ABSTRACT

The first German of note to fall under Byron's spell was the very pontiff of letters, the Sage of Weimar—Goethe. Goethe's anguish was sharpened, because he never quite damped down the fires of adolescence in his own person. Even after the renunciation of Weimar, he continued to struggle with unruly nostalgias, and fled the hybris of vaulting spiritual pride. The immediate aftermath of the auspicious reception of Byronism at Weimar, was not as fruitful as might be supposed. The grafting of elements in the Fate Tragedy to a Byronic theme can only serve to emasculate the Byronic Hero. In his initial stature, the Byronic Man only partly surrenders his individuality to destructive, daemonic forces; though he may succumb in the end, he realizes the dangers of his position, and strives valiantly against them; he is a man with inner tensions, and as such prompts sympathy.