Analysis of Don Juan: Canto the Eleventh

George Gordon Lord Byron 1788 (London) – 1824 (Missolonghi, Aetolia)



I
    When Bishop Berkeley said "there was no matter,"
       And proved it--'twas no matter what he sald:
   They say his system 'tis in vain to batter,
       Too subtle for the airiest human head;
   And yet who can believe it! I would shatter
       Gladly all matters down to stone or lead,
   Or adamant, to find the World a spirit,
   And wear my head, denying that I wear it.II
   What a sublime discovery 'twas to make the
      Universe universal egotism,
  That all's ideal--all ourselves: I'll stake the
      World (be it what you will) that  that's no schism.
  Oh Doubt!--if thou be'st Doubt, for which some take thee,
      But which I doubt extremely--thou sole prism
  Of the Truth's rays, spoil not my draught of spirit!
  Heaven's brandy, though our brain can hardly bear it.III

For ever and anon comes Indigestion
      (Not the most "dainty Ariel") and perplexes
  Our soarings with another sort of question:
      And that which after all my spirit vexes,
  Is, that I find no spot where Man can rest eye on,
      Without confusion of the sorts and sexes,
  Of beings, stars, and this unriddled wonder,
  The World, which at the worst's a glorious blunder--IV

If it be chance--or, if it be according
      To the Old Text, still better: lest it should
  Turn out so, we'll say nothing 'gainst the wording,
      As several people think such hazards rude.
  They're right; our days are too brief for affording
      Space to dispute what  no one ever could
  Decide, and  everybody one day will
  Know very clearly--or at least lie still.V

And therefore will I leave off metaphysical
      Discussion, which is neither here nor there:
  If I agree that what is, is; then this I call
      Being quite perspicuous and extremely fair.
  The truth is, I've grown lately rather phthisical:
      I don't know what the reason is--the air
  Perhaps; but as I suffer from the shocks
  Of illness, I grow much more orthodox.VI

The first attack at once prov'd the Divinity
      (But  that I never doubted, nor the Devil);
  The next, the Virgin's mystical virginity;
      The third, the usual Origin of Evil;
  The fourth at once establish'd the whole Trinity
      On so uncontrovertible a level,
  That I devoutly wish'd the three were four--
  On purpose to believe so much the more.VII

To our theme.--The man who has stood on the Acropolis,
      And look'd down over Attica; or he
  Who has sail'd where picturesque Constantinople is,
      Or seen Timbuctoo, or hath taken tea
  In small-ey'd China's crockery-ware metropolis,
      Or sat amidst the bricks of Nineveh,
  May not think much of London's first appearance--
  But ask him what he thinks of it a year hence!VIII

Don Juan had got out on Shooter's Hill;
      Sunset the time, the place the same declivity
  Which looks along that vale of good and ill
       Where London streets ferment in full activity,
  While everything around was calm and still,
      Except the creak of wheels, which on their pivot he
  Heard, and that bee-like, bubbling, busy hum
  Of cities, that boil over with their scum--IX

I say, Don Juan, wrapp'd in contemplation,
      Walk'd on behind his carriage, o'er the summit,
  And lost in wonder of so great a nation,
      Gave way to't, since he could not overcome it.
  "And here," he cried, "is Freedom's chosen station;
      Here peals the People's voice nor can entomb it
  Racks, prisons, inquisitions; resurrection
  Awaits it, each new meeting or election.X

"Here are chaste wives, pure lives; her people pay
      But what they please; and if that things be dear,
  'Tis only that they love to throw away
      Their cash, to show how much they have a-year.
  Here laws are all inviolate; none lay
      Traps for the traveller; every highway's clear;
  Here"--he was interrupted by a knife,
  With--"Damn your eyes! your money or your life!"XI

These free-born sounds proceeded from four pads
      In ambush laid, who had perceiv'd him loiter
  Behind his carriage; and, like handy lads,
      Had seiz'd the lucky hour to reconnoitre,
  In which the heedless gentleman who gads
      Upon the road, unless he prove a fighter
  May find himself within that isle of riches
  Expos'd to lose his life as well as breeches.XII

Juan, who did not understand a word
      Of English, save their shibboleth, &qu


Scheme XABABABBBCDCDEDBB FGFGXHAI JBJBJBKI LMXMKMXI BLBLBLXI NEGBNCXI KBKBKEDG FBFBFBFG OPOPOPIG QAQAQAHG BX
Poetic Form
Metre 1 11010111110 0111110111 11110101110 110101101 01110111110 1011011111 11001101010 01110101111 100101001110 10010100 11011001110 11111111110 111111111111 11110101110 10111111110 1010110111011 110011010 101101000010 10110101110 0111011101 111111111111 01010101010 110101110 0111010100101 11111111010 1011110111 11111101010 1101011101 111011111010 1101111101 10100111 1101011111 0111110100 0101110111 110111111111 101100101 0111110101 1111010101 0111110101 11011111 010111100100 11110101010 010101000100 010100100110 011101001100 111010 1101010101 1101011101 110101111100100 0111010011 111110000101 11111101 0111010010100 1101011100 11111101010 11111111011 11111111 10101011 1101111101 110101010100 110011101 010111111101 10111100101 11011101111 111110010 110111010010 01010111010 11111111101 01111101010 11010111011 1101010 011111011 1111110101 1111011111 1101111101 1111111101 1111010011 11010010011 111010101 1111110111 1111010111 0111101110 0111001101 110101011 010110011 01010111010 11010111110 0111111111 11110101 11011101
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 4,345
Words 715
Sentences 20
Stanzas 11
Stanza Lengths 17, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 2
Lines Amount 91
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 283
Words per stanza (avg) 64
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 12, 2023

3:44 min read
103

George Gordon Lord Byron

George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, known simply as Lord Byron, was an English poet, peer and politician who became a revolutionary in the Greek War of Independence, and is considered one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement. He is regarded as one of the greatest English poets and remains widely read and influential. Among his best-known works are the lengthy narrative poems Don Juan and Childe Harold's Pilgrimage; many of his shorter lyrics in Hebrew Melodies also became popular. He travelled extensively across Europe, especially in Italy, where he lived for seven years in the cities of Venice, Ravenna, and Pisa. During his stay in Italy he frequently visited his friend and fellow poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Later in life Byron joined the Greek War of Independence fighting the Ottoman Empire and died of disease leading a campaign during that war, for which Greeks revere him as a national hero. He died in 1824 at the age of 36 from a fever contracted after the First and Second Siege of Missolonghi. His only legitimate child, Ada Lovelace, is regarded as a foundational figure in the field of computer programming based on her notes for Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine. Byron's illegitimate children include Allegra Byron, who died in childhood, and possibly Elizabeth Medora Leigh.  more…

All George Gordon Lord Byron poems | George Gordon Lord Byron Books

4 fans

Discuss this George Gordon Lord Byron poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Don Juan: Canto the Eleventh" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15054/don-juan%3A-canto-the-eleventh>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    3
    days
    13
    hours
    31
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Which poet is known for writing "Ode to a Nightingale"?
    A Samuel Taylor Coleridge
    B William Wordsworth
    C John Keats
    D Percy Bysshe Shelley