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Don Juan As Byron Introspective Essay

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The works of George Gordon, Lord Byron have long been controversial, nearly as controversial as his lifestyle. Gordon Byron was born with a clubfoot and his sensitivity to it haunted his life and his works. Despite being a very handsome child, a fragile self-esteem made Byron extremely sensitive to criticism, of himself or of his poetry and he tended to make enemies rather quickly. The young Byron was often unhappy and lonely any many of his works seem to be a sort of introspective therapy. Throughout his writings and life history there is much evidence to suggest that his poetry was greatly influenced by his mental instability. In many ways, Byron seems to use his work as an escape from a difficult reality.

The lengthy poem Don Juan …show more content…

Byron’s attorney, rescued him from the unnatural affections of May Grey, the tortures of Lavender and uneven temper of his mother.

The effects of his early experiences were to be felt by the poet for many years. “The consequences of these tortured episodes blend into his entire life in the anticipated melancholy that he always experience (Eisler 41).”At seventeen he entered Cambridge University. Determined to overcome his physical handicap, Byron became a good rider, swimmer, boxer, and marksman. He enjoyed literature but cared little for other subjects. After graduation he embarked on a grand tour that supplied inspiration for many of his later works.

Of the many poems in which Byron reveals details from his own experiences, Don Juan offers the most intimate look into the life of the artist.Canto I of Don Juan describes Juan’s mother, Donna Inez as being a woman who look’d a lecture, each eye a sermon (Longman 577).” Donna Inez watched carefully over every detail of her son’s education and Catherine Byron did the same for her son, attempting in her clumsy way to provide Byron with preparation for life as a member of the gentry. “Mrs. Byron became obsessed with making her son perfect and he in turn submitted stoically to various forms of torture (Grosskurth 29).” Although the description of Donna Inez is often interpreted as being directed at Byron’s ex-wife, much of Inez’s personality is

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