Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Byron the Sass Master
Lord Byron's snarky opinions make Don Juan an amusing read, in part because of his criticism on the literary market of the time. In stanza 178, for example, he says that tact keeps "a lady distant from the fact" when "pushed by questions rather tough (1421-1422). While this of course is a direct reference to his own scandalous lifestyle and the rumors spread because of it, and the fame that both he and Don Juan received as a result, it also raises an interesting commentary on the truthfulness of literature. It is almost as if he is asking if politeness and "tact" are of higher value than candid, honest writing. He is critical of flowery, pastoral writing, calling Wordsworth's writings "unintelligible" (720). He seems to mock writers who "find materials for their books" "within the leafy nooks" of nature (717, 715). By using a snarky tone to criticize other writers and styles, Byron seems to be defending the candid nature of his works, and suggesting that truthfulness is more important than style.
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I never thought of the argument like that. It almost seems like a modern argument against political correctness and euphemisms.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think that this is a wonderful angle from which to look at Byron's opening for the poem. I do, however, think that this is a narrow view of Byron's 'goals' in writing the introduction. Not only is he criticizing the style and subject matter of Southey, Wordsworth, etc- he is also incorporating it into his own work and committing some degree of crime against the 'truthfulness' he so desires. He himself uses the ottava rima style for his own benefit, and is not 'true' to the style, its history, or its intended purpose. Not to say that there is anything wrong with this- I just think we need to see that Byron both made fun of and criticized other poets' styles, while also using them to his own benefit. Somewhere within him, he must have respected (if not the individual poets), the styles and or forms they used.
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