The more we delve into the ancient myths, the more we come to this conclusion that how much these stories resemble to our own lives. Prometheus's deed exactly like whatever we do is two faceted. Prometheus is known to the readers of the myth as both a hero and a Byronic hero, for some believe in what he did, and some think it would have been better to be deprived of the improvement and modernization which undoubtedly was initiated from the capability of setting fire.
In both aspects this myth has been used as a reference unwillingly or deliberately in writing down so many of the literary works. Starting from the ones which do not believe in Prometheus we have to mention Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" or "The Modern Prometheus". With no doubt, piercing deep into all literary works orbiting around a "savoir coming" theme of each kind, a hero saving others, a hero trying to save the people, or trying to step for the good of the society but it turns out to be a disaster, is rooted in this story.
The heroism or Byronic heroism stories never seems tiresome to the readers and even the writers themselves, for if we delve the matter psychologically and discuss it based on the findings of the great psychologist Carl Gustav Yung we understand that myths have become parts of our being because we have inherited them. We never get tired of ourselves, do we? (Of course some exceptions may exist). There fore, we are never bored of these stories. We write them down on and on, read them on and on, and enjoy them on and on, as we have in different eras and different genres.
A simple discussion manifests that the usage of this myth in the literary works is not limited to any era and genre at all. "Every Man", the best example of the kind of medieval drama is an allegory of what will happen by the coming resurrection to man, the creature influenced by Adam's deeds, the first promethean action which lead to his expel from heaven, and now every man is doing his best to recapture what he could have had with no trial.
Shakespeare as the most important and famous dramatist and sonneteer of the English literature has always used heroism in both forms, negative and positive, in his dramas. He has vividly portrayed Promethean heroism in dramas like Othello, Hamlet, Macbeth, and others. In fact, we can name all his tragedies as Promethean heroic. Their tragic essence of course, not only has no paradox with the heroism used in it, but also it accomplishes it and some how is a kind of confirmation to that. After all, Prometheus myth is a perfect tragedy itself.
Of course "Paradise Lost" as a masterpiece of the seventeenth century in English literature can be regarded as another version of Prometheus, and it truly is. Eating the apple was exactly what caused Adam and Eve to be expelled from God's Heaven. Man's disobedience, and the loss of paradise for eating the apple of knowledge is the same as losing the gods' mercy after they were bestowed fire by Prometheus. In other words, Prometheus's deed is like what Satan did to Adam and Eve, and that is why Milton has written this poem in Epic form, and also that is why we believe that Satan has been regarded as a hero in the story. We even feel sympathy with him and have admiration for his heroic energy. "Paradise Lost" is the best example of the usage of this myth in poetry, and although it is rare in comparison to the other genres, Milton has made if not the best, one of the best of this kind.
The eighteenth century was the time of Dryden's heroic plays. His "Absalom and Achitophel" is an example of that. His rich literary form used has always been admired by every one and he put the very theme, heroism, in beautiful words. His "Alexander's Feast" is a beautiful poem which has so many references to "Paradise Lost". This era's literature also owes a great deal to Jonathan Swift and "Gulliver's Travels". His super power and uniqueness in the empire of Lilliput is mostly misused by the society for brutality and bloodshed, what we think exactly of fire, comfort bringer and at the same time fight maker, the modernity cause which has brought upon so many difficulties and bloodsheds in the world of man. Wasn't it better to be weak creatures in the hands of gods? We have Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" or "The Modern Prometheus" in the next century and the Romantic period. It is Lord Byron who introduces the Byronic hero in its true sense and in the best way.
The Victorian age is the initial time of Novel writing. Dickens starts writing about the facts of life but looking deep again this internalized myth has not been forgotten. His "Great Expectations" is the best sample, conveying both Promethean heroes and Byronic heroes. The other novelists and men of letter from this time onwards have continued this usage deliberately or else.
The American literature has not been an exception in using this myth, but the difference is that the American writers have been trapped in the wheels of modernization from the first steps. There fore, we find the traces of the negative aspects of Promethean deals more and more and mostly it is tangible in its drama. O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh" is an example of that.
The more we get drowned in the modernity and its disasters, the more we feel bad towards the fire bringer, and see him as a mere intruder in the gods' decisions and a simple thief. So, the Byronic heroes come up and are more of interest than the one day heroes of the past times which people can only dream of when they sleep at nights. The worst we feel that even if a real hero and a savoir comes to us and the society, we would nullify and reject him. We may even call him "An enemy of the people".
John Milton's Paradise Lost
Dictionary of the Beliefs
Jung, G. Carl. Man and His Symbols
Jung, G. Carl. The Unconscious Self
Atkinson, Brooks. Review of The Iceman Cometh in O'Neill and His Plays: Four Decades of Criticism, Ed: Oscar Cargill, N. Bryllion Fagin, and William J. Fisher, New York University Press.
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