Lord Byron as a satirist in verse

by Claude Moore Fuess

Con queste schiere e quello incontro mena,

Ma l’impunito di ladron mestiero

Cui legge alcuna, alcun poter non frena.”[229]

Byron makes a charge of the same kind in portraying mercenary warriors as,

“Not fighting for their country or its crown,

But wishing to be one day brigadiers;

Also to have the sacking of a town.”[230]

The whole of Canto VI in Il Poema Tartaro may be compared with Byron’s description of the siege of Ismail in Don Juan, VII and VIII. Both scenes are presented with grim and graphic realism, without any softening of the horrors and disgusting incidents of warfare.

In Il Poema Tartaro, more than in his other productions, Casti ventured to resort to genuine personal satire. He assailed not only Catharine, but also Potemkin, Prince Henry of Prussia, Gustavus III of Sweden, the Sultan of Egypt, and the king of Denmark, to mention only figures who have a prominent place in history. His method being still usually indirect and dramatic, Casti seldom lets himself appear as accuser, but puts criticism of these sovereigns into the mouths of his characters, especially Tomasso’s friend, Siveno, who acts as the favorite’s mentor and guide. A whole race may arouse Casti’s anger—

“Contro il mogol superbo, e vile