Don Juan

Don Juan by Lord Byron (1819-1824)

Not a seducer but a man seduced — Byron's comic masterpiece follows the hapless Juan from Spain to a harem in Constantinople, a Russian empress's bed, and the English countryside. The wittiest long poem in the English language.

Historical Significance:
Byron wrote Don Juan in ottava rima stanzas from 1818 until his death in Greece in 1824, leaving it unfinished at 16 cantos. The poem scandalized England with its sexual frankness, satirical attacks on contemporary figures, and Byron's refusal to play by literary rules. His publisher initially released it anonymously. Byron's digressive, conversational style — breaking the fourth wall constantly to address the reader — anticipated postmodern fiction by 150 years. The poem's wit is relentless: "Man's love is of man's life a thing apart, / 'Tis woman's whole existence." Byron himself called it "the most moral of poems" — and he was only half joking.

This public domain classic was originally published 1819-1824. Free to read and share.