Don Juan

About “Don Juan”

Don Juan is an unfinished satirical epic poem written by Lord Byron between 1819 and 1824. It is based on the Spanish folk legend of Don Juan but presents the character as a victim rather than a womaniser. The poem is written in ottava rima and is divided into 16 cantos. Byron drew inspiration from traditional Spanish stories but created a unique narrative. When the first two cantos were published in 1819, they faced criticism for being immoral due to their sharp satire of society and public figures. Byron died in 1824 with 16 of 17 cantos completed, leaving the final canto unfinished. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.)