Byronic hero
The Byronic hero is a variant of the Romantic hero as a type of character, named after the English Romantic poet Lord Byron.[1] Both Byron's own persona as well as characters from his writings are considered to provide defining features to the character type.
The Byronic hero first reached a very wide public in Byron's
Byron's poems with Oriental settings show more "
Origins
The initial version of the type in Byron's work, Childe Harold, draws on a variety of earlier literary characters including
For example, in Byron's early poem "When I Roved a Young Highlander" (1808), we see a reflection of Byron's youthful Scottish connection, but also find these lines:As the last of my race, I must wither alone,
And delight but in days, I have witness'd before:[11]
These lines echo William Wordsworth's treatment of James Macpherson's Ossian in "Glen-Almain" (1807):
Thus Byron's poem seems to show that a brooding, melancholy influence not only from Wordsworth but also from Macpherson was very much on his mind at an early date.[14]
After Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, the Byronic hero made an appearance in many of Byron's other works, including his series of poems on Oriental themes:
That man of loneliness and mystery,
Scarce seen to smile, and seldom heard to sigh— (I, VIII)
and
He knew himself a villain—but he deem'd
The rest no better than the thing he seem'd;
And scorn'd the best as hypocrites who hid
Those deeds the bolder spirit plainly did.
He knew himself detested, but he knew
The hearts that loath'd him, crouch'd and dreaded too.
Lone, wild, and strange, he stood alike exempt
From all affection and from all contempt: (I, XI)[15]
Public reaction and following
Admiration of Byron continued to be fervent in the years following his death, despite claims from author Peter L. Thorslev that the literary culture of the Byronic Hero "died in England almost with Byron".[16] Notable fans included Alfred Tennyson: fourteen at the time of Byron's death, and so grieved at the poet's passing, he carved the words "Byron is dead" on a rock near his home in Somersby, declaring the "world had darkened for him".[17] However, the admiration of Byron as a character led some fans to emulate characteristics of the Byronic hero. Foremost was Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, who took the Byron cult to remarkable extremes. His marriage to Byron's granddaughter,[18] taking a "Byron pilgrimage" around the Continent and his anti-imperialist stance that saw him become an outcast just like his hero cemented his commitment to emulating the Byronic character.[19] For professor David Michael Jones, the Byronic Hero becomes an expression of masculinity that "is changed, repressed, and reformatted through the long nineteenth century".[20]
Literary usage and other influences
Byron's influence is manifest in many authors and artists of the
In later Victorian literature, the Byronic character only seemed to survive as a solitary figure, resigned to suffering.[23] However, Charles Dickens' representation of the character is more complex than that. Steerforth in David Copperfield manifests the concept of the "fallen angel" aspect of the Byronic hero; his violent temper and seduction of Emily should turn the reader, and indeed David, against him. But it does not. He still retains a fascination, as David admits in the aftermath of discovering what Steerforth has done to Emily.[24] He may have done wrong, but David cannot bring himself to hate him. Steerforth's occasional outbreaks of remorse reveal a tortured character,[25] echoing a Byronic remorse. Harvey concludes that Steerforth is a remarkable blend of both villain and hero, and exploration of both sides of the Byronic character.
Scholars have also drawn parallels between the Byronic hero and the so-called
The Byronic hero is also featured in many contemporary novels, and has played a role in modern literature as the precursor to a popular form of antihero. Erik, the Phantom from Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera (1909–1910) is a well-known example from the first half of the twentieth century,[28] while Ian Fleming's James Bond (if not his cinematic incarnations) shows all the earmarks in the second half: "Lonely, melancholy, of fine natural physique, which has become in some way ravaged ... dark and brooding in expression, of a cold and cynical veneer, above all enigmatic, in possession of a sinister secret."[29]
Modernity
Different iterations of the Byronic Hero are also recognisable in pop culture. Many researchers have already connected the figure of the Byronic Hero to mainstream Hollywood characters:
Byronic heroine
There are also suggestions of the potential of a Byronic heroine in Byron's works. Charles J. Clancy argues that Aurora Raby in Don Juan possesses many of the characteristics typical of a Byronic hero. Described as "silent, lone" in the poem, her life has indeed been spent in isolation – she has been orphaned from birth. She validates Thorslev's assertion that Byronic heroes are "invariably solitaries".[32] Yet, like her male counterpart, she evokes an interest from those around her, "There was awe in the homage which she drew".[33] Again, this is not dissimilar to the description of the fascination that Byron himself encountered wherever he went.[34] Her apparent mournful nature is also reminiscent of the regretful mien of the Byronic hero. She is described as having deeply sad eyes, "Eyes which sadly shone, as Seraphs' shine".[35] This was a specific characteristic of the Byronic hero.[33] This seems to express a despair with humanity, not unlike the despair present in Byron's Cain, as Thorslev notes. She herself admits to despairing at "man's decline", therefore this brings her into direct comparison with Cain's horror at the destruction of humanity.[35]
See also
Notes
- ^ "The Literary Overview: Heroes" (PDF). Fox Valley Lutheran High School.
- ^ Christiansen, 201
- ^ Sandgren, Retta Aleen. The Byronic hero in Childe Harold's pilgrimage, the four Turkish tales, Manfred, and Don Juan. Diss. 2013.
- ^ Poole, 17
- ^ Christiansen, 202
- ^ see Beaton
- ^ Christiansen, 202, 213
- ^ Christiansen, 201–203
- ProQuest 304205304.
- ISBN 2907335278.
- ^ Byron, George Gordon. "When I Roved a Young Highlander". Wikisource. Wikimedia Foundation. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ^ Wordsworth, William. "Glen-Almain, or the Narrow Glen". Wikisource. Wikimedia Foundation. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ^ Wordsworth, William (1807). Poems, in Two Volumes. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme. pp. 16–17. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ^ Cairney, Chris (2018). "Intertextuality and Intratextuality: Does Mary Shelley 'Sit Heavily Behind' Conrad's Heart of Darkness?" (PDF). Culture in Focus. 1 (1): 105. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
- ^ Christiansen, 203; sections VIII-XI of Canto I contain an extended account of Conrad's character, see Wikisource text
- ^ Thorslev, Peter L. The Byronic hero: Types and prototypes. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1962.
- ^ McCarthy 2002, p. 555.
- ^ McCarthy 2002, p. 562.
- ^ McCarthy 2002, p. 564.
- ^ Jones, David Michael. The Secret History of Romance Masculinity: The Byronic Hero and the Novel, 1814-1914. University of Connecticut, 2012.
- ^ Dumas 1844, p. 247.
- ^ McCarthy 2002, p. 557.
- ^ Harvey 1969, p. 306.
- ^ Harvey 1969, p. 309.
- ^ Harvey 1969, p. 308.
- ^ Christiansen, 218–222
- ^ Christiansen, 220, note
- ^ Markos 2013, p. 162.
- ^ Amis, 26
- ^ Johnson, Megan Jeanine. Recapturing the Byronic Hero: Christopher Nolan's Batman Films (Bachelor's thesis, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA). 2014.
- ^ Dlask, Jan. "Byronic Archetype in Star Wars Saga." (2021).
- ^ Clancy 1979, p. 29.
- ^ a b Clancy 1979, p. 30.
- ^ McCarthy 2002, p. 161.
- ^ a b Clancy 1979, p. 31.
References
- Amis, Kingsley. The James Bond Dossier. Jonathan Cape, 1965.
- ISBN 0-7474-0404-6
- Clancy, Charles J. (1979). "Aurora Raby In Don Juan: A Byronic Heroine". Keats-Shelley Journal. 28. New York: Keats-Shelley Association Of America: 28–34. JSTOR 30212839.
- ISBN 978-1-85326-733-8.
- Harvey, William R. (1969). "Charles Dickens And The Byronic Hero". Nineteenth-Century Fiction. 24 (3). California: University of California Press: 305–316. JSTOR 2932860.
- McCarthy, Fiona (2002). Byron: Life And Legend. London: John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-5621X.
- Markos, Louis (2013). Heaven And Hell: Visions Of The Afterlife In Western Poetic Tradition. Eugene: Cascade. ISBN 978-1-62032-750-0.
- Poole, Gabriele. "The Byronic Hero, Theatricality and Leadership". The Byron Journal. Volume 38, issue 1, 2010: pp. 7–18. .
- Beaton, Roderick. Byron's War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
- Thorslev, Peter L. "The Byronic Hero And Heroic Tradition". The Byronic Hero. Minnesota: University Press, 1962.
External links
- Norton topics online, "The Satanic and Byronic Hero"
- Immortals and Vampires and Ghosts, Oh My!: Byronic Heroes in Popular Culture