Romantic hero
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The romantic hero is a literary type referring to a character that rejects established norms and conventions, has been rejected by society, and has the self as the centre of his or her own existence[1]. The romantic hero is often the main protagonist in the literary work and there is a primary focus on the character's thoughts rather than his or her actions. Literary critic Northrop Frye noted that the romantic hero is often "placed outside the structure of civilization and therefore represents the force of physical nature, amoral or ruthless, yet with a sense of power, and often leadership, that society has impoverished itself by rejecting"[1]. Other characteristics of the romantic hero include: introspection, the triumph of the individual over the "restraints of theological and social conventions"[1], Wanderlust, melancholy, alienation, and isolation[2]. The romantic hero first began appearing in literature during the Romantic period, in works by such authors as Byron, Percy Shelley, and Goethe, and is seen in part as a response to the French Revolution. As Napoleon, the "living model of a hero"[3], became a disappointment to many, the typical notion of the hero as upholding social order began to be challenged. Classic literary examples of the romantic hero include Byron's Don Juan and Chateaubriand's René (novella)[4], while J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter may be considered a modern example[5].
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[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c Wilson, J.D. (1972). Tirso, Molière, and Byron: The emergence of Don Juan as romantic hero. The South Central Bulletin, 32(4), 246-248.
- ^ Knapp, B.L. (1986). Review: The romantic hero and his heirs in French literature. The French Review, 59(5), 787-788.
- ^ Furst, L.R. (1976). The romantic hero, or is he an anti-hero? Studies in the Literary Imagination, 9(1), 53-67.
- ^ Reed, W.L. (1974). Meditations on the hero: A study of the romantic hero in nineteenth-century fiction. New Haven: Yale University Press.
- ^ Nikolajeva, M. (2003). Harry Potter: A return to the romantic hero. In E. Heilman (Ed. and introd.) Harry Potter's World: Multidisciplinary Critical Perspectives (pp. 125-140). New York, NY: Routledge.
