Hazlitt on Byron

He hath a demon!

Doppelganger:
A literary technique by which a character is duplicated (usually in the form of an alter ego, though sometimes as a ghostly counterpart) or divided into two distinct, usually opposite personalities. The use of this character device is widespread in nineteenth- and twentiethcentury literature, and indicates a growing awareness among authors that the "self" is really a composite of many "selves." A well-known story containing a doppelganger character is Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which dramatises an internal struggle between good and evil.

 doppelganger dop pel gang e r - 1) a ghostly counterpart of a living person, 2) a double 3) a twin or alter ego

Closely related to...

Liminality

The Hero / Villain

Somewhat related to...

the concept of the 'Byronic hero' - a defiant, melancholy young man, brooding on some mysterious, unforgivable in his past.

A ROMANTIC, NOT NECESSARILY GOTHIC, CONSTRUCTION

Examples of the Byronic Hero

Character Book/Series Author
Artemis Fowl II Artemis Fowl Eoin Colfer Edward Cullen Twilight Stephenie Meyer Erik/The Phantom The Phantom of the Opera Gaston Leroux Grendel Beowulf Anonymous Heathcliff Wuthering Heights Emily Bront Lestat Interview with a Vampire Anne Rice Lucifer/Satan Paradise Lost John Milton Mr. Rochester Jane Eyre Charlotte Bront 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 or Film
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 Draven The Crow Michael Corleone The Godfather trilogy Q Star Trek Spiderman Spiderman V V is for Vendetta Wolverine X-Men

Characteristics of the Byronic Hero A character does not have to possess all of the traits below to be considered a Byronic hero, nor is every character with some of these traits necessarily a Byronic hero.
A distaste for social institutions and norms An exile, an outcast, or an outlaw Arrogant Cunning and ability to adapt Cynical Dark attributes not normally associated with a hero Disrespectful of rank and privilege Emotionally conflicted, bipolar tendencies, or moodiness High level of intelligence and perception Mysterious, magnetic, and charismatic Power of seduction and attraction Self-critical and introspective Self-destructive behavior Social and sexual dominance Sophisticated and well-educated Struggles with integrity Troubled past

Task
1. Create an advertising campaign for Byronic Hero a new cologne. 2. Create the front page for a new magazine 3. Magazine Feature The ultimate Byronic Hero makeover 4. Now that s what I call the Byronic Hero 12 compilation album 5. Create a new dance craze, Do the Byron 6.Front cover and blurb of new novel Byronic Hero

BYRONIC HERO