Romantic Irony in Musset's `Namouna'

Romantic irony in Musset's "Namouna" takes several forms. First, the writer pokes fun at his hero, Hassan, whose story is constantly interrupted thematically by the intrusions of the author and structurally by the intrusions of the present tense upon the regular narrative tenses as well as by a canto-long digression. Then the poet pokes fun at himself and his poem. Another source of romantic irony is the poem's overall structure: the narrative proper of this "oriental tale" does not begin until the third and final canto. The final irony is that neither Hassan nor the idealized Don Juan of the second Canto is given the title role, which belongs to an inconsequential servant girl. The total effect of the poem is an irony directed at modern man: with our unredeemed cynicism and sensualism, Hassan is the only Don Juan figure we deserve. (LOB)