Don Juan is Byron's masterpiece and the masterpiece of European romantic literature. This poetic novel with the theme of social satire is about 16000 lines * * * 16 chapters. Although it was not finally completed, it was called "a masterpiece of genius" by Goethe because of its profound ideological content, vast living capacity and unique artistic style.
The theme of Don Juan is to satirize the aristocratic society and politics in Britain and Europe. Although the plot of the novel took place at the end of 18, it depicts the real life of European society from the end of 18 to the beginning of 19. In contrast to the reality at that time, the poet lashed the reactionary forces in holy alliance and Europe and called on the people to fight for freedom and overthrow the tyrant.
Poetry exposes and satirizes the money worship of the British nobility and bourgeoisie. The British ruling class boasted about "freedom" and "rights", but when Don Juan first came to London, he was attacked by robbers. The poem denounces Sir Casterly, a British aristocrat, as a "villain" and a "slave maker", and condemns Wellington, who was praised by the ruling class at that time, as a "first-class executioner". British upper class is gorgeous in appearance, but extremely decadent and ugly in heart.
Don Juan, the protagonist in Don Juan, originated from the characters in Spanish legends and has become the theme of literary works many times. The traditional image of Don Juan is a playboy who plays with women and has no moral concept. But in Byron's works, this character appears as a seduced character in most cases. He was forced to leave because he was more or less a victim of that married woman. Don Juan is different from the protagonists in Byron's other poems. The author has no intention to portray him as a "Byronic hero", but there are many autobiographical elements in it. Don Juan's moral creed of enthusiasm, courage and rejection of hypocrisy. Faced with the danger of starvation, he refused to eat the murdered man, which was symbolic. Among these soldiers, only he really cares about the fate of a little girl in Turkey. He has no melancholy and desperate nature, but he also has no ability to control his own destiny. Most of his love stories satirize the hypocrisy and morality of the upper class, and his experience with the pirate daughter Hyde more embodies a poetic ideal.
If the protagonist Don Juan seems to act more than think because of the need of irony, then the narrator of this poem bears the heavy responsibility of thinking and commenting. The arguments, feelings, memories and longings that constantly appear in or outside the story have narrowed the distance between the works and the readers. The narrator has many lyrical comments, full of philosophy and profound thoughts, as well as incisive ridicule, which has a strong artistic appeal. The works not only reveal the truth and profundity of reality, but also have rich and peculiar imagination. It describes a wonderful scene of storms, shipwrecks and wars. The lyrical description of the magnificent scenery of nature is excellent. Byron is good at writing poems in various styles and practicing humorous language. No one can match him in writing poems in spoken language.
Byron's poems had great influence at that time and later generations. In China, Lu Xun called Byron the "originator" of romanticism, and praised his poems as "like raging waves and winds, listing all the bad habits of camouflage, understanding and cleaning up". (Anonymous)
George gordon byron was a great poet in the first half of the19th century and an outstanding representative of English romanticism. His passionate poems once shocked the whole European literary world.
1788 65438+1October 22nd, Byron was born in an ancient aristocratic family in England. His father was a dissolute officer who abandoned his wife and young Byron. Byron and his mother lived in poverty in their childhood. Until 10, Byron inherited the title and territory of his great-uncle, and their lives improved. Byron studied at Harlow Middle School and then went to Cambridge University. He likes studying literature and history as well as reading travel notes. He has long yearned for the East. 1807, Byron's first book of poetry, Leisure Time, was published. As a result, Byron was criticized, and 1809 published the satirical poem "Scottish Poets and Scottish Critics" to fight back.
1809, Byron set out for the east and visited Portugal, Spain, Albania, Greece and Turkey successively. 18 1 1 year, the poet returned to China. The following year, he published the first and second chapters of the long poem Childe Haller's Travels. Byron became famous immediately after the book was published. Later, from 18 13 to 18 16, Byron wrote six poems entitled "Oriental Stories", which were welcomed by readers and established the image of "Byronic hero".
Byron 18 15 got married, but his wife suddenly left one year after marriage. The upper class used divorce to attack him. Byron was forced to leave England in April of 18 16 and never came back. After Byron went abroad, he met Shelley in Geneva and forged a deep friendship. In autumn of the same year, Byron came to Italy. The poet soon joined the Charcoal Party organized by Italian patriots to resist the Austrian aggression.
Italy's beautiful scenery and exotic atmosphere, as well as the people's revolutionary struggle in full swing, greatly stimulated Byron's interest in poetry and made him write many immortal masterpieces, which was the most brilliant creative period in his life.
In Switzerland and Italy, Byron wrote the third and fourth chapters of Childe Haller's Travels. He also wrote the long poem Prisoner of Si Long (18 16), the poetic drama Manfred (18 17), the historical tragedy marino Fariello (1820) and philosophy.
In Byron's later works, the tendency of realism is more intense. 1822 published the long poem Phantom of the Trial, which has always been regarded as a model of satirical poetry. 1822, the Holy Alliance held a meeting of monarchs in Verona and decided to completely suppress the revolutionary movement of the European people. 1823, Byron wrote a poem "Bronze Century", which lashed out at holy alliance and exposed the anti-people and counter-revolutionary nature of this meeting.