 Its dates of composition (1818–1819) place it between the earlier Eastern tales such as "The Prisoner of Chillon" (1817), which describe agonised, maudlin Byronic heroes and the later satirical, ironic "Don Juan" (1818–19).Leslie Marchand argues that "Mazeppa" is a partly unsuccessful work, as it is torn between high emotion and lighter irony.Mark Phillipson also sees "Mazeppa" as a transitional work of a "mongrel genre, the historical verse-romance".