Byronic Heroes and Their Characteristics (with a little dash of pop culture) by Nur Shazwani (194806)

Byronic Heroes and Their Characteristics (with a little dash of pop culture)

A portrait of Lord Byron by Henry Harlow

The Byronic Hero is a term to describe an archetype, or a character type in literary works. The term was derived from the famous 19^th century English Romantic poet; Lord Byron. The defining features of the character type came from Lord Byron’s own persona and also from the characters he has written. Most literary scholars and historians consider the first literary Byronic hero to be Childe Harold, the protagonist of Byron's epic poem; Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812 - 1818). However, Lord Byron himself is considered as the first truly Byronic hero as he wrote the characteristics of the hero in his writing based on his own life experiences. Historian and critic Lord Macaulay described the character as "a man proud, moody, cynical, with defiance on his brow, and misery in his heart, a scorner of his kind, implacable in revenge, yet capable of deep and strong affection".

The Byronic hero had a considerable influence on later literature, in English and other languages. The influence is heavily manifest in many authors and artists of the Romantic movement and writers of Gothic fiction during the 19^th century. Some examples are; title character of Glenarvon (1816) by Byron's erstwhile lover Lady Caroline Lamb; and for Lord Ruthven in The Vampyre (1819) by Byron's personal physician, John William Polidori. Claude Frollo from Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1831), and many more. This archtype is also featured in many contemporary novels, a prove that Byron's work continues to influence modern literature. For examples; Erik, the Phantom from Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera (1909–1910) and Ian Fleming's James Bond. The influences continues to this day in many genre of literature such as books, comics, films and television series.

Some of these Byronic Hero are anti-heroes, some are not. Even some villains are considered to be a Byronic Hero. But all of them have the similarity to brood and are often found struggling with their own integrity and their pasts. They are among the darker literary heroes, but with a little or more good lurking behind their masks. However, that good quality is usually revealed under specific circumstances.

What makes a hero “Byronic?”

INTELLIGENCE

It is the root of their survival. Otherwise we might lose interest in them. A Byronic Hero would be someone who is hyper-observant with keen deductive reasoning skills and intuition, or the perceptiveness of a savant. Genius mind that keep them one step ahead of everyone else; both the bad guys and good guys. This trait might annoyed the other characters around them. However, they would be thankful in the end as it is with these skills that which bring down the real villains.

MAGNETISM

Despite their flaws, constant brooding and frustrating moodiness, they seem to draw people in by the sheer force of personality, always at the center of things, even when not interested in being there. Maybe readers or viewers perceive the wounded spirit that drives our hero’s less attractive attributes, and are driven by a natural desire to heal him. It is a classic literary device to humanize an anti-heroes.

For example, the television series; House, in one episode which Dr. Gregory House commands a large team of experienced physicians as he executes an experimental and dangerous diagnostic protocol on a young cancer patient with a blood clot in her brain. The procedure is so dangerous and intricate, it requires rehearsal to get it just right. Commanding a large team of surgeons, anesthesiologists, cardiologists, and neurologists; nurses and technicians and they hang on his every word, trusting him for his knowledge, self-confidence and through the sheer force of his personality, captivated by the genius at work

TROUBLED PAST AND PAINFUL PRESENT

The past of Byronic heroes informs every part of their present; the cynicism, the aloofness, the jerk-ness, but also the wounded spirit, world-weariness and the vulnerability just lurking beyond our grasp.

Reader or viewers may discover an idealist. Although not every Byronic hero has an idealistic or romantic side, most do - sometimes so deeply buried beneath a lifetime of torment, it only emerges under the rarest of conditions. For example, Once Upon a Time’s Rumplestiltskin is a hard man. He is tough and harsh. He was betrayed from the time he was a child by a cruel father and a dismissive wife who betrayed him. But there are moments when viewers get glimpses of the idealist, the kind man who pursued an idea to stop the ogre wars that led children to their deaths.

THE CLASSIC OUTSIDER                                                 

The Byronic heroes are almost always classic outsiders. There is something that sets them apart from everyone else. He could be a mutant, a non-human living amongt humans, or alien of the sorts. It is their distinct difference or oddness that pushes them outside the circle, whether to become inward dwelling recluses or complete outlaws. But it makes them among the most adaptable of heroes.

As classic outsiders, Byronic heroes need unique, highly developed coping skills. They have to be cunning and adaptable to survive in a world that either dismisses or scorns them. Faced with adversity, perhaps a family that casts them out or a lover who proves faithless, they go off to war, they get an education, develop some sort of intellectual superpower. When they return, perhaps not triumphant, they are stronger for the experience.

Byronic heroes are, more than anything else, “mad, bad, and dangerous to know.” Yet we are drawn into their orbits, intent on knowing them beneath the cape, behind the mask, beyond the icy exterior.

EXAMPLES OF THE BYRONIC HERO IN POP CULTURE

LITERATURE

Character		Book/Series	Author
Artemis Fowl II		Artemis Fowl	Eoin Colfer
Edward Cullen		Twilight	Stephenie Meyer
Lestat		Interview with a Vampire	Anne Rice
Scarlett O’Hara		Gone With the Wind	Margaret Mitchell
Severus Snape		Harry Potter series	J. K. Rowling
Tyler Durden/Narrator		Fight Club	Chuck Palahniuk

COMICS AND FILMS

Character	Movie/Comic Book
Anakin Skywalker	Star Wars series
Angel	Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Batman	Batman
Captain Jack Sparrow	Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy
Eric Driven	The Crow
Michael Corleone	The Godfather series
Q	Star Trek
Spiderman	Spiderman
V	V is for Vendetta
Wolverine	X-Men

References

Barnett, B. (2016). Byronic Heroes in Contemporary F&SF. File 770. Retrieved 27 March 2018, from http://file770.com/?p=3130

Harris, M. (2015). Ten Byronic Heroes From Sci-Fi and Fantasy to Love. The Silver Petticoat Review. Retrieved 27 March 2018, from https://www.silverpetticoatreview.com/2015/07/01/ten-byronic-heroes-from-sci-fi-and-fantasy-to-love/

Byronic Hero: Definition, Characteristics & Examples - Video & Lesson Transcript. (2018). Study.com. Retrieved 29 March 2018, from https://study.com/academy/lesson/byronic-hero-definition-characteristics-examples.html


by NUR SHAZWANI BINTI SUPARIJO (194806)