Romantic-era poet Lord Byron, known for creating complex and contradictory characters, continues to captivate our imagination. On his 200th death anniversary (April 19), we take a look at the persisting imprint that he left on world culture.
“Mad, bad, and dangerous to know,” is how Lady Caroline Lamb described her lover Lord George Byron (1788-1824), an unlikely Romantic hero, who breathed life into a million literary characters — and continues to do so, two centuries after his passing.
The Byronic hero is a figure of brooding intensity and rebellious charm, capable of great acts of heroism and kindness, yet prone to self-destructive behaviour. With mysterious and tortured pasts, they are rebels with a cause, and lots of emotional baggage.
And just like philandering Lord Byron himself — due to a string of affairs with married and unmarried aristocratic English women, his half-sister, and several young boys — Byronic heroes are aloof outcasts, who reject social norms in favour of their code of honour. On his 200th death anniversary (April 19), we take a look at the persisting imprint that Lord Byron has left on world culture.
Influencing characters over the years, across the world
This archetype has found a home in pop culture worldwide. Consider Erik, the titular character from Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera (1909), who is born with a facial deformity — much like Byron was born with a deformed foot, and bullied for it through his teenage years. While his obsessive infatuation with Christine Daaé is problematic, his character nonetheless cuts a sympathetic figure, very much a victim of his circumstances.The brooding vampire, a popular archetype seen in John William Polidori’s The Vampyre (1819), the Twilight series (2005-08) and The Vampire Diaries (1991-2014), also draws from Byron.
In George RR Martin’s Game of Thrones (1996-present), prince Daemon Targaryen echoes a Byronic character’s moral backbone by refusing to dethrone his brother, even though he very easily can. He is also both uncle and husband to Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen — a true Byronic figure!Hollywood actor James Dean portrayed the popular Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause (1955) as a rebellious teen with a troubled heart. Hugh Laurie plays an arrogant misanthropic doctor in House MD (2004-12) who makes uncanny observations to discover his patients’ ailments. Both again borrow heavily from the Byronic archetype.
And there is Severus Snape from JK Rowling’s Harry Potter (1997-2007) series, whose brooding persona, mysterious past as a Death Eater, and enduring love for Lily Potter echo the very essence of the Byronic character.
In Bollywood too, the archetype has found both a place, and popularity. Amitabh Bachchan’s role in Shahenshah (1988), as the eponymous vigilante, defines the Byronic trope to the tee as an arrogant outcaste, who balances cynicism with magnetism.
Then there’s Darr (1993), the film that made Shah Rukh Khan a household name. He plays a psychopath with an all-consuming love for his object of obsession, Kiran. The audience swooned when Khan declared, “Tu Haan Kar Ya Na Kar, Tu Hai Meri Kiran.” Despite obvious problems with SRK’s character, audiences rooted for the anti-hero throughout the film, to the extent that protagonist Sunny Deol was but an afterthought.
Byronic characters’ enduring appeal
Why are we drawn to such walking red flags? Rumina Sethi, professor of English literature at Panjab University, says the appeal is in their rebellion against society.
“Take Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov (1880). The protagonist is a philanderer and a thief, yet he’s the hero. As individuals, we want to stand for someone who breaks society’s written and unwritten rules. These characters provide readers with an escape from a straitjacketed existence. In reading literature, one liberates oneself through imagination,” she said.
When asked why women tend to be attracted to these characters, psychologist Dr Itisha Nagar said, “The attraction is in the ability to transform a ‘bad boy’ into a ‘good boy.’ This may not be entirely conscious as girls become caregivers very early in their lives, and are often given the responsibility to be the moral compass for men, even in their family, as ‘boys will be boys.’”
She added: “Some take upon themselves the responsibility of healing their father, who may be abusive or troubled. We often shame women for their ‘daddy issues’ but do not call out men. In fact, men can be fragile and moody, as society does not emphasise upon their mental health, dumping that emotional labour on the women of the family.”
The rise of Byronic heroines
While male characters can transition from good to grey, this luxury has historically been rarely afforded to women. But that may be changing — to an extent.
Filmmaker Surbhi Goel told “Now I see a rise of Byronic heroines. The notion that women are soft, sweet, and moral has been challenged. The Byronic hero creates a disjuncture, allowing writers, filmmakers, and actors to enter this space and explore the richness of human life. For a long time, women have been told to act in a certain way, but all of that explodes with the idea of a Byronic hero, who emphasises the importance of exploring our own selves instead of living the lives we’ve been told to live.”She emphasised the distinction between a Byronic hero and a hero’s quest for revenge, as the latter has a specific goal. “For example, Tripti Dimri’s character in Animal (2023) has no objective correlation between her actions and a desire for revenge, making her an enigmatic Byronic character. This cannot be said for the protagonists in Gone Girl (2014) and Ek Hasina Thi (2004).”
Dr Nagar said that while OTT has provided more space for Byronic heroines, they are not yet fully accepted in society. “Take the example of Tara in Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti’s Made in Heaven (2019-present). She is an ambitious character who does whatever it takes to navigate the power corridors in a man’s world. However, her character was largely seen as a gold-digging social climber.”
One thing is for sure: Two hundred years on, these Byronic characters continue to captivate audiences with their mix of danger, romance, and inner turmoil, keeping alive the legacy of Lord Byron, who showed that sometimes it is the flawed and troubled characters who are the most captivating of all.
