LITERATURA INGLESA: ROMÁNTICOS Y VICTORIANOS

BLOQUE 1: THE ROMANTIC PERIOD

3. A ROMANTIC JOURNEY: BYRONIC HEROISM

A struggle for the unattainable

‘the desire of the moth for the star’

–Percy Shelley

1. THE BYRONIC HERO

What is a hero?

Character (fictional or historical) that, in the face f danger and adversity or from a position of
weakness, displays courage and the will for self sacrifice for some greater good
Heroic qualities: fortitude, loyalty, valor, bravery, determination, intrepidity, gallantry,
perseverance, sacrifice, selflessness

-Fortitude: courage in pain or adversity

-Loyalty: firm and not changing in your friendship with or support for a person or an
organization, or in your belief in your principles.
-Valor: great courage in the face of danger, especially in battle
-Bravery: courageous behavior or character
-Determination: firmness of purpose
-Intrepidity: fearless, adventurous, often used for rhetorical or humorous effect
-Gallantry: courageous behavior, especially in battle; polite attention or respect given by
men to women.
-Perseverance: steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving
success.
-Sacrifice: an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as
more important or worthy
-Selflessness: concern more with the needs and wishes of others than with one’s own

The hero’s journey

Hero:
-acquires use of a magical agent
-leaves home
-is branded
-is rescued from pursuit
-marries princess (or not)

How many heroes? Types of heroes

-Superhero: fictional character of unprecedented powers dedicated to do good actions in the

public interest without expectation of reward. Qualities: a strong moral code and sense of
responsibility, a secret identity, a distinctive costume, a number of enemies s/he fights repeatedly,

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 LITERATURA INGLESA: ROMÁNTICOS Y VICTORIANOS

BLOQUE 1: THE ROMANTIC PERIOD

independent wealth, a headquarters or base of operations, a backstory with circumstances,

abilities’ origin and motivations.
-Anti-hero: a central character in a story, film or play who lacks the conventional heroic qualities
seen in the archetypical hero. Protagonist who has pronounced personality or character defects or
eccentricities which are not usually associated with the hero archetype. A protagonist who displays
faults but with whom the audience identifies. A central figure in a work that repels us by his or her
actions or morality, yet who is not a villain. A protagonist who proceeds in an unheroic manner,
such as by criminal means or mercenary goals, but who accomplishes a useful purpose.

Characteristics of the byronic hero

-Rejection of social rules

-Alienation
-Isolation
-Inspiring others
-Self-centered: self-awareness, self-doubt
-Sensibility
-Cynicism
-Arrogance
-High intelligence
-Larger that life (doing the impossible)
-An outcast, a solitary much given to communing with untamed nature, and who thus represents
the potentially expanding and liberating elements in that nature.
-A man greater than others in emotion, capability, and suffering. Only among wild and vast forms
of nature […] can he find a counterpart to his own titanic passions…
-Driven by a demon within, he is fatal to himself and others; for no one can resist his hypnotic
fascination and authority. He has committed a sin that itself expresses his superiority: lesser men
could not even conceive a like transgression.
-He has great energy, often powers of leadership, and even his vices are dignified enough to have
some aesthetic attraction. Remember: modern vampire stories are based on Stroker, which is
based on Polidori’s The Vampyre (1819) novella, which is based on Byron.
-The Byronic hero has the same defiance of society’s rules and institutions and the same bad-
boy appeal of the charismatic villain, combined with an aspiration after generally more
admirable goals than those of the typical villain character.
-Lucifer (tv series) is based/rebelled on Paradise Lost by Milton.
Some examples: Anakin/Lord Vader, Sherlock Holmes, Severus Snape…

Byronic heroes in Byron

We can find Byronic heroes in:

-Napoleon as seen by Byron and Wordsworth
-Childe Harold
-The Corsair
-Don Juan
-Manfred
-Himself

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