Lord Byron’s Cain and Byronic Hero

For the Byronic Hero concept, which is an extension of the Romantic hero and whose foundation was laid in Shakespearean times and works, I think Cain from the play of the same name by Lord Byron himself can be given as an example. Cain carries all of the characteristics of a Byronic hero. A Byronic hero, by definition, is someone arrogant, intelligent, rebellious, and an outcast with self-destructive tendencies and a soft side that balances his self-destructive side for the heroine. Cain is a perfect representation of a Byronic hero with his interrogating personality, rebellious nature against God and his father, Adam, and his love for his sister and wife, Adah.

Above anything else, I believe Cain is separated from his family members because he rejects praying to, thanking, and begging God and constantly questions his ways, unlike others. This makes him an outcast in the society he lives in. With these elements, Cain covers most of the requirements for being a Byronic hero, since being an outcast is an important part of being a Byronic hero. Cain rejects bowing to God by stating that he lives but will die eventually, and thus he does not need to thank God for his life. He also states that he does not deserve to be punished for his parents' mistakes. In both arguments, he reflects his anger toward God in his words. He cannot accept his actions. Thus, he blasphemes against his father’s and mother’s beliefs, which causes him to get criticized and somehow forced to stay in line with his family's beliefs, just as any outcast in society and their family would experience.

When the way Cain interrogates God’s ways and rules and Lucifer’s words are taken into further consideration, it becomes obvious that Cain does not have a nature that accepts someone holy and lives under their rule. As they talk about the incident in Eden, Cain states that both knowledge and life are good things, and he does not understand how they can be evil. He does not accept God’s words and judgment about the trees in Eden. He has his ideas, and he expects a satisfying explanation. He employs his intelligence, which some may regard as excessive and destructive. Furthermore, his problem is not only with God. To me, he does not rebel against God because he is God; he rebels because there is an authority figure who expects him to bow to himself without a question in front of him and he cannot accept it. His attitude toward Lucifer proves this point. When Cain senses that Lucifer wants him to bow, he gives him very negative feedback by stating that he will not bow to him just as he did not bow to God. Also, he questions Lucifer every time he says something suspicious about Cain. All these show that Cain, just as a Byronic hero is supposed to be, is a rebellious interrogator who does not hesitate to use his mind.

Of course, for a hero, there needs to be a balancing force in his or her personality keeping him from destroying himself and others either permanently or too quickly. In Cain’s case, this balance is provided by his love and sympathy for Adah. While talking about love with Lucifer, he states how much he loves Adah and wants to know if Lucifer himself loves anyone or anything. When Lucifer indicates that he does not love anything or anyone and further explains that his love for Adah is only physical and will cease to exist when her beauty is gone, Cain refuses to accept this statement. His love for Adah strikes a balance with his anger toward God.

To sum up, to be a Byronic hero, a character is supposed to use his mind, be clever, ask questions, and be arrogant about all of these while also having soft feelings for someone to balance his personality. Since all of these things are present in Cain’s character, it can be easily stated that Cain, Lord Byron’s character, is a Byronic hero who reflects all of the elements of a Byronic hero.