THE BYRONIC HERO

he•ro (hir  o, he  ro) n., 

 

1. any man admired for his courage, nobility, or exploits, esp. in war  2. any man admired for his qualities or achievements and regarded as an ideal or model  3. the central male figure in a novel, play, poem, etc., with whom the reader or audience is supposed to sympathize; protagonist  4. the central figure in any important event or period, honored for outstanding qualities

 

Mesmerizing defines his nature. Charismatic almost beyond comprehension, he persuades us all of his good intentions (existent or otherwise). Like a train wreck or car crash, we cannot shy away from his flaws, his mistakes, his inner torment. He haunts the halls of our memories, springing up ever and again in movies, books, music, and the news. Though we may wish his power over us to be less, he captivates, and we both love and hate the relationship. Hero and villain, brave and dastardly, angelic and demonic, he is known the world over: he is the Byronic Hero.

 

The world has superheroes – like Superman and He-man – heroes of comic strip fame that battle archenemies with mighty superpowers. The literary world uses the word hero to simply define the main character of a story. 

When Lord Byron stepped onto the literary scene, it was like he stepped off the pages of a book into life. He was a character living an outrageous life of fantasy in which the lines between fiction and reality were obscured – but the interesting fact was that in Byron’s own mind, there were no lines. This fascinated people of his time. He broke all the rules of literature and life. He was a man driven by passion, haunted by his past, while seeking expression, fulfillment, and enlightenment. 

Because Lord Byron was the real deal – the living, breathing personification of this character – literaries of the day coined the name “Byronic Hero” to identify his dark originality. In a nutshell, the “Byronic hero” is the ultimate gray in the spectrum of human nature: not absolute good nor extreme evil – he’s the intermingling of both.

Since its debut in Byron’s works in the early 19th century, the Byronic Hero has remained everlastingly popular. Let’s face it: goody-goody characters are schmaltzy, straight-laced stiffs are boring. But the Byronic hero –ah!, there’s someone with dimension and interest. In the following pages are an abbreviated sampling of Byronic heroes past and present. Whether real or fictitious, these are the stars of legend and fame.