George Gordon, the sixth Lord Byron, created the Byronic Hero in the nineteenth century. His writing and hero have influenced many others to incorporate these characteristics into their characters. The Byronic Hero generally has these characteristics:.
rebels against convention or society .
has a low tolerance for societal norms and social institutions .
is isolated or has chosen isolation from society.
is not impressed with rank and/or privilege .
has larger-than-life abilities and larger-than-life pride .
suspected of committing a crime or has been cursed .
suffers from grandiose passions .
has a tendency to be self-destructive .
Byron created characters that have these characteristics. His two most famous, Manfred and Harold, are classic examples. Both had a low tolerance for social institutions and were isolated wanderers by choice: Manfred wandered the mountaintops - physically isolated - while his Childe Harold exiled himself to Europe and while still in society, wasn't part of it. Both were not easily impressed, considered themselves cursed and tended to be self-destructive.
In Byron's Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Canto I, we find the first descriptions of the hero. Harold is described as a wanderer "Yet there I've wander'd by thy vaunted rill; Yes! sigh'd o'er Delphi's long-deserted shrine - .
and his reasons for wandering can be found in lines 46-55. He was "sore sick at heart- but pride "the sullen tear congeal'd- so he chose to wander ("from his native land resolv'd to go -) He is described as a man who spent his youth carousing and was born of a long lineage - perhaps of noble birth. He evidently either rebelled against societal norms or committed an unknown crime against societal norms and it is this guilt that drives him to leave his native land. He is passionate about one woman whom he cannot allow himself to have but he loves her with a pure love.
A Byronic hero is more of a person that does not represent the norms of what one would consider a true hero. Rather than being a hero of action, Byronic heroes are heroes of consciousness. ... Another example of a Byronic hero in literature is Mr. ... Rochester is more towards the passionate and loving Byronic hero. ... Byronic heroes are meant to be clever and Mr. ...
Rochester and Heathcliff are described by the Bronte's as near perfect models of a Byronic hero. ... " This shows that he isn't what most thinks of as a conventional hero, once again playing into the Byronic hero roll. ... Since the original publishing of both Bronte novels, critics have argued about which male family member was the influence for the Bronte sisters' Byronic heroes. Raymond Williams' description of Charlotte and Emily's only brother, Branwell, makes it seem likely he is the influence behind the Byronic heroes in both, "Jane Eyre," and, &q...
In Charlotte's "Jane Eyre" the part of Byronic hero is played by Rochester and in "Wuthering Heights," Emily's literary work, Heathcliff is nearly the definition of the Byronic hero. ... This particular poem is about a corsair, or pirate, named Conrad who is one Lord Byron's own Byronic heroes. Many critics have tried to figure out who in the Bronte sisters' lives, could be the motivation behind their Byronic heroes. ... " With both their arrogance and independence Rochester and Heathcliff begin to show even more main qualities of a Byronic hero. .....
A Byronic hero is any character that is modeled after Lord Byron. ... In Charlotte Bronte's novel, Jane Eyre, Rochester is used as a Byronic hero. ... In short, Rochester is further classified as a Byronic hero because he is courageous and passionate. ... All of these traits combined together create an interesting and enjoyable Byronic hero. Bronte uses the Byronic hero in order to create further the Gothic feel to the novel. ...
George Gordon, better known as Lord Byron, constructed a classic type of character for his time known as the Byronic hero • Victorian poets, artists, and novelists used Byronic figures and attitudes in their works. ... Rochester, and her sister Emily's Heathcliff assume strong influences of Byronic heroes. ... Heathcliff and Rochester fit slightly different molds of the Byronic hero. ... This figure resembles the wandering and wayward Byronic hero. ... Rochester's character is a more sympathetic Byronic hero than Heathcliff's. ...
In literature these are known as Byronic heroes, or Romantic heroes. ... For these reasons the Byronic hero of Frankenstein is the creature, not Victor Frankenstein. ... As we can see the monster feels its emotions with the great passion one associates with other Byronic heroes. ... This is a common theme amongst Byronic heroes, as Adam was cast out by God so is Frankenstein denied by his maker. ... Despite his flaws a Byronic hero always manages to gain our sympathies. ...
Rochester does, however, possess qualities of the classical Byronic hero. ... Through this example, he is portrayed as a Byronic hero in his forlorn manner. ... Rochester's stance as a Byronic hero through her description of him. ... A true Byronic hero would never fall from his horse! ... Rochester, but a Byronic hero he is not. ...
Flawed Perfection: The Bronte's Use of The Byronic Hero Few writers capture the essence of the human condition like the Bronte sisters, Emily and Charlotte. ... These few words shed the first rays of light into the dark and mysterious world of this Byronic individual. ... While Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre both feature dark and mysterious Byronic individuals, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre provides readers with telling glimpses into the day-to-day darkness of her Byronic hero (Rochester), day-to-day details which are absent from Wuthering Heights' Heathcliff. ... Rochester...
This hero is known as the Byronic Hero. ... One of the characteristics of the Byronic Hero is that he is dignified. ... A second characteristic of the Byronic hero is isolation. ... A third Byronic Hero characteristic is Obsession. ... (III, I, 154-9) A fifth Byronic Hero characteristic is passion. ...