Poet’s Corner: Byron–Childe Harold 1

1 August 2026

(2 October 2015) With introduction of Byron, we must also introduce the ‘Romantic hero,’ succinctly described by Byron in the third Canto of “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage,” as “[t]he wandering outlaw of his own dark mind. . . .” Probably the best (and most known) example of this character is Mr. Darcy, from Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.” The Romantic hero stands aloof from his fellows, sees himself as above and beyond them, or at least nothing like them, broods constantly and so speaks little. Thus, we will use Byron’s long poem to illustrate aspects of this figure. From the fifth stanza of the first canto:

For he through Sin’s long labyrinth had run,
Nor made atonement when he did amiss,
Had sighed to many, though he loved but one,
And that loved one, alas, could ne’er be his.
Ah, happy she! to ‘scape from him whose kiss
Had been pollution unto aught so chaste;
Who soon had left her charms for vulgar bliss,
And spoiled her goodly lands to gild his waste,
Nor calm domestic peace had ever deigned to taste.

At once we realize that this character is not like his popularized, and sanitized, version, the ideal Romantic hero of Austen, but he is one who has lived a life of debauchery, finally coming to the realization that his life is devoid of true feeling, of anything that really matters. He feels no remorse or regret for his choices, but he also loves poorly, for she whom he desires is beyond him, inaccessible, and our narrator tells us that this is a boon to her, for she will not be ‘polluted’ by his kiss. He would become her despoiler, wasting her goods and lands to satisfy appetites that are never satisfied.

We recognize that Austen’s versions of the Romantic hero are idealized versions of this character, almost the wishes of the writer for what she sees as the perfect man, as unattainable as Harold’s true love. Byron’s Harold seems closer to reality, or perhaps the precursor of the modern anti-hero, one who has few laudable qualities. Also, we see how other poets take this figure and alter it to fit their poetic/narrative needs, such as Frankenstein’s monster, called by some a metaphor for the failure of Romanticism, or even Dracula, an expression of all that is forbidden, and the dangerous results of becoming wholly a creature of one’s baser desires. Next time we will look at another stanza, describing some of the more redeemable qualities of the Romantic hero. Until then, good reading!