1. The mock epic poem Don Juan is considered by many scholars to be Lord Byron's greatest work. What are your thoughts as to the literary worth of the first two cantos that we have read? Are they good poetry?
It was well before I'd read the first two cantos of Don Juan that I'd heard of it being commonly used figuratively, as a synonym for womaniser. However, Lord Byron takes this popular character to daringly reverses his role into a man easily seduced by women. Upon reading the first few stanzas, it is already clear that the writer relies heavily on satire to get his message of disapproval across. Often criticized to contain "immoral content", Gordon stops at nothing when mocking famous political, religious and philosophical personalities. The humorous tone, although obvious, must be researched to be fully understood as Byron makes several allusions to figures that had been famous in his time. Funniest of all was how he poked fun at his former lover Lady Caroline Lamb, his lover-turned-stalker. I personally admire his ability to retain the comic touch while keeping the plot moving, hence keeping the reader engaged. Byron comments on many interesting topics, such as war, love, sexuality, and hypocrisy. His sneering yet humorous comments are mostly what make have kept his mock-epic poem in the annals of literature - and deservingly so.
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I know its very cliché to say but, I do agree with you. Lord Byron does take the popular Don Juan character and daringly reverses his role into a man easily seduced by women which basically is the "mocking" part of the epic poem. Byron indeed succeeds in tackling various themes into one epic poem. He also effectively makes allusions to either criticize or to make fun of anything and anyone and I believe that that is the main reason that lead to the popularity of this poem.
Everyone agrees that the poetry of Lord Byron is impressive. Byron's critique of love and the hypocrisy of the rich among other things is humorous and satirical. As you also said, the reader needs a lot of background information to fully appreciate his work. This makes it difficult for a random person to enjoy reading his poems. And although the first two cantos do catch the readers' attention, after a few thousand stanzas the readers might get bored of the plot and the constant interjections of the poet in which he states his opinion concerning the same basic themes.
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