The Byronic Hero is an idealised but flawed character brought about by Lord Byron. Lady Caroline Lamb, Byron's ex-lover, explained the byronic hero as, "mad, bad, and dangerous to know". The archetype first appeared in Byron's -semi-autobiographical - epic poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812-1818).
Traits of the Byronic Hero:
- Arrogant
- Cunning/ able to adapt
- Cynical
- Disrespectful of rank/privledge
- Emotionally conflicted, bipolar, or moody
- Having a distaste for social institutions and norms
- Having a troubled past or suffering from an unnamed crime
- Intelligent and Perceptive
- Jaded/ world-weary
- Mysterious, magnetic, and charismatic
- Seductive/ sexually attractive
- Self-critical/ introspective
- Self-destructive
- Socially and sexually dominant
- Sophisiticated/ educated
- Struggling with integrity
- Treated as an exile, outcast, or outlaw
After Childe Harold's Pilgrimage the byronic hero found its way into many other works of Byron's. Byron had influences within the artists of the Romantic movement and writers of the Gothic fiction during the 19th Century. Likewise Lord Byron was also the inspiration for literary characters as well including: Lord Ruthven in The Vampyre.
Other Byronic Heroes throughout history:
- Captain Wentworth - Persuasion
- Claude Frollo - The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- Heathcliff - Wuthering Heights
- Edmond Dantes - The Count of Monte Cristo
- Rochester - Jane Eyre
- Dorian Gray - The Picture of Dorian Gray
- James Steerforth - David Copperfield
The Byronic Hero continues to live today in the form of modern literature. It continues to be a type of anti-hero encountered in modern literature to this day. Often the Byronic Hero is a dangerous and mysterious man that has a kind of attraction around him. Often though a hero, he is not someone to be wholly admired.
No comments:
Post a Comment