The Byronic Hero

The Byronic Hero

The Byronic Hero is a very intriguing and notable literary character found in English literature. Created by Lord Byron, this character is considered to be one of the most important literary characters of the Romantic period. The Byronic Hero is best described as moody rebel, who isolates himself from others; he is passionate, arrogant and emotional. These character traits are not usually associated with a traditional "hero". When I think of the "Byronic Hero", I think of a smart strong individual that is flawed and that is torn between doing the right thing and remaining disconnected from society.

The Byronic hero first appeared in Milton's Paradise Lost as Satan or Shakespeare's Hamlet; however, Lord Byron developed this character so much and made him so unique that it was only appropriate for this character to be named after Lord Byron. The Byronic hero, as developed by Lord Byron, first appeared in his narrative poem, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. The most famous and fully-developed Byronic Hero is Manfred; this character displays distinguishing characteristics that can be found in most of the Byronic heroes. Some might describe Manfred as a tragic and mysterious individual who suffered from anxiety; others might describe him as a typical narcissist and an anti-social.

In general, the Byronic Hero is very intelligent and powerful, but has experienced something that has caused him to isolate himself and avoid society. Manfred became a social reject that wanders through the mountains longing for death without being able to die, for example when Manfred is talking to the first spirit and he asks him "Will death bestow it on me? (148). Manfred is a fearless man and in my opinion he is bored with the mundane world. His "boredom" is best described in the following lines:

"And none have baffled, many fallen before me--

But this avail'd not: Good, or evil, life,

Powers, passions, all I see in other beings,

Have been to me as rain unto the sands,

Since that all-nameless hour. I have no dread,

And feel the curse to have no natural fear

Nor fluttering throb, that beats with hopes or wishes

Or lurking love of something on the earth." (20-27)

Despite all the darkness that characterizes the Byronic hero, he is extremely confident in himself and even thinks he is above ordinary men. The Byronic Hero is far more intelligent and emotional that the average individual. Manfred believes he is above all, even above the spirits that visit as he tells the first spirit "Ye mock me- but the power which brought ye here Hath made you mine" (151-153) These traits cause the Byronic hero to be extremely confident, arrogant and over sensitive.

The creation of this rather unique character by Lord Byron, has influenced many writers in his own time and continues to influence them in modern times as well. For example, in Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, Jane and Catherine Earnshaw respectively, are torn between a Byronic Hero and a more traditional hero. Emily and Charlotte Bronte were not the only writers inspired by Lord Byron and his Byronic Hero; Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne also included in their writing a dark character with anti heroic traits. Today, Byronic heroes can be found in comic books, such as Spider-Man and Batman, as well as in modern literature and film, for example: Lestat from "Interview with a Vampire", Edward Cullen from the Twilight Series, Michael Corleone from The Godfather trilogy, Edmond Dantés in The Count