Shared more. Cited more. Safe forever.
    • advanced search
    • submit works
    • about
    • help
    • contact us
    • login
    View Item 
    •   MOspace Home
    • University of Missouri-Columbia
    • Graduate School - MU Theses and Dissertations (MU)
    • Theses and Dissertations (MU)
    • Theses (MU)
    • 2008 Theses (MU)
    • 2008 MU theses - Freely available online
    • View Item
    •   MOspace Home
    • University of Missouri-Columbia
    • Graduate School - MU Theses and Dissertations (MU)
    • Theses and Dissertations (MU)
    • Theses (MU)
    • 2008 Theses (MU)
    • 2008 MU theses - Freely available online
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
    advanced searchsubmit worksabouthelpcontact us

    Browse

    All of MOspaceCommunities & CollectionsDate IssuedAuthor/ContributorTitleIdentifierThesis DepartmentThesis AdvisorThesis SemesterThis CollectionDate IssuedAuthor/ContributorTitleIdentifierThesis DepartmentThesis AdvisorThesis Semester

    Statistics

    Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular AuthorsStatistics by Referrer

    Lord Byron's critique of despotism and militarism in the Russian Cantos of Don Juan

    Avkhimovich, Irina S.
    View/Open
    [PDF] public.pdf (2.100Kb)
    [PDF] short.pdf (9.968Kb)
    [PDF] research.pdf (1.816Mb)
    Date
    2008
    Format
    Thesis
    Metadata
    [+] Show full item record
    Abstract
    In his mock-epic masterpiece Don Juan (1819-1824), Lord Byron dwells on the example of Russia in his discussion of the politics of European imperial powers and their military ambitions. In Cantos VII-VIII, the poem's hero, Juan, participates in storming of Turkish fortress Ismail by the Russian army. The poet draws on historical accounts of the Siege of Ismail (1792) for his background and satirizes them for their misrepresentations of war. In Byron's opinion, imperial war discredits all Russia's claims about its progress and cultural improvement. This critique of Russian imperialism amplifies Byron's critique of British imperialism and develops into a universal anti-war critique. The Russian empress Catherine II is the central character in Cantos IX-X. Byron condemns the concept of enlightened despotism that Catherine was widely considered to represent, which leads him to a critique of the Enlightenment. Using imagery from political cartoons, Byron explores Catherine's gender identity in its interaction with her political power. In the context of contemporary travel narratives, Byron is among those who express a more negative attitude towards Russia. On the whole, those who write about Russia's foreign affairs and imperialism offer more critique than those who are concerned with witnessing the life inside the country. This paper argues that Byron's critique, though more superficial than the travel narratives, takes advantage of commonplace perceptions of Russia and Catherine to comment on the politics of post-Napoleonic Europe.
    URI
    https://doi.org/10.32469/10355/6680
    https://hdl.handle.net/10355/6680
    Degree
    M.A.
    Thesis Department
    English (MU)
    Rights
    OpenAccess.
    This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License.
    Collections
    • 2008 MU theses - Freely available online
    • English electronic theses and dissertations (MU)

    Send Feedback
    hosted by University of Missouri Library Systems
     

     


    Send Feedback
    hosted by University of Missouri Library Systems