Don Juan

Sadly, with Don Juan, I believe that I have now read all of Richard Wilbur's translations of French drama. Then again, I had thought that years ago and they recently started republishing ones I hadn't read. So maybe I will be pleasantly surprised by some more translations.

Sadly also, this is the only Wilbur translation that has any false notes, specifically the dialogue of the rustic peasants in Act II sounds anachronistic and tinny, with phrases like "Hell's bells." Clearly an artistic choice on Wilbur's part but not one that worked for me.

But, of course, Don Juan is spectacular. It is in prose, like other versions of Don Juan a strange combination of comedy, romance, tragedy, moral fable, and other genres. The prose has the same grace show more as Wilbur's versions of Moliere's rhyming verse. And Don Juan's depiction is complex and multi-faceted. show less

A classic play, Don Juan is at once a morality tale in which the libertine anti-hero is haunted by a former victim and finally ends in his rightful place in Hell--which is what let Moliere get away with producing it in the first place--and a delightfully subversive comedy in which the devil gets all the best lines (well, in truth, the best lines go to Don Juan's servant, the role which Moliere wrote for himself) and we find ourselves rooting for the deliciously amoral, womanizing Don Juan the whole time despite ourselves. There are plenty of plays from this period which attempt this balance--titilating but ultimately at least ostensibly supportive of the sexually repressive status quo--and fail, but in Moliere's hands the play never show more once hits a sour note. Instead, we are provided with some of the most crackling, wittiest dialogue to be found in French literature of this era, and a closing monologue which is nothing less than a work of genius. show less

A sarcastic bit of comedy that takes on a number of French conventions of the time in the guise of the libertine character, Don Juan. I found the play more interesting than enjoyable, but I would like to see it in production, because I find that I often like viewing a play much more than reading one.

Sadly, with Don Juan, I believe that I have now read all of Richard Wilbur's translations of French drama. Then again, I had thought that years ago and they recently started republishing ones I hadn't read. So maybe I will be pleasantly surprised by some more translations.

Sadly also, this is the only Wilbur translation that has any false notes, specifically the dialogue of the rustic peasants in Act II sounds anachronistic and tinny, with phrases like "Hell's bells." Clearly an artistic choice on Wilbur's part but not one that worked for me.

But, of course, Don Juan is spectacular. It is in prose, like other versions of Don Juan a strange combination of comedy, romance, tragedy, moral fable, and other genres. The prose has the same grace show more as Wilbur's versions of Moliere's rhyming verse. And Don Juan's depiction is complex and multi-faceted. show less

I regret that I have not read this before now. This was entertaining, erudite, and funny. Why didn't I get to read this in high school rather than some of the more boring stuff?

843203861X

843203861X