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Don Juan, written in
the prime of Byron’s creative power, displayed Byron’s genius as a
romanticist and realist effectively. In fact, there are two protagonists in
the story. One is the passionate hero Don Juan who is active in the 18th
century. In the description of the hero Don Juan’s adventures, the features
of Romanticism show thoroughly. First, the adventures selves are the
products of imagination, which is the most important element in the features
of Romanticism. Love, passion, worship of nature—all things that belonged to
Romanticism, can find its pace on this poem. For instance, the love scenes
beneath the moonlit sky, which happened between Juan and Haidee, show the
features extremely:
“Over the shining pebbles and the shells,
Glided along the smooth and hardened sand,
And in the worn and wide receptacles
Worked by the storms, yet worked as it were planned,
In hollow halls, with sparry roofs and cells,
They turned to rest; and each clasped by an arm,
Yielded to the deep twilight’s purple charm.
She loved, and was beloved—she adored,
And she was worshipped; after nature’s fashion,
Their intense souls, into each other poured,
If souls could die, had perished in that passion—
But by degrees their senses were restored
Again to be o’er come, again to dash on;
And, beating ’gainst his bosom, Haidee’s heart
Felt as if never more to beat apart.”
Nature is charming, and the love in the charming nature
is flourishing, and souls live happily with passion.
The other protagonist is the poet himself, who
lived in the 19th century. Through the eyes of Juan and sometimes even
directly, Byron gives a vivid description of the English society of the 19th
century: its politics, literary figures, social customs and so on. Besides,
in the book, Byron also reminds his boyhood, his experiences, and foresees a
future world and so forth. In a word, the image of the narrative—the poet in
the book is a talkative person who chats from heaven to hell, from ancient
to future.
Besides long poem Don Juan, Byron also wrote a
number of excellent short poems such as Sonnet on Chillon, The Prisoner
of Chillon, The Dream, which are his political lyrics wildly calling for
liberty, freedom. Also, he was a master of love lyrics, in which he shows
his strong emotions, feelings neatly. When We Two Parted, She Walks in
Beauty are two of his most well-known love lyrics. Cite When We Two
Parted as an instance.
“They name thee before me,
A knell to mine ear;
A shudder comes o’er me—
Why wert thou so dear.
They know not I knew thee,
Who knew thee too well—
Long, long shall I rue thee,
Too deeply to tell.”
The mixture of love and regret neatly melting
together in the poem, the paradox psychology of the lady’s sorrowful love
impressively shaped.
Although widely condemned on moral grounds, and
frequently attacked by critics, Byron’s poetry was immensely popular in
England and even more so abroad. He noted in his Journal in 1822 that
his sales were far better in Germany, France and America than in England.
Much of his poetry and drama influenced Romanticism greatly. His legacy of
inspiration exerts enormously in European poetry, music, the novel, opera,
and painting.
B. Russell once wrote that, “As a myth his importance,
especially on the continent, was enormous.”
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