Such Conduct Bears Philanthropy’s Rare Stamp: The Byronic Hero’s Good deeds

19th May 2022

PHYSICAL – Art Workers Guild, London

Cloaked in disdain, and ‘a hater of his kind’ bearing within ‘a vital scorn of all’ (as Lara is described), the Byronic hero may seem an unlikely candidate for a philanthropist. But on closer inspection, Byron’s personas perform good deeds as a means to exert influence outside the existing order; to carry out works without the need for faith; and to do good by stealth in defiance of hostile opinion. The talk will also consider Byron’s own evolution as a (sometimes reluctant) benefactor in Britain, Italy, and Greece.

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