Publication of Cantos I & II
The path to the first publication of Cantos I & II of Don Juan was unlike that of any of Byron’s earlier verse. It is worth our attention because it reminds us — who now…
England in 1819–20
A section of the preface to my Annotated Cantos I & II (with audio narration) planned for the bi-centenary of Don Juan in 2019. The first two cantos of Don Juan were published in July,…
Matthew Arnold on Byron
Another section of the preface to my Annotated Cantos I & II (with audio narration) planned for the bi-centenary of Don Juan in 2019 The popularity of Byron’s poetry even today owes much to an…
The Comet and the Bomb
This article was originally intended as a draft of an introduction to the “Bicentennial” edition of Cantos I & II that I have now posted. I decided not to use it there but I want…
Don Juan Cantos Annotated
TL;DR An up-dated draft of my “Annotated Don Juan” is available. It now provides notes and illustrations for Cantos I, III and IX. Get it here and read along with the narration. At the end…
Why I like Don Juan
Just now there’s a lot of interest in theories of behaviour as ‘signalling’. For example, education choices and curricula are said to be “about” signalling wealth or conformity with corporate ethics rather than about getting…
Catching up… and an announcement
Visitors to this site who know some of Lord Byron’s early lyric and love poetry — perhaps encountered at school — are sometimes puzzled by his longest work, Don Juan. Even repelled. They’re struck by the…
An audio recording of Canto IX of Byron’s Don Juan
Here’s a recording — about 2‑years old — of Canto IX of Don Juan. The recording (MP3) is in three parts. It’s best to read along with the text of the poem if you can because…
Don Juan annotated — a work in progress
For some time I have been working, in desultory fashion, on an annotated version of Don Juan. You can download the current version from that link. Would you kindly take a look and tell me…
The First Line of Don Juan
Byron cheekily begins his greatest poem in precisely the wrong way for an “epic”: ”I want a hero!…” Nothing could be more absurd than an Epic without a hero. The essence of an Epic is…