Byronic Hero🧵
James Bond, Batman, and Nietzsche’s Übermensch can all be traced back to The Corsair (1814)
A poem published by Lord Byron on this day, 208 years ago
A poem that sold 10,000 copies on the day of launch
And starred a Byronic Hero that shapes culture till today👇🏻
James Bond, Batman, and Nietzsche’s Übermensch can all be traced back to The Corsair (1814)
A poem published by Lord Byron on this day, 208 years ago
A poem that sold 10,000 copies on the day of launch
And starred a Byronic Hero that shapes culture till today👇🏻
1/ Meet Conrad
A pirate who literally & figuratively lives outside society
He’s a SELF-AWARE outsider:
“He knew himself a villain—but he deemed
The rest no better than the thing he seemed;
And scorned the best as hypocrites who hid
Those deeds the bolder spirit plainly did.”
A pirate who literally & figuratively lives outside society
He’s a SELF-AWARE outsider:
“He knew himself a villain—but he deemed
The rest no better than the thing he seemed;
And scorned the best as hypocrites who hid
Those deeds the bolder spirit plainly did.”
2/ The heroes of Ancient Greece & Rome - Kings, warriors - were very much political & cultural insiders
But Batman = a vigilante behind a mask
James Bond exists on the fringes of nation-states
The film-noir PIs work outside of law
Lord Byron’s work amplified this SHIFT
But Batman = a vigilante behind a mask
James Bond exists on the fringes of nation-states
The film-noir PIs work outside of law
Lord Byron’s work amplified this SHIFT
3/ Conrad is a man of “loneliness and mystery”
He is “famed" and dutifully obeyed
But not understood
A modern anti-hero with “murky” backstory:
Don Draper
He switched identities in the war
The Joker explains his scars differently each time
His past = always “undefined”
He is “famed" and dutifully obeyed
But not understood
A modern anti-hero with “murky” backstory:
Don Draper
He switched identities in the war
The Joker explains his scars differently each time
His past = always “undefined”
4/ Something tragic has happened to Conrad in the past
He was “trampled” like a worm
His only hope of fulfillment is his wife
She’s a “ray of beauty” - a “dim and melancholy star” on the black sky that’s his life
Cue Rachel to Batman:
He was “trampled” like a worm
His only hope of fulfillment is his wife
She’s a “ray of beauty” - a “dim and melancholy star” on the black sky that’s his life
Cue Rachel to Batman:
5/ Conrad is a natural leader of men
He “dazzles”, “leads,” & “chills” his followers
Here's what explains their loyalty: “The power of Thought—the magic of the Mind!”
Conrad sits at the throne but Byron warns against envy:
The leader carries “the weight of splendid CHAINS”
He “dazzles”, “leads,” & “chills” his followers
Here's what explains their loyalty: “The power of Thought—the magic of the Mind!”
Conrad sits at the throne but Byron warns against envy:
The leader carries “the weight of splendid CHAINS”
6/ A high risk-tolerance
Conrad is only at peace in war
Only danger is a “delight”
The future is interesting only if there’s an approaching “fight”
His life isn’t for the “luxurious slaves” who seek “wantonness and ease”
As Sherlock Holmes, a near-perfect Byronic Hero, said:
Conrad is only at peace in war
Only danger is a “delight”
The future is interesting only if there’s an approaching “fight”
His life isn’t for the “luxurious slaves” who seek “wantonness and ease”
As Sherlock Holmes, a near-perfect Byronic Hero, said:
7/ The Byronic hero has a deep commitment to personal principles
Even though Pasha is going to execute him, Conrad refuses to kill him first as he's sleeping
He believes in heroic warfare, not cowardly subterfuge
The Joker is constantly trying to make Batman break his code:
Even though Pasha is going to execute him, Conrad refuses to kill him first as he's sleeping
He believes in heroic warfare, not cowardly subterfuge
The Joker is constantly trying to make Batman break his code:
Here is the Byronic Hero Checklist
11 Qualities that you will see in the antiheroes of today’s movies, TV shows, and novels:
11 Qualities that you will see in the antiheroes of today’s movies, TV shows, and novels:
Who are some interesting Byronic Heroes?
Thank you for reading!
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RT!👇🏻
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RT!👇🏻
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