Don Juan · Chapter
Endnotes explained
This chapter consists of editorial endnotes providing commentary, textual variants, and contextual explanations for references in Don Juan, including allusions to contemporary figures, legal battles, literary criticism, and personal anecdot
What happens
This chapter consists of editorial endnotes providing commentary, textual variants, and contextual explanations for references in Don Juan, including allusions to contemporary figures, legal battles, literary criticism, and personal anecdotes from Byron's life.
Themes in this chapter
Satire of Society
Editorial notes highlight Byron's satirical attacks on literary critics, lawyers, and social mores.
Illusion and Reality
Notes on the Black Friar ghost and the blending of fact and fancy in Byron's descriptions.
Characters to notice
- Don Juan
Referenced indirectly through editorial notes on the poem's composition and reception.
- The Black Friar
Discussed in notes about the Newstead Abbey ghost legend and its depiction in Don Juan.
Key passages
“I have read the recent article of Jeffrey… I suppose the long and the short of it is, that he wishes to provoke me to reply. But I won't, for I owe him a good turn still for his kindness bygone.”
Byron acknowledges Jeffrey's critical article but chooses not to respond, recalling past favors.
Byron's letter to Moore, June 8, 1822, regarding the Edinburgh Review.
“They say that 'Knowledge is Power';—I used to think so; but I now know that they meant Money… every guinea is a philosopher's stone, or at least his touch-stone.”
Byron cynically equates money with virtue and power, dismissing knowledge as secondary.
Byron's letter to Kinnaird, February 6, 1822.
“The place is worth seeing as a ruin, and I can assure you there was some fun there, even in my time; but that is past. The ghosts, however, and the Gothics, and the waters, and the desolation, make it very lively still.”
Byron describes Newstead Abbey as a lively ruin with ghosts and Gothic charm.
Byron's letter to Moore, August 13, 1814, about Newstead.