Byronic hero

Noun

Byronic hero (plural Byronic heroes or Byronic heros)

1. A character type originating in the works of Lord Byron, typically characterized by introspection, arrogance, cynicism, emotional depth, and moral ambiguity; often alienated from society and at odds with conventional morality.
   • Childe Harold exemplifies the Byronic hero.
   • That man of loneliness and mystery,
     Scarce seen to smile, and seldom heard to sigh;
     [...]
     He knew himself a villain—but he deem'd
     The rest no better than the thing he seem'd;
     And scorned the best as hypocrites who hid
     Those deeds the bolder spirit plainly did.
     He knew himself detested, but he...1814, Lord Byron, The Corsair, volume I, VIII, XI

   Synonyms:

   Romantic hero

   Antonyms:

   classical hero

2. (broadly, literary trope) An archetype of a moody, brooding, rebellious, and self-destructive antihero found across later fiction and media, marked by intelligence, passion, and alienation from social norms.
   • Heathcliff, Edward Rochester, and Batman are often described as Byronic heroes.
   • The Byronic hero: temperamental, hedonistic and romantic. [...] After all, when Con first appears, dressed in dusty shades of purple like a retired royal, we already know he’s our Byronic hero.2020 October 30, Maya Phillips, “Review: ‘Touch of the Poet’ Is a Powerful Study in Toxic Pride”, in The New York Times

   Synonyms:

   antihero

   Antonyms:

   ideal hero