THE BASIC CHARACTER ROLES:

Aside from being lovers, wives, husbands, friends, enemies,

etc., characters in dramas have some particular “labels”
which are used in the analysis. As we have discussed already
in the section on Greek tragedy, we often speak of tragic
heroes. The tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle, is a
nobleman, neither all good nor all bad, who through some
flaw in his character brings death or destruction upon
himself or upon someone he loves. The main character in
the plot of any drama is known as the protagonist. The tragic
hero and the protagonist are the same in a tragedy, for both
terms describe the central character. The opponent of the
protagonist is known as the antagonist or, in the event that
the opposing force is not a person, we speak of the
antagonistic force. Another important role in the drama is
that of the friend or confidant (feminine, confidante) of the
major character. Often both the hero and the heroine have a
confidant and a confidante, respectively, so named because
the hero and heroine confide in their friend or serving maid
or whoever fills the role. The function of a confidant is to
give the hero someone to whom to confide onstage, thus
allowing the audience to know his true feelings.

THE CHARACTERS IN TIME:

When a character walks onto the stage, we know almost
nothing about him. One of the dramatist’s chief concerns,
therefore, becomes the presentation-in one way or another
—of some information about the character’s past life. We
learn through the early speeches of Desdemona and Othello
the nature of their courtship. In other words, we must learn
action as well as witness action; the same principle of
revealing the events prior to the opening of the play
operates in revealing deaths offstage. Reporters or sentinels
always run onto the stage announcing the death of someone
(we saw this to be particularly true in Greek tragedy; recall
Antigone). The characters must somehow be brought to be
images of real human beings existing in time. They have a
past; they are not born in the moment of the play’s opening.
And, in the same sense, they have a future. When a
character dies in a noble, heroic, and at the same time
humanly understandable manner, he goes on living in our
minds; and if the character lives at the end of the play, we
should be able to make some sort of logical speculation
regarding his future. Thus we should always try to determine
the extent to which the dramatist has successfully given us
the sense of the character in time. And this of course will be
accomplished by considering the devices of characterization
which the playwright has used.

DEVICES OF CHARACTERIZATION: Every dramatist has at

his fingertips a relatively large galaxy of differing devices
of characterization. Some of these devices follow:

The appearance of the character:

In the prologue or in the stage directions the playwright
often describes the character in the physical sense. We learn
from these stage directions what the character looks like
and probably how he dresses; when a character walks onto
the stage, it is obvious from his appearance whether he is a
meticulous or sloppy person, attractive or unattractive, old
or young, small or large, etc. In other words, through the
mere appearance of character, we locate our first
understanding of him.
Asides and soliloquies:
All of the further characterizations are of course established
through dialogue. We learn about the characters as they
speak. And, specifically, we are apt to understand the
characters best when they speak in short asides or in longer
soliloquies. On these occasions the character is, in effect,
telling the audience of his specific characteristics; if he is a
villain, he usually explains his evil intentions or at least his
malicious hopes; if a lover, he offers us poetic statements of
devotion; if a hero is torn between love and duty, he tells us
about his conflict and his resulting agony. The use of
soliloquies and asides is one of the most expert devices of
characterization.
THE BASIC CHARACTER ROLES: In addition to being lovers,
wives, husbands, friends, enemies, and so on, characters in
dramas have some specific "labels" that are used in analysis.
As we have already discussed in the section on Greek
tragedy, tragic heroes are frequently mentioned. According
to Aristotle, the tragic hero is a nobleman who, through
some flaw in his character, brings death or destruction upon
himself or someone he loves. The protagonist is the main
character in any drama's plot. In a tragedy, the tragic hero
and protagonist are interchangeable, as both terms describe
the central character. The antagonist is the protagonist's
adversary; if the opposing force is not a person, we refer to
it as the antagonistic force. Another important role in the
drama is that of the main character's friend or confidant
(feminine, confidante). Both the hero and heroine frequently
have a confidant and a confidante, so named because the
hero and heroine confide in their friend, serving maid, or
whoever fills the role. A confidant's role is to provide the
hero with someone to whom he can confide onstage,
allowing the audience to learn about his true feelings.

THE CHARACTERS IN TIME: Almost nothing about a character

is known to us before he enters the stage. The giving of
some background information about the character's past
becomes one of the dramatist's primary priorities as a result.
The essence of Desdemona and Othello's courtship is shown
in their early utterances. In other words, we must see
activity as well as learn from it; the same logic that underlies
disclosing the circumstances leading up to the play's start
also applies to disclosing off-stage fatalities. When someone
passes away, reporters or sentinels always rush onto the
platform to announce it (we saw this to be particularly true
in Greek tragedy; recall Antigone).
The characters must be made in some way to resemble
pictures of actual people who existed in time. They are not
born at the start of the play; they have a past. They also
have a future in the same sense. When a character passes
away in a way that is both honorable and humane, he
continues to exist in our minds. If the character is still alive
at the conclusion of the play, we should be able to logically
speculate about what will happen to him in the future. As a
result, we should constantly assess how well the dramatist
has succeeded in conveying the character's sense of time to
us. And of course, this will be achieved by taking into
account the devices of characterization. which the
playwright has used.

DEVICES OF CHARACTERIZATION: Every dramatist has at

his fingertips a relatively large galaxy of differing devices
of characterization. Some of these devices follow:

The appearance of the character:

In the prologue or in the stage directions the playwright
often describes the character in the physical sense. We learn
from these stage directions what the character looks like
and probably how he dresses; when a character walks onto
the stage, it is obvious from his appearance whether he is a
meticulous or sloppy person, attractive or unattractive, old
or young, small or large, etc. In other words, through the
mere appearance of character, we locate our first
understanding of him.
Asides and soliloquies:
All of the further characterizations are of course established
through dialogue. We learn about the characters as they
speak. And, specifically, we are apt to understand the
characters best when they speak in short asides or in longer
soliloquies. On these occasions the character is, in effect,
telling the audience of his specific characteristics; if he is a
villain, he usually explains his evil intentions or at least his
malicious hopes; if a lover, he offers us poetic statements of
devotion; if a hero is torn between love and duty, he tells us
about his conflict and his resulting agony. The use of
soliloquies and asides is one of the most expert devices of
characterization.