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English 102

Fall 2009
Lord Byrons Manfred

Act I. Scene 1:
Manfred is set in the Alps where the title character lives in a Gothic castle. Tortured by his own
sense of guilt for an unnamed offense, Manfred invokes six spirits associated with earth and the
elements, and a seventh who represents Manfred's personal destiny. None of the spirits are able
to grant him what he wishes; they offer Kingdom, and sway, and strength, and length of days,
but not the forgetfulness and oblivion he seeks. The seventh spirit assumes the form of his dead
lover Astarte but vanishes when Manfred tries to touch her. Manfred falls into a state of
unconsciousness during which an unidentified voice delivers a lengthy incantation full of
accusations and predictions of doom. Variously attributed to Astarte, to an unspecified external
force, or most commonly to the voice of Manfred's own conscience, the incantation tells
Manfred that he will be governed by a spell or curse and will be torturednot by external agents
but by his own nature. Although he will seek death, his wish will be denied.
Act I. Scene 2/ Act II Scene 1:
Manfred attempts to plunge to his death from the high cliffs of the Jungfrau, but he is rescued by
an elderly Chamois Hunter who takes him back to his cabin and offers him a cup of wine.
Manfred imagines that the cup has blood on its brim, specifically Astarte's blood, which is also
his own blood. This passage, along with Manfred's admission that he and Astarte had loved as
they should not have loved, suggests that the two engaged in an incestuous relationship.
Act II Scene 2-4:
Manfred invokes the Witch of the Alps, a beautiful spirit who offers to help him on condition
that he swear an oath of obedience to her. Manfred refuses to be her slave and similarly rejects
submission to the various forces of evil led by Arimanes. Unlike Faust, Manfred is unwilling to
submit to any external authoritynatural or supernatural, good or evil. Astarte appears to him
again and Manfred begs her forgiveness. She refuses to answer and then predicts that his earthly
ills will soon come to an end.
Act III:
Manfred returns to his castle feeling peaceful, if only for a short time. He is visited by the Abbot
of St. Maurice who offers comfort through religion. Manfred refuses, although he takes the hand
of the Abbott at the moment of death, possibly accepting the human contact he had disdained
during life.


English 102
Fall 2009

Major Themes
Manfred represents Byron's articulation of the Romantic hero, a figure so far superior to other
humans that he need not be bound by the constraints of human society. Similarly, he submits to
no spiritual authority, rejecting pantheism, Zoroastrianism, and Christianity. Manfred answers
only to himself, and because of this he is the instrument of his own destruction, fashioning a
punishment for his unexplained guilt that far exceeds any possible retribution imposed by human
or religious authorities.
The nature of Manfred's guilt is widely thought to be associated with an incestuous relationship
with his sister Astarte, for whose death Manfred feels responsible. His attempt to transcend
humanity fails and he is forced to accept the limitations of the human condition. At the moment
of his own death, Manfred takes the hand of the Abbot, suggesting that he is at last embracing
the possibility of human contact and ending his self-imposed isolation. The Abbot, meanwhile,
mourns the failure of such a superior being to benefit humanity in any way: This should have
been a noble creature, he laments. The charges against Manfred go further, according to some
analyses, in which the narcissism of the Romantic or Byronic hero is described as not only self-
destructive but dangerous to others as well.

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