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1.VictorianEngland-theBirthofModernSport
respectableandmoredemocraticapproachestotheheroismofpeacewith-
outevercompletelyabandoningtheheroismofwar.Temostinfluential
discussionwasTomasCarlyle’slecturesOnHeroes,Hero-worshipandthe
HeroicinHistory(1844)1[ł]ButElizabethBarrettBrowning’smoralizing
commentinAuroraLeigh(1856)strikesacharacteristicnote:Callmen[are]
possibleheroes’2.
Teabove-mentionedCarlyle,aScottishhistorianandphilosopher,
whoemergedasthedominantsocialthinkerofearlyVictorianEngland,
wasconsideredoneofthemostimportantsocialcommentatorsofhis
time.Inhiswork,OnHeroes,Hero-worshipandtheHeroicinHistory,in
whichuhisreverenceforstrength,particularlywhencombinedwiththe
convictionofaGod’sgivenmissionbegantoemerge”
,heexplainsthat
thekeyroleinhistoryliesintheactionsoftheGreatMan(ahero,highly
influentialindividualwhousedhischarisma,wisdomorspecialpower
inawaywhichhadadecisivehistoricalimpact)3.Historianofliterature
LilianaSikorskastatesthatuhis[Carlyle’s]writingsweretheprimary
inspirationsforBritishImperialism”4.
TeVictorianAgewasatimeofrapidchangeanddevelopmentsin
nearlyeverysphere-fromadvancesinmedical,scientificandtechno-
logicalknowledgetochangesindemography:populationgrowthand
location.LiteraryhistorianAndrzejDiniejkostatesinanutshellthat
theVictorianeraischaracterizedbytheIndustrialRevolution,devel-
opmentofdemocracy,fermentofsocialideasandscientificdiscover-
ies(includingtheimpactofCharlesDarwin’stheoryofevolutionon
philosophyandreligion),visiblepressurestowardpoliticalandsocial
1
HereVanceismistaken-thebook,inwhichCarlylecomparedawiderangeofdifer-
enttypesofheroes,including:Odin,Muhammad,OliverCromwell,Napoleon,William
Shakespeare,Dante,SamuelJohnson,Jean-JacquesRousseau,RobertBurns,JohnKnox,
andMartinLuther,waspublishedin1841.T.Carlyle,OnHeroes,Hero-Worship,andthe
HeroicinHistory,JamesFraser,London1841.
2
N.Vance,TeSinewsoftheSpirit,p.1.
3
Hediscussedtheheroinhisincarnationasdivinity(paganmyths),asprophet(Mu-
hammad),aspoet(DanteandWilliamShakespeare),aspriest(MartinLutherandJohn
Knox),asmanofletters(SamuelJohnsonandRobertBurns),andasking(OliverCrom-
wellandNapoleonBonaparte),see:A.O.J.Cockshut,TomasCarlyle,BritishEssayist
andHistorian,https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tomas-Carlyle[accessed:Au-
gust10,2016].
4
L.Sikorska,AnOutlineHistoryofEnglishLiterature,WydawnictwoPoznańskie,Poznań
2002,p.268.