Of the Devil's Party

Unleashed academics, tutors, and ornamental hermits Alice and Rowan do a deep dive into dark hero archetypes on a semi-weekly basis. On this episode they consider another of Lord Byron’s closet dramas, the controversial Cain (1821). The pair discuss Byron’s characterisation of the first murderer as a sympathetic figure and consider which archetypes Byron combines to produce his most incendiary pro...

Unleashed academics, tutors, and ornamental hermits Alice and Rowan do a deep dive into dark hero archetypes on a semi-weekly basis. On this episode they begin their discussion of Gothic villains by examining Byron’s 1817 closet drama Manfred and its debt to the Gothic tradition. The pair discuss Byron’s life, work, and experimentation with dark hero archetypes, and whether there is actually such...

On this episode they conclude their mini-series on Satan from John Milton’s Paradise Lost and discuss books 9 and 10 of the poem—Satan’s corruption of Eve and the Fall of humanity! Next time, they examine Lord Byron’s Manfred   Boyd, Brian. On the Origin of Stories: Evolution, Cognition, and Fiction. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 2009. Fish, Stanley. Surprised by Sin. London: Macmil...

Unleashed academics, tutors, and ornamental hermits Alice and Rowan do a deep dive into dark hero archetypes on a semi-weekly basis.   On this episode they continue their mini-series on Satan from John Milton’s Paradise Lost and discuss book 6 of the poem—the war in heaven!   They focus on Milton's experimentation with and criticism of Classical heroic qualities and his development of th...

Unleashed academics, tutors, and ornamental hermits Alice and Rowan do a deep dive into dark hero archetypes on a semi-weekly basis.   This episode they continue their mini-series on Satan from John Milton’s Paradise Lost and discuss book 5 of the poem. They focus on how Satan justifies his rebellion against God through powerful rhetoric and grandiose posturing. We consider how and why Milton...

Unleashed academics, tutors, and ornamental hermits Alice and Rowan do a deep dive into dark hero archetypes on a semi-weekly basis.   This episode they continue their mini-series on John Milton’s Paradise Lost and discuss the representation of Satan in book 4 of the poem. Compared to what we've seen so far, Book 4 presents a different side to Satan. The Machiavellian dictator, rhetorician, m...

Unleashed academics, tutors, and ornamental hermits Alice and Rowan do a deep dive into dark hero archetypes on a semi-weekly basis.   This episode they continue their mini-series on John Milton’s Paradise Lost and discuss the representation of Satan in books 1 and 2 of the poem. They examine Milton's use of epic convention, Satan's characterisation, speeches, and leadership of the rebel ange...

Unleashed academics, tutors, and ornamental hermits Alice and Rowan do a deep dive into dark hero archetypes on a semi-weekly basis.   This episode they begin their mini-series on John Milton’s Paradise Lost and discuss the extent to which his famous protagonist—Satan—can be considered the progenitor of the modern dark hero. In their introduction to Paradise Lost they discuss the illustrious...

Unleashed academics, tutors, and ornamental hermits Alice and Rowan do a deep dive into dark hero archetypes on a semi-weekly basis.   This episode they cover Charlotte Dacre's Zofloya: Or the Moor (1806) and discuss why it has been so difficult to define the novel's unique protagonist. Is she a femme fatale , a gothic heroine, or an attempt to subvert the gothic genre?  Sources:  ...