The primary theme of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage can be found in Lord Byron’s description of the poem’s protagonist, Childe Harold: “the wandering outlaw of his own dark mind” has become one of the most prominent literary representatives of alienation. At the same time, as Harold seeks his place in the world, the theme of the hero’s quest is also prominent. The so-called Byronic hero embodies the theme of embracing difference—not alienation from a hostile world, but ejection of social convention and hypocrisy through fidelity to one’s own principles. Such principles apply to the theme of romantic love in the numerous hopes and disappointments the hero experiences, but they also apply to the theme of political commitment to liberty, shown in Harold’s reflections on Napoleon’s tyranny. Although adulation of innocence and naïveté, in “youth’s summer,” is also an important theme, the hero matures somewhat throughout the poem, and the theme of parental love emerges in his addresses to Ada.

Connecting the various themes is the protagonist’s understanding of his own role in life. The underlying theme of the central role of the creative person runs through the poem, but it grows stronger as Harold comes to realize what his true calling is. He looks at such various scenes as untamed nature, the ruins of ancient Rome, and the effects of wars, but does not fully see himself among any of them. Although still rather young in years, he feels that he has “grown aged in this world of woe” through his deeds or actions. His deep reflections on his own shortcomings have helped him to see that vanity and pride were a large measure of what led him on his quest, as he had determined in advance that he had an important role to play. What will aid him in continuing to live and to contribute in more meaningful ways is his new understanding of creativity. He now knows why people have to go off and confront the world alone:

’Tis to create, and in creating live

A being more intense that we endow

With form our fancy. . . .