A Journal Analyzing the Byronic Hero, Those who Closely Resemble the Hero, Byron’s Writing Styles and Literary Criticism
(Journal entry 1, Defining the Byronic Hero)
The Byronic Hero is a term derived from the poetic narrative, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, by Lord Byron. Though the idea of the Byronic Hero originated with the creation of Byron’s characters, Byron himself possessed the physical features associated with the Byronic Hero. These features include dark brooding eyes, dark hair, pale skin and a slender frame. The Byronic hero derived from Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, strays away from the typical “hero” role by possessing dual characteristics of good as well as evil, “And had been glorious in another day: but one sad losel soils a name for aye…”(Byron,C.H.181). The Byronic Hero is usually defined by his voluntary isolation from the normal institutions of society, “Self-exiled Harold wanders forth again, with nought of hope left, but with less of gloom…” (Byron,C.H.211). He also represses his passions creating an unrequited obsession when, “He bids to sober joy that here sojourns: nought interrupts the riot, though in lieu of true devotion monkish incense burns…” and “had buried long his hopes, no more to rise: pleasure’s pall’d victim! Life-abhorring gloom.”(Byron,C.H. 193) In these remarks, the Hero prefers to bask in sorrow for a love lost or never attained than to pursue the object of his desire. The Byronic Hero prides himself on his intellectual ability because his intelligence eclipses that of the average man. “But soon he knew himself the most unfit of men to herd with man; with whom he held little in common; untaught to submit his thoughts to others, though his soul was quell’d in his you...
... middle of paper ...
...the confines of society. The Superhero further evades societal restrictions by masking himself and keeping his identity a mystery. This mystery distinguishes the Hero from others and places him into the Byronic realm where the dark figure retreats to solitude. Unlike the Byronic Hero described in Byron’s poetry the new Superhero has a dual conscience that allows him to reside outside of societal foundations while working to uphold the society’s values.
Works Cited
Lauter, Paul, ed. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Boston: New York 2002.
Bloom, Harold, ed. Modern Critical Interpretations. New Have: New York 1987.
Leone, Bruno, ed.Readings on Edgar Allan Poe. San Diego: CA 1998.
Page, Frederick, ed. Byron Poetical Works. Oxford: New York 1970.
Bloom, Harold, ed. Modern Critical Views George Gordon, Lord Byron. New Haven: New York 1986.
... Works Cited Everett, Nicholas. From The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-century Poetry in English. Ed. Ian Hamilton.
Sixth Edition. New York: Harper Collins College Publishers Inc., 1995. Twentieth Century Literary Criticism. Vol. 9.
Scott- Kilvert, Ian. “George Gordon, Lord Byron.” British Writers. Vol. IV. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1981. Print.
The Byronic hero in literature is named after Lord Byron and his main protagonist in his poem Childe Harold. The Byronic hero was established during the Romantic period in art and literature as an anti-hero; he is supposed to represent the antithesis of the ideal, chivalrous hero of the time. This hero is dark, mysterious, and brooding. He often harbors the torturing memory of an enormous, nameless guilt that drives him toward an inevitable doom. He holds himself detached and sees himself as superior in his passions and powers compared to society and humanity, whom he regards with disdain. He stubbornly pursues his own ends according to his self-generated moral code, against all opposition. He also gains an attraction from the other characters because it involves their confusion at his obliviousness to ordinary human concerns. Byronic heroes in literature often have the following characteristics: passionate, unrepentant, wandering, isolated, attractive, and self-reliant.
Guerin, Wilfred L., Earle Labor, Lee Morgan, Jeanne C. Reesman, and John R. Willingham. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. 125-156.
Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1990. 40-43. The 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary'. Print.
The similarities existing between the two characters, Cristina Ceron argues, also align in Manfred’s first act soliloquy, in which the Byronic hero praises his superhuman powers announcing himself the devil and the sovereign of the world:
Guerin, Wilford L. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1979.
Heller, Joseph. The Chelsea House Library of Literary Criticism. Twentieth-Century American Literature Vol. 3. New York. Chelsea House Publishers, 1986.
Byron is harsh because of things he does to his own family and other kids .
Trueblood, Paul Graham. The Flowering of Byron's Genius Studies in Byron's Don Juan. New York:Russell & Russell 1962.
Bloom, Harold. Bloom’s Major Poets, Alfred Lord Tennyson. Broomall, PA: Chelsea House, 1999. P.11. print.
Guerin, Wilfred L., Earle G. Labor, Lee Morgan. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. 2nd Edition. Oxford, 1979. 162-165.
Lord Byron had a variety of achievements during his time. Among these various achievements, he had a very significant and profound impact on the nineteenth century and it’s “conception of archetypal Romantic Sensibility. (Snyder 40). “What fascinates nineteenth century audiences about Byron was not simply the larger than life character of the man transmuted into...
Thorslev, Peter L., Jr. The Byronic Hero: Types and Prototypes. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. 1962. Print.