Byronic hero

Russell Stoll – 1B

The concept of the “Byronic Hero” was one first conceived by (hold onto your hats) Lord Byron. This type of characterization was mainly constructed out of Byron’s own idea of himself, and the identity that Byron exhibited to the world around him. Byron understood the importance and allure of having an attractive, interesting, gossip-worthy personal life; because his work seemed to be semi-autobiographical, many people bought and read Byron’s books (back in the day) just to try to get a hint of the scandalous, provocative, over-extravagant lifestyle that Byron said he lived. The classic classification that Byron built for himself, and thus a classic classification of a Byronic Hero, is that they are “mad, bad, and dangerous to know.” (In essence, Lord Byron was the Colin Farrell or even the Britney Spears of the late 18th century…except that Byron actually had talent; no offense intended to fans of Farrell or Spears.)

These are common qualities of a Byronic Hero:
-in a constant state of self-contradiction
-introspective / brooding
-self-abusive / self-destructive
-lacking or struggling with integrity
-unable to cope with their own past
-has sexual identity crisis
-jaded
-moody
-lacking self-respect or self-confidence
-socially outcast and/or degenerate
-cynical
-never content / always looking for more

Characters from Byron’s works that are possibly Byronic Heroes:
-Childe Herald
-Manfred
-Don Juan

Pop-culture characters that I think could be considered Byronic Heroes:
-Sweeney Todd (Sweeney Todd)
-Severus Snape (Harry Potter)
-Wolverine (X-Men)
-Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights)
-The Prince of Persia (Prince of Persia series)
-Ellen Ripley (Alien films)
-Dr. Mark Sloan (Grey’s Anatomy)
-Sarah Connor (Terminator films…not the crap TV show – don’t even get me started!)
-Kratos (God of War)
-Hamlet (Hamlet – I know, the chronology is off, but I think it works)
-Simba (The Lion King – one follows the other)
-Beatrix Kiddo / The Bride / ‘Black Mamba’ (Kill Bill: Vol. 1 & 2)
-Rick Blaine (Casablanca)
-Bruce Wayne / Batman (Um…all that Batman stuff)
-Jean Valjean (Les Miserables)
-Dr. Christian Troy (Nip/Tuck)
-Anakin Skywalker (seriously…come on…)

Some of these I borrowed, some of these I very proudly thought of on my own, but all are up for discussion for anyone who wishes to challenge me on them. I feel that all have traits that embody the Byronic Hero, and if you keep a few of these characters in mind then you are at least in the ball park.

(Feel free to e-mail me at rstoll@ucla.edu with queries, questions, qualms, etc. Thanks!)