The Role of the Narrator in Byrons Don Juan Essay examples -- Don Jua

The Role of the Narrator in Byron's Don Juan The narrator of Don Juan takes the traditional role of omniscient narrator. He states the facts but also adds in his personal thoughts on the characters. From the beginning he lets the reader know that he is in search of a hero. He cannot find a hero in his contemporary time, therefore he will return to the hero who has stayed a hero through time. The hero is "my friend Don Juan" (5.8). There is no doubt that the narrator feels a close relationship with the hero and the hero will be treated as casually as friend. He relates that the usual course for a poem is to start in the middle, "that is the usual method, but not mine" (7.1). He will start at the beginning and give opinionated views of Juan's parents. Immediately the narrator establishes control, and therefore sets the tone of the poem. He lets the reader know that Juan's parental skills are lacking (according to him) and if he was Juan's parent he would do things differently. Of young Juan's mischievousness, if "they been but both in their senses, they'd have the young master To school, or had him soundly whipp'd at home, To teach him manners for the time to come" (25.5-8) Certainly this establishes his authority. As the reader, we want to believe him. Obviously (to the reader) Juan's parents are negligent in their duties and the reader sees herself agreeing that she too would do the same. He guides us to be prejudiced to Juan's parents and this trust develops between narrator and reader that carries throughout the poem. Of course the na rrator like any instigator will deny their input. A particularly amusing part of the poem is where the narrator in self-parody tells us "For my part I say nothing--nothing--but This I will... ...rity over the hero. The narrator alone has the power to keep Don Juan alive. In addition, the narrator is really the personality of the poem. We are told Don Juan's actions, but is the narrator that flavors it. It is interesting that Lord Byron decided to include the narrator so prominently; but definitely to the poem's advantage. Works Cited Bostetter, Edward E., Twentieth Century Interpretations of Don Juan. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1969. Boyd, Elizabeth French, Byron's Don Juan: A Critical Study. NY: Humanities Press, 1958. Byron (George Gordon, Lord Byron), Don Juan, ed. Leslie A. Marchand. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1958. McGann, Jerome J., Don Juan in Context. Chicago: U of Chicago Press, 1976. Steffan, Truman Guy, & Willis W. Pratt, eds., Byron's Don Juan: A Variorum Edition. 2nd ed.. 4 vols.. Austin: U of Texas Press, 1971.