English Literature / Unit 13 ENL 1203 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Byronic Hero
Captions available
The idea
The Byronic hero is proud, moody, cynical and solitary, a defiant exile who carries a secret guilt. Macaulay described him as "a man proud, moody, cynical, with defiance on his brow, and misery in his heart." The anchor compares him to Milton's Satan.
In practice
Proud, moody, guilty, alone.
Where people slip
The type descends partly from Milton's Satan.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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