Two figs… March 15, 2007
Posted by jophine in : Hilarious Things, Miscellany , comments closedI had a good revelation in the shower, and I wanted to write them down before I forgot.
1. The other day, Sophie and I were laughing about the feminine theory model for narrative structure (multiple climaxes), and I got to thinking that Manfred, The Giaour, and to an extent Childe Harolds I & II have a structure of climax without catharsis. I might have to reread the climactic scene in Don Juan I as well, but I think it follows.
2. Don Juan I has a very interesting narrator — one who can make fun of Southey and Wordsworth (and really, don’t they deserve it?) but also one who can comment on the state of Spanish politics and sometimes looks upon Don Juan like a character he knows personally. What is Byron doing here? At the beginning of DJ II, he does a similar thing, ironically making fun of English poets. Not just one unreliable narrator, but two? Heaven help us.