The character type of the Byronic
hero was first developed by the famous 19th-century English Romantic
poet Lord Byron. Most literary scholars and historians consider the
first literary Byronic hero to be Byron's Childe Harold, the protagonist of
Byron's epic poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. However, many
literary scholars and historians also point to Lord Byron himself as the first
truly Byronic hero, for he exemplified throughout his life the characteristics
of the sort of literary hero he would make famous in his writing.
A Byronic hero can be conceptualized
as an extreme variation of the Romantic hero archetype. Traditional
Romantic heroes tend to be defined by their rejection or questioning of
standard social conventions and norms of behaviour, their alienation from
larger society, their focus on the self as the centre of existence, and their
ability to inspire others to commit acts of good and kindness. Romantic heroes
are not idealized heroes, but imperfect and often flawed individuals who often
behave in a heroic manner.
According to many literary critics
and biographers, Lord Byron developed the archetype of the Byronic hero in
response to his boredom with traditional and Romantic heroic literary
characters. According to critics and biographers, he wanted to introduce a
heroic archetype that would be not only more appealing to readers but also more
psychologically realistic.
The archetype of the Byronic hero is
similar in many respects to the figure of the traditional Romantic hero. Both
Romantic and Byronic heroes tend to rebel against conventional modes of behaviour
and thought and possess personalities that are not traditionally heroic.
However, Byronic heroes usually have a greater degree of psychological and
emotional complexity than traditional Romantic heroes.
Byronic heroes are marked not only by
their outright rejection of traditional heroic virtues and values but also
their remarkable intelligence and cunning, strong feelings of affection and
hatred, impulsiveness, strong sensual desires, moodiness, cynicism, dark humour,
and morbid sensibilities.
Byronic heroes also tend to only seem
loyal to themselves and their core beliefs and values. While they often act on behalf
of greater goods, they will rarely acknowledge doing so.
Byronic heroes tend to be intelligent and
arrogant. Read more here.
1 comment:
Really useful one, compact yet packed with important points.Thank You very much for the effort to make the hard one looks so simple. Further, you can access this site to read "Lord Byron's Attitude Towards Nature"
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