humor during times of great strife is always something that people need,
and it’s in Don Juan that Lord Byron
was ahead of his time.
[1] George Gordon Lord Byron, "Don Juan"
The Norton Anthology English Literature: The Romantic Period Vol. D, ed. 9 (New
York, London, W.W. Norton & Company, 2012) 672
[2] "Ottava Rima" Poetry Foundation, Available
from http://www.poetryfoundation.org/learning/glossary-term/ottava%20rima
[3]
George Gordon Lord Byron, "Don Juan", 679
[4]
Ibid, 681
[5]
Ibid, 690
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