Byronic hero
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The Byronic hero is an idealized but flawed character, first portrayed in Byron's semi-autobiographical epic narrative poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812-18). Here, and in later works of literature, the Byronic hero's attributes include:
- having conflicting emotions, bipolar tendencies, or moodiness
- self-critical and introspective
- struggles with integrity
- having a distaste for social institutions and social norms
- being an exile, an outcast, or an outlaw
- a lack of respect for rank and privilege
- having a troubled past
- being cynical, demanding, and/or arrogant
- often self-destructive
- troubles with sexual identity
- loner, often rejected from society
The literary predeccesors of the Byronic hero in English can be traced back to Milton's interpretation of Lucifer as having a justified complaint against God, and to the villains and tyrants of Gothic fiction.
After Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, the Byronic hero made an appearance in many of Byron's other works, including his series of poems on Oriental themes: The Giaour (1813), The Corsair (1814) and Lara (1814); and his closet play Manfred (1817).
Byron's influence was manifested by many authors and artists of the Romantic movement and by writers of Gothic fiction during the 19th century. The Byronic hero provides the title character of Glenarvon (1816), by Byron's erstwhile lover Lady Caroline Lamb, and The Vampyre (1819) by Polidori. Heathcliff from Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights (1847) is another example.
The Byronic hero is also featured in many different contemporary novels, and it is clear that Lord Byron's work continues to influence modern literature as the precursor of a commonly encountered type of anti-hero.es:Héroe de Byron
