Authors, historic figures, and even some fictional characters are so well known or so finely drawn that their names have been turned in adjectives to describe literature, situations, films, activities, politics, or ideas that parallel elements of the works or behaviors of these individuals. Here are a few of these types of adjectives and what they are communicating about whatever they are describing.
Byronic The great English poet, Lord Byron, was hugely popular in his day. Epics such as Don Juan and Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage became bestsellers. His characters were exceptional men who were often sad but who had astonishing adventures, much like Byron himself. Other poets are often compared to Byron, such as Alexander Pushkin, who is sometimes known as the Russian Byron. The term Byronic is used to refer to literature or lives that are like Byron’s—dramatic, brooding, adventurous, and thoughtful.
Dickensian Charles Dickens, the most popular English writer of all time, wrote powerful, effective, sentimental novels that focused on the hardships suffered by the poor in England of the 1800s, but always with the possibility of redemption. Now, situations or writing that is similar in scope, sentiment, or topic to the works of Dickens are said to be Dickensian.
Draconian A crushingly severe law is said to be Draconian. This is an allusion to the Draconion Code drawn up by Draco of Athens in the 7th century b.c. Almost every infraction of the code carried the death penalty.
Faulknerian William Faulkner was one of the most important American writers of the 20th century. While his writing was brilliant and often experimental, it was also well known for its highly emotional, delicate, cerebral, complicated style, and, most especially, extremely long, extremely complex sentences. Something described as Faulknerian relflects these characteristics.
Faustian An allusion to the story, which appears in a number of books, plays, and operas, in which Dr. Faust sells his soul to the devil to regain his youth. The term Faustian is used to describe someone who will sacrifice everything for immediate gratification, and then pays a heavy price later.
Machiavellian Niccolo Macchiavelli was a statesman and pragmatic and cynical political philosopher who is best remembered for his political writing, especially his book The Prince. The term Machiavellian has come to refer to cynical politics.
Orwellian George Orwell was the author of the satirical novels 1984 and Animal Farm, which highlighted the evils of totalitarian governments in general and Communism in particular. In Animal Farm, the pigs, which subjugate the other animals, have a saying which has become famous in discussions of totalitarian states: “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.” The term Orwellian refers to bleak, oppressive political situations such as those described in the novels.
Shakespearean, of course, refers to things associated with William Shakespeare. It can be identifying someone who specializes in Shakespeare—a Shakespearean actor or scholar – but can also be used to describe any speech or writing that mimics the majestic use of ideas and language that one finds in the plays of the great bard.
