Todays Concept - The Byronic Hero
The
Byronic hero--so named because it evolved primarily due to Lord Byron’s
writing in the nineteenth century-is, according to Peter Thorslev, one
of the most prominent literary character types of the Romantic period:
Romantic heroes represent an important tradition in our literature
. . . . In England we have a reinterpreted Paradise Lost, a number
of Gothic novels and dramas . . . the heroic romances of the younger Scott,
some of the poetry of Shelley, and the works of Byron. In all of these
works the Byronic Hero is the one protagonist who in stature and in temperament
best represents the [heroic] tradition in England. (Thorslev 189)
A Byronic hero exhibits several characteristic traits, and in many ways
he can be considered a rebel. The Byronic hero does not possess "heroic
virtue" in the usual sense; instead, he has many dark qualities. With regard
to his intellectual capacity, self-respect, and hypersensitivity, the Byronic
hero is "larger than life," and "with the loss of his titanic passions,
his pride, and his certainty of self-identity, he loses also his status
as [a traditional] hero" (Thorslev 187).
He is usually isolated from society as a wanderer or is in exile of
some kind. It does not matter whether this social separation is imposed
upon him by some external force or is self-imposed. Byron's Manfred, a
character who wandered desolate mountaintops, was physically isolated from
society, whereas Childe Harold chose to "exile" himself and wander throughout
Europe. Although Harold remained physically present in society and among
people, he was not by any means "social."
Often the Byronic hero is moody by nature or passionate about a particular
issue. He also has emotional and intellectual capacities, which are superior
to the average man. These heightened abilities force the Byronic hero to
be arrogant, confident, abnormally sensitive, and extremely conscious of
himself. Sometimes, this is to the point of nihilism resulting in his rebellion
against life itself (Thorslev 197). In one form or another, he rejects
the values and moral codes of society and because of this he is often unrepentant
by society's standards. Often the Byronic hero is characterized by a guilty
memory of some unnamed sexual crime. Due to these characteristics, the
Byronic hero is often a figure of repulsion, as well as fascination.