<!DOCTYPE html>
<html class="client-nojs vector-feature-night-mode-disabled vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-sticky-header-enabled" lang="en" dir="ltr"><head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Characterization</title>
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characterization"> <link href="./mw/ext.cite.styles.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
<link href="./mw/skins.vector.icons.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
<link href="./mw/skins.vector.search.codex.styles.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
<link href="./mw/skins.vector.styles.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
<link href="./mw/user.styles.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
<meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content="">
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="./mw/site.styles.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="./mw/noscript.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="./footer.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="./vector-2022.css">
</head>
<body class="skin--responsive skin-vector skin-vector-search-vue mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject page-Characterization rootpage-Characterization skin-vector-2022 action-view">
<div class="mw-page-container">
<div class="mw-page-container-inner">
<div class="mw-content-container">
<main id="content" class="mw-body">
<header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar">
<h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading">
<span id="openzim-page-title" class="mw-page-title-main"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Characterization</span></span>
</h1>
</header>
<a id="top"></a>
<div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body ve-init-mw-desktopArticleTarget-targetContainer" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container="">
<div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content mw-content-ltr" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr">
<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">
/* start https://en.wikipedia.org/ */
.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}
/* end https://en.wikipedia.org/ */
</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">For other uses, see <a href="Characterization_(disambiguation)" class="mw-disambig" title="Characterization (disambiguation)">Characterization (disambiguation)</a>.</div>
<p><b>Characterization</b> or <b>characterisation</b> is the representation of <a href="Character_(arts)" title="Character (arts)">characters</a> (persons, creatures, or other beings) in <a href="Narrative" title="Narrative">narrative</a> and <a href="Drama" title="Drama">dramatic</a> <a href="The_arts" title="The arts">works</a>. The term <b>character development</b> is sometimes used as a <a href="Synonym" title="Synonym">synonym</a>. This representation may include direct methods like the attribution of qualities in description or commentary, and indirect (or "dramatic") methods inviting readers to infer qualities from characters' <a href="Action_(narrative)" title="Action (narrative)">actions</a>, <a href="Dialogue_in_writing" title="Dialogue in writing">dialogue</a>, or appearance. Such a personage is called a <a href="Character_(arts)" title="Character (arts)">character</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Character is a <a href="Literary_element" class="mw-redirect" title="Literary element">literary element</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
</p>
<meta property="mw:PageProp/toc">
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History">History</h2></div>
<p>The term <i>characterization</i> was introduced in the 19th century.<sup id="cite_ref-Harrison1998p51_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Harrison1998p51-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="Aristotle" title="Aristotle">Aristotle</a> promoted the primacy of plot over characters, that is, a plot-driven narrative, arguing in his <i><a href="Poetics_(Aristotle)" title="Poetics (Aristotle)">Poetics</a></i> that tragedy "is a representation, not of men, but of action and life." This view was reversed in the 19th century, when the primacy of the character, that is, a character-driven narrative, was affirmed first with the <a href="Realist_novel" class="mw-redirect" title="Realist novel">realist novel</a>, and increasingly later with the influential development of <a href="Psychology" title="Psychology">psychology</a>.
</p>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Direct_vs._indirect">Direct vs. indirect</h2></div>
<p>There are two ways an <a href="Author" title="Author">author</a> can convey information about a character:
</p>
<dl><dt><i>Direct</i> or <i><a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/explicit" class="extiw external" title="wiktionary:explicit">explicit</a></i> characterization</dt>
<dd>The author literally tells the audience what a character is like. This may be done via the <a href="Narrator" class="mw-redirect" title="Narrator">narrator</a>, another character or by the character themselves.</dd>
<dt><i>Indirect</i> or <i><a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/implicit" class="extiw external" title="wiktionary:implicit">implicit</a></i> characterization</dt>
<dd>The audience must infer for themselves what the character is like through the character's thoughts, actions, speech (choice of words, manner of speaking), physical appearance, <a href="Mannerisms" class="mw-redirect" title="Mannerisms">mannerisms</a> and interaction with other characters, including other characters' reactions to that particular person.</dd></dl>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="In_drama">In drama</h2></div>
<p>Characters in theater, television, and film differ from those in novels in that an actor may interpret the writer's description and dialogue in their own unique way to add new layers and depth to a character. This can be seen when critics compare, for example, the 'Lady Macbeths' or 'Heathcliffs' of different actors. Another major difference in drama is that it is not possible to 'go inside the character's head' in the way possible in a novel, meaning this method of character exposition is unavailable. Still another is that in drama, a character usually can be seen and heard and need not be described.
</p>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="In_mythology">In mythology</h2></div>
<p>Mythological characters have been depicted to be formulaic and are a part of a <a href="Categorization" class="mw-redirect" title="Categorization">classification</a> that consists of several differing, limited archetypes, which is type of component. Multiple components, such as archetypes and other elements of a story, together form a type of configuration that results in fully realized myth. These configurations can be mixed and matched together to form new types of configurations, and humans have never tired of using these configurations for their mythologies. This is an idea that uses the kaleidoscopic model on narrating for mythology. Another perspective holds that humans when reading or hearing a mythology do not dissect it into various parts, that when physically together humans do not tell stories by using limited components in a configuration, and that people and their cultures do change and thus this leads to new developments in stories, including characters.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
</p><p>Mythological characters have influence that extends to recent works of literature. The poet <a href="Platon_Oyunsky" title="Platon Oyunsky">Platon Oyunsky</a> draws heavily from the native mythology of his homeland, the Yakut region in Russia and the Sahka people. In several of his stories, he depicts a main character that follows historic examples of heroism, but fashions the main character using Soviet examples of heroism, even using real life figures, such as Stalin, Lenin, etc. in a new type of mythology. These figures often play the lead in tragic stories full of sacrifice.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> An example of this includes his character Tygyn, who on his quest for peace determines that the only way for peace to exist is to use military strength to enforce.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The use of mythology is used in Shakespeare's Hamlet as a device to parallel the characters and to reflect back on them their role in the story, such as the use of the Niobe myth and the twin sister of Gertrude.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
</p>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Character_archetypes">Character archetypes</h2></div>
<p>The psychologist <a href="Carl_Jung" title="Carl Jung">Carl Jung</a> identified twelve primary 'original patterns' of the human psyche. He believed that these reside in the collective subconscious of people across cultural and political boundaries. These twelve archetypes are often cited in fictional characters. <a href="Character_(arts)#Round_vs._flat" title="Character (arts)">'Flat' characters</a> may be considered so because they stick to a single archetype without deviating, whereas 'complex' or 'realistic' characters will combine several archetypes, with some being more dominant than others – as people are in real life.
Jung's twelve archetypes are: the Innocent, the Orphan, the Hero, the Caregiver, the Explorer, the Rebel, the Lover, the Creator, the Jester, the Sage, the Magician, and the Ruler.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> However, Jung's notions of character archetypes have been considered problematic in a variety of ways. First, the use of these archetypes is often reductive and unhelpful for many writers since it simplifies character complexity into clichéd tropes.<sup id="cite_ref-Pelican_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Pelican-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
</p>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Character's_voice">Character's voice</h2></div>
<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1305433154">
/* start https://en.wikipedia.org/ */
.mw-parser-output .ambox{border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-left:10px solid #36c;background-color:#fbfbfb;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 0;overflow:hidden;width:238px;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ambox-speedy{border-left:10px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ambox-delete{border-left:10px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}
/* end https://en.wikipedia.org/ */
</style>
<div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Not to be confused with <a href="Grammatical_voice" class="mw-redirect" title="Grammatical voice">Grammatical voice</a> or <a href="Writer's_voice" class="mw-redirect" title="Writer's voice">Writer's voice</a>.</div>
<p>A <b>character's voice</b> is their manner of speech.<sup id="cite_ref-Gerke_2010_70_10-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Gerke_2010_70-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Different characters use different vocabularies and rhythms of speech. For example, some characters are talkative, others taciturn. The way a character speaks can be a powerful way of revealing the character's personality. In theory, a reader should be able to identify which character is speaking simply from the way they talk.<sup id="cite_ref-Hamand_2009_73–74_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Hamand_2009_73–74-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> When a character voice has been created that is rich and distinctive, the writer can get away with omitting many speech attributions (tag lines).<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
</p><p>The manner of a character's speech is to literature what an actor's appearance and costume are to cinema.<sup id="cite_ref-Gerke_2010_70_10-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Gerke_2010_70-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In fiction, what a character says, as well as how they say it, makes a strong impression on the reader.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Each character should have their distinctive voice.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> To differentiate characters in fiction, the writer must show them doing and saying things, but a character must be defined by more than one single topic of conversation or by the character's accent. The character will have other interests or personality quirks as well.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Although individual temperament is the largest determinant of what a character says, it is not the only one. The writer can make the characters' dialogue more realistic and interesting by considering several factors affecting how people speak: personality psychology,<sup id="cite_ref-Pelican_9-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Pelican-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> age, culture, family background, region, gender, education, and circumstances.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Words characterize by their diction, cadence, complexity, attitude<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and fluency. Mannerisms and catch-phrases can help too. Considering the degree of formality in spoken language is also useful. Introverts tend to use more formal language compared to extroverts, who typically speak in a more casual and colloquial manner.<sup id="cite_ref-Pelican_9-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Pelican-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Characters who spend a lot of their lives in a more formal setting often use a more formal language all the time, while others never do.<sup id="cite_ref-Hamand_2009_73–74_11-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Hamand_2009_73–74-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Tone of voice, volume, rate of delivery, vocabulary, inflection, emphasis, pitch, topics of conversation, idioms, colloquialisms, and figures of speech: all of these are expressions of who the character is on the inside.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A character's manner of speech must grow from the inside out. The speaking is how their essential personality leaks out for the world to see; it is not the sum total of their personality.<sup id="cite_ref-Gerke_2010_70_10-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Gerke_2010_70-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
</p>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2></div>
<ul><li><a href="Character_creation" title="Character creation">Character creation</a></li>
<li><a href="Character_traits" class="mw-redirect" title="Character traits">Character traits</a></li>
<li><a href="Ethopoeia" title="Ethopoeia">Ethopoeia</a></li></ul>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2></div>
<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">
/* start https://en.wikipedia.org/ */
.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}
/* end https://en.wikipedia.org/ */
</style><div class="reflist">
<div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references">
<li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFBaldick2004">Baldick (2004</a>, p. 37)</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFLiterature2015">Literature (2015</a>, p. 353)</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-Harrison1998p51-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Harrison1998p51_3-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Harrison (1998, pp. 51-2)</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">
/* start https://en.wikipedia.org/ */
.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("./mw/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("./mw/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("./mw/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("./mw/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}
/* end https://en.wikipedia.org/ */
</style><cite id="CITEREFGeorges1979" class="citation journal cs1">Georges, Robert (1979). "The Kaleidoscopic Model of Narrating: A Characterization and a Critique". <i>The Journal of American Folklore</i>. <b>92</b> (364): <span class="nowrap">164–</span>171. <a href="Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.2307%2F539386">10.2307/539386</a>. <a href="JSTOR_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="JSTOR (identifier)">JSTOR</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/539386">539386</a>.</cite></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFRomanova2018" class="citation journal cs1">Romanova, Lidia Nikolaevna (2018-09-30). "Myth Creation in the Poetic Evolution of P. A. Oyunsky". <i>Journal of History Culture and Art Research</i>. <b>7</b> (3): <span class="nowrap">280–</span>292. <a href="Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<span class="id-lock-free" title="Freely accessible"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.7596%2Ftaksad.v7i3.1729">10.7596/taksad.v7i3.1729</a></span> (inactive 1 July 2025). <a href="ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/2147-0626">2147-0626</a> – via Academic Search Complete.</cite><span class="cs1-maint citation-comment"><code class="cs1-code">{{cite journal}}</code>: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)</span></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFMyreeva2018" class="citation journal cs1">Myreeva, Anastasiya Nikitichna (2018-09-30). "Folklore and Epic Traditions in Yakut Novels between Two Ages". <i>Journal of History Culture and Art Research</i>. <b>7</b> (3): <span class="nowrap">460–</span>468. <a href="Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<span class="id-lock-free" title="Freely accessible"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.7596%2Ftaksad.v7i3.1737">10.7596/taksad.v7i3.1737</a></span> (inactive 1 July 2025). <a href="ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/2147-0626">2147-0626</a> – via Academic Search Complete.</cite><span class="cs1-maint citation-comment"><code class="cs1-code">{{cite journal}}</code>: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)</span></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFMcCollum2012" class="citation journal cs1">McCollum, Cayla (2012). "Mirrors: Shakespeare's use of Mythology in Hamlet". <i>Journal of the Wooden O Symposium</i>. <b>12</b>: <span class="nowrap">114–</span>119. <a href="ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1539-5758">1539-5758</a> – via Academic Search Complete.</cite></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFGolden,_Carl" class="citation web cs1">Golden, Carl. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20191021065644/http://www.soulcraft.co/essays/the_12_common_archetypes.html">"The 12 Common Archetypes"</a>. <i>SoulCraft</i>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.soulcraft.co/essays/the_12_common_archetypes.html">the original</a> on October 21, 2019<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">June 29,</span> 2016</span>.</cite></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-Pelican-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Pelican_9-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Pelican_9-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Pelican_9-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFPelican2021" class="citation book cs1">Pelican, Kira-Anne (2021). <i>The Science of Writing Characters: Using Psychology to Create Compelling Fictional Characters</i>. New York: Bloomsbury Academic. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>978-1-5013-5724-4</bdi>. <a href="OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/1142394142">1142394142</a>.</cite></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-Gerke_2010_70-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Gerke_2010_70_10-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Gerke_2010_70_10-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Gerke_2010_70_10-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFGerke2010">Gerke (2010</a>, p. 70)</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-Hamand_2009_73–74-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Hamand_2009_73–74_11-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Hamand_2009_73–74_11-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFHamand2009">Hamand (2009</a>, pp. 73–74)</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFGerke2010">Gerke (2010</a>, p. 114)</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFKress2005">Kress (2005</a>, p. 104)</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFLamb2008">Lamb (2008</a>, pp. 184–185)</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFGerke2010">Gerke (2010</a>, p. 68)</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-16">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFKress2005">Kress (2005</a>, pp. 106–108)</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-17">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFKress2005">Kress (2005</a>, p. 179)</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-18">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFGerke2010">Gerke (2010</a>, pp. 70–71)</span>
</li>
</ol></div></div>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2></div>
<ul><li>Aston, Elaine, and George Savona (1991), <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=oL0O6rs2ar4C"><i>Theatre as Sign-System: A Semiotics of Text and Performance</i></a>. London and New York: Routledge. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>0-415-04932-6</bdi>.</li>
<li><cite id="CITEREFBaldick2004" class="citation cs2">Baldick, Chris (2004), <i>The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms</i>, Oxford: <a href="Oxford_University_Press" title="Oxford University Press">Oxford University Press</a>, <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>978-0-19-860883-7</bdi></cite></li>
<li><cite id="CITEREFGerke2010" class="citation cs2">Gerke, Jeff (2010), <i>Plot versus Character: A Balanced Approach to Writing Great Fiction</i>, Cincinnati: <a href="Writer's_Digest_Books" class="mw-redirect" title="Writer's Digest Books">Writer's Digest Books</a>, <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>978-1-58297-992-2</bdi></cite></li>
<li><cite id="CITEREFLiterature2015" class="citation encyclopaedia cs1">"Literature". <i><a href="World_Book_Encyclopedia" title="World Book Encyclopedia">World Book Encyclopedia</a></i>. Chicago: World Book. 2015. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>978-0-7166-0115-9</bdi>.</cite></li>
<li><cite id="CITEREFHamand2009" class="citation cs2">Hamand, Maggie (2009), <i>Creative Writing for Dummies</i> (uk ed.), Chicester: <a href="John_Wiley_%26_Sons" class="mw-redirect" title="John Wiley & Sons">Wiley</a>, <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>978-0-470-74291-4</bdi></cite></li>
<li>Harrison, Martin (1998), <i>The Language of Theatre</i>. London: Routledge. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>0-87830-087-2</bdi>.</li>
<li><cite id="CITEREFKress2005" class="citation cs2">Kress, Nancy (2005), <i>Write Great Fiction: Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint</i>, Cincinnati: <a href="Writer's_Digest_Books" class="mw-redirect" title="Writer's Digest Books">Writer's Digest Books</a>, <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>1-58297-316-4</bdi></cite></li>
<li><cite id="CITEREFLamb2008" class="citation cs2">Lamb, Nancy (2008), <i>The Art and Craft of Storytelling: A Comprehensive Guide to Classic Writing Techniques</i>, Cincinnati: <a href="Writer's_Digest_Books" class="mw-redirect" title="Writer's Digest Books">Writer's Digest Books</a>, <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>978-1-58297-559-7</bdi></cite></li>
<li>Pelican, Kira-Anne (2020), <i>The Science of Writing Characters: Using psychology to create compelling fictional characters</i>. New York: Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 1501357255</li></ul>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2></div>
<ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071111054413/http://www.cas.usf.edu/lis/lis6585/class/litelem.html">Outline on Literary Elements</a> at the <a href="Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a> (archived November 11, 2007) by Dr. Marilyn H. Stauffer of the <a href="University_of_South_Florida" title="University of South Florida">University of South Florida</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071017222812/http://blog.wku.edu/podcasts/Waters_ENG200_DocLecture2.php">Lecture about Fiction</a> by Professor Waters of the <a href="Western_Kentucky_University" title="Western Kentucky University">Western Kentucky University</a>, especially the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070126234713/http://blog.wku.edu/podcasts/Waters_ENG200_Fiction.ppt">accompanying PowerPoint presentation</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071111183615/http://web.uvic.ca/wguide/Pages/LTCharacter.html">Character and characterisation</a> in <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071012094604/http://web.uvic.ca/wguide/Pages/LiteraryTermsIndex.html#AlphabetTop"><i>The UVic Writer's Guide</i></a> (from the <a href="University_of_Victoria" title="University of Victoria">University of Victoria</a>)</li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110525193926/http://web.media.mit.edu/~bkort/Drama.html">Drama Theory</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110708232924/http://www.darcypattison.com/revision/30-days-to-stronger-characters/">15 Days to Stronger Characters</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://psyche.co/guides/how-to-create-and-interpret-characters-in-fiction-and-film">How to Create Compelling Characters</a></li></ul>
<div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">
/* start https://en.wikipedia.org/ */
.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:first-child::before{content:" (";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}
/* end https://en.wikipedia.org/ */
</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">
/* start https://en.wikipedia.org/ */
.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{background-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list{line-height:1.5em;border-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list-with-group{text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid}.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-group,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-image,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-list{border-top:2px solid #fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title{background-color:#ccf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}
/* end https://en.wikipedia.org/ */
</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Narrative321" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible mw-collapsed navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">
/* start https://en.wikipedia.org/ */
.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}
/* end https://en.wikipedia.org/ */
</style><div id="Narrative321" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="Narrative" title="Narrative">Narrative</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="Character_(arts)" title="Character (arts)">Character</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="Antagonist" title="Antagonist">Antagonist</a></li>
<li><a href="Archenemy" title="Archenemy">Archenemy</a></li>
<li><a href="Character_arc" title="Character arc">Character arc</a></li>
<li><a href="Character_flaw" title="Character flaw">Character flaw</a></li>
<li><a href="Confidant" title="Confidant">Confidant</a></li>
<li><a href="Deuteragonist" title="Deuteragonist">Deuteragonist</a></li>
<li><a href="False_protagonist" title="False protagonist">False protagonist</a></li>
<li><a href="Focal_character" title="Focal character">Focal character</a></li>
<li><a href="Foil_(narrative)" title="Foil (narrative)">Foil</a></li>
<li><a href="Gothic_double" title="Gothic double">Gothic double</a></li>
<li><i><a href="Hamartia" title="Hamartia">Hamartia</a></i></li>
<li><a href="Hero" title="Hero">Hero</a>
<ul><li><a href="Antihero" title="Antihero">Anti</a></li>
<li><a href="Byronic_hero" title="Byronic hero">Byronic</a></li>
<li><a href="Tragic_hero" title="Tragic hero">Tragic</a></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="Narration" title="Narration">Narrator</a></li>
<li><a href="Protagonist" title="Protagonist">Protagonist</a></li>
<li><a href="Stock_character" title="Stock character">Stock character</a></li>
<li><a href="Straight_man" title="Straight man">Straight man</a></li>
<li><a href="Supporting_character" title="Supporting character">Supporting character</a></li>
<li><a href="Title_character" title="Title character">Title character</a></li>
<li><a href="Tritagonist" title="Tritagonist">Tritagonist</a></li>
<li><a href="Villain" title="Villain">Villain</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="Plot_(narrative)" title="Plot (narrative)">Plot</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><i><a href="Ab_ovo" title="Ab ovo">Ab ovo</a></i></li>
<li><a href="Action_(narrative)" title="Action (narrative)">Action</a></li>
<li><a href="Backstory" title="Backstory">Backstory</a>
<ul><li><a href="Origin_story" title="Origin story">Origin story</a></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="Chekhov's_gun" title="Chekhov's gun">Chekhov's gun</a></li>
<li><a href="Clich%C3%A9" title="Cliché">Cliché</a></li>
<li><a href="Cliffhanger" title="Cliffhanger">Cliffhanger</a></li>
<li><a href="Conflict_(narrative)" title="Conflict (narrative)">Conflict</a></li>
<li><i><a href="Deus_ex_machina" title="Deus ex machina">Deus ex machina</a></i></li>
<li><a href="Dialogue_in_writing" title="Dialogue in writing">Dialogue</a></li>
<li><a href="Dramatic_structure" class="mw-redirect" title="Dramatic structure">Dramatic structure</a></li>
<li><a href="Eucatastrophe" title="Eucatastrophe">Eucatastrophe</a></li>
<li><a href="Foreshadowing" title="Foreshadowing">Foreshadowing</a></li>
<li><a href="Flashback_(narrative)" title="Flashback (narrative)">Flashback</a></li>
<li><a href="Flashforward" title="Flashforward">Flashforward</a></li>
<li><a href="Frame_story" title="Frame story">Frame story</a></li>
<li><i><a href="In_medias_res" title="In medias res">In medias res</a></i></li>
<li><i><a href="Kish%C5%8Dtenketsu" title="Kishōtenketsu">Kishōtenketsu</a></i></li>
<li><a href="MacGuffin" title="MacGuffin">MacGuffin</a></li>
<li><a href="Pace_(narrative)" title="Pace (narrative)">Pace</a></li>
<li><a href="Plot_device" title="Plot device">Plot device</a></li>
<li><a href="Plot_twist" title="Plot twist">Plot twist</a></li>
<li><a href="Poetic_justice" title="Poetic justice">Poetic justice</a></li>
<li><a href="Red_herring" title="Red herring">Red herring</a></li>
<li><a href="Reveal_(narrative)" title="Reveal (narrative)">Reveal</a></li>
<li><a href="Self-insertion" title="Self-insertion">Self-insertion</a></li>
<li><a href="Shaggy_dog_story" title="Shaggy dog story">Shaggy dog story</a></li>
<li><a href="Stereotype" title="Stereotype">Stereotype</a></li>
<li><a href="Story_arc" title="Story arc">Story arc</a></li>
<li><a href="Story_within_a_story" title="Story within a story">Story within a story</a></li>
<li><a href="Subplot" title="Subplot">Subplot</a></li>
<li><a href="Suspense" title="Suspense">Suspense</a></li>
<li><a href="Trope_(literature)" title="Trope (literature)">Trope</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="Setting_(narrative)" title="Setting (narrative)">Setting</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="Alternate_history" title="Alternate history">Alternate history</a></li>
<li><a href="Backstory" title="Backstory">Backstory</a></li>
<li><a href="Crossover_(fiction)" title="Crossover (fiction)">Crossover</a></li>
<li><a href="Dream_world_(plot_device)" title="Dream world (plot device)">Dreamworld</a></li>
<li><a href="Dystopia" title="Dystopia">Dystopia</a></li>
<li><a href="Fictional_location" title="Fictional location">Fictional location</a>
<ul><li><a href="Fictional_city" class="mw-redirect" title="Fictional city">city</a></li>
<li><a href="Fictional_country" title="Fictional country">country</a></li>
<li><a href="Fictional_universe" title="Fictional universe">universe</a>
<ul><li><a href="Parallel_universes_in_fiction" title="Parallel universes in fiction">parallel</a></li></ul></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="Utopia" title="Utopia">Utopia</a></li>
<li><a href="Worldbuilding" title="Worldbuilding">Worldbuilding</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="Theme_(narrative)" title="Theme (narrative)">Theme</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="Irony" title="Irony">Irony</a></li>
<li><a href="Leitmotif" title="Leitmotif">Leitmotif</a></li>
<li><a href="Metaphor" title="Metaphor">Metaphor</a></li>
<li><a href="Moral" title="Moral">Moral</a></li>
<li><a href="Moral_development" title="Moral development">Moral development</a></li>
<li><a href="Motif_(narrative)" title="Motif (narrative)">Motif</a>
<ul><li><a href="Deal_with_the_Devil" title="Deal with the Devil">Deal with the Devil</a></li>
<li><a href="Good_and_evil" title="Good and evil">Conflict between good and evil</a></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="Self-fulfilling_prophecy" title="Self-fulfilling prophecy">Self-fulfilling prophecy</a></li>
<li><a href="Time_travel" title="Time travel">Time travel</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="Writing_style" title="Writing style">Style</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="Allegory" title="Allegory">Allegory</a></li>
<li><a href="Bathos" title="Bathos">Bathos</a></li>
<li><a href="Comic_relief" title="Comic relief">Comic relief</a></li>
<li><a href="Diction" title="Diction">Diction</a></li>
<li><a href="Figure_of_speech" title="Figure of speech">Figure of speech</a></li>
<li><a href="Imagery" title="Imagery">Imagery</a></li>
<li><a href="Mode_(literature)" title="Mode (literature)">Mode</a></li>
<li><a href="Mood_(literature)" title="Mood (literature)">Mood</a></li>
<li><a href="Narration" title="Narration">Narration</a></li>
<li><a href="List_of_narrative_techniques" title="List of narrative techniques">Narrative techniques</a>
<ul><li><a href="Narrative_hook" title="Narrative hook">Hook</a></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="Show%2C_don't_tell" title="Show, don't tell">Show, don't tell</a></li>
<li><a href="Stylistic_device" title="Stylistic device">Stylistic device</a></li>
<li><a href="Suspension_of_disbelief" title="Suspension of disbelief">Suspension of disbelief</a></li>
<li><a href="Symbolism_(arts)" class="mw-redirect" title="Symbolism (arts)">Symbolism</a></li>
<li><a href="Tone_(literature)" title="Tone (literature)">Tone</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="Dramatic_structure" class="mw-redirect" title="Dramatic structure">Structure</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="Act_(drama)" title="Act (drama)">Act</a>
<ul><li><a href="Dramatic_structure" class="mw-redirect" title="Dramatic structure">Act structure</a></li>
<li><a href="Three-act_structure" title="Three-act structure">Three-act structure</a></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="Freytag's_Pyramid" class="mw-redirect" title="Freytag's Pyramid">Freytag's Pyramid</a>
<ul><li><a href="Exposition_(narrative)" title="Exposition (narrative)">Exposition</a>/<a href="Protasis" title="Protasis">Protasis</a></li>
<li><a href="Epitasis" title="Epitasis">Rising action/Epitasis</a></li>
<li><a href="Climax_(narrative)" title="Climax (narrative)">Climax</a>/<a href="Peripeteia" title="Peripeteia">Peripeteia</a></li>
<li><a href="Catastasis" title="Catastasis">Falling action/Catastasis</a></li>
<li><a href="Catastrophe_(drama)" title="Catastrophe (drama)">Denouement/Catastrophe</a></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="Narrative_structure" class="mw-redirect" title="Narrative structure">Linear narrative</a></li>
<li><a href="Nonlinear_narrative" title="Nonlinear narrative">Nonlinear narrative</a>
<ul><li><a href="List_of_nonlinear_narrative_films" title="List of nonlinear narrative films">films</a></li>
<li><a href="List_of_nonlinear_narrative_television_series" title="List of nonlinear narrative television series">television series</a></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="Premise_(narrative)" title="Premise (narrative)">Premise</a></li>
<li><a href="Types_of_fiction_with_multiple_endings" title="Types of fiction with multiple endings">Types of fiction with multiple endings</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="List_of_narrative_forms" title="List of narrative forms">Form</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="Drama" title="Drama">Drama</a></li>
<li><i><a href="Fabliau" title="Fabliau">Fabliau</a></i></li>
<li><a href="Flash_fiction" title="Flash fiction">Flash fiction</a></li>
<li><a href="Folklore" title="Folklore">Folklore</a>
<ul><li><a href="Fable" title="Fable">Fable</a></li>
<li><a href="Fairy_tale" title="Fairy tale">Fairy tale</a></li>
<li><a href="Legend" title="Legend">Legend</a></li>
<li><a href="Myth" title="Myth">Myth</a></li>
<li><a href="Tall_tale" title="Tall tale">Tall tale</a></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="Gamebook" title="Gamebook">Gamebook</a></li>
<li><a href="Narrative_art" title="Narrative art">Narrative art</a></li>
<li><a href="Narrative_poetry" title="Narrative poetry">Narrative poetry</a>
<ul><li><a href="Epic_poetry" title="Epic poetry">Epic poetry</a></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="Novel" title="Novel">Novel</a></li>
<li><a href="Novella" title="Novella">Novella</a></li>
<li><a href="Parable" title="Parable">Parable</a></li>
<li><a href="Short_story" title="Short story">Short story</a></li>
<li><a href="Vignette_(literature)" title="Vignette (literature)">Vignette</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="Literary_genre" title="Literary genre">Genre</a><br>(<a href="List_of_writing_genres" title="List of writing genres">List</a>)</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="Fiction" title="Fiction">Fiction</a>
<ul><li><a href="Action_fiction" title="Action fiction">Action fiction</a></li>
<li><a href="Adventure_fiction" title="Adventure fiction">Adventure</a></li>
<li><a href="Comic_novel" title="Comic novel">Comic</a></li>
<li><a href="Crime_fiction" title="Crime fiction">Crime</a></li>
<li><a href="Docufiction" title="Docufiction">Docu</a></li>
<li><a href="Epistolary_novel" title="Epistolary novel">Epistolary</a></li>
<li><a href="Ergodic_literature" title="Ergodic literature">Ergodic</a></li>
<li><a href="Erotic_literature" title="Erotic literature">Erotic</a></li>
<li><a href="Historical_fiction" title="Historical fiction">Historical</a>
<ul><li><a href="Western_fiction" title="Western fiction">Western</a></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="Mystery_fiction" title="Mystery fiction">Mystery</a></li>
<li><a href="Nautical_fiction" title="Nautical fiction">Nautical</a></li>
<li><a href="Paranoid_fiction" title="Paranoid fiction">Paranoid</a></li>
<li><a href="Philosophical_fiction" title="Philosophical fiction">Philosophical</a></li>
<li><a href="Picaresque_novel" title="Picaresque novel">Picaresque</a></li>
<li><a href="Political_fiction" title="Political fiction">Political</a></li>
<li><a href="Pop_culture_fiction" title="Pop culture fiction">Pop culture</a></li>
<li><a href="Psychological_fiction" title="Psychological fiction">Psychological</a></li>
<li><a href="Inspirational_fiction" title="Inspirational fiction">Religious</a></li>
<li><a href="Rogue_literature" title="Rogue literature">Rogue</a></li>
<li><a href="Romance_novel" title="Romance novel">Romance</a>
<ul><li><a href="Chivalric_romance" title="Chivalric romance">Chivalric</a></li>
<li><a href="Romance_(prose_fiction)" title="Romance (prose fiction)">Prose</a></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="Saga" title="Saga">Saga</a></li>
<li><a href="Satire" title="Satire">Satire</a></li>
<li><a href="Speculative_fiction" title="Speculative fiction">Speculative fiction</a>
<ul><li><a href="Fantasy" title="Fantasy">Fantasy</a></li>
<li><a href="Gothic_fiction" title="Gothic fiction">Gothic</a>
<ul><li><a href="Southern_Gothic" title="Southern Gothic">Southern</a></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="Horror_fiction" title="Horror fiction">Horror</a></li>
<li><a href="Magic_realism" class="mw-redirect" title="Magic realism">Magic realism</a></li>
<li><a href="Science_fiction" title="Science fiction">Science</a>
<ul><li><a href="Hard_science_fiction" title="Hard science fiction">Hard</a></li>
<li><a href="Utopian_and_dystopian_fiction" title="Utopian and dystopian fiction">Utopian and dystopian</a></li>
<li><a href="List_of_underwater_science_fiction_works" title="List of underwater science fiction works">Underwater</a></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="Superhero_fiction" title="Superhero fiction">Superhero</a></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="Theological_fiction" title="Theological fiction">Theological</a></li>
<li><a href="Thriller_(genre)" title="Thriller (genre)">Thriller</a></li>
<li><a href="Urban_fiction" title="Urban fiction">Urban</a></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="Nonfiction" class="mw-redirect" title="Nonfiction">Nonfiction</a>
<ul><li><a href="Autobiography" title="Autobiography">Autobiography</a></li>
<li><a href="Biography" title="Biography">Biography</a></li>
<li><a href="Non-fiction_novel" title="Non-fiction novel">Novel</a></li>
<li><a href="Creative_nonfiction" title="Creative nonfiction">Creative</a></li></ul></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="Narration" title="Narration">Narration</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="Diegesis" title="Diegesis">Diegesis</a></li>
<li><a href="First-person_narrative" title="First-person narrative">First-person</a></li>
<li><a href="Second-person_narrative" class="mw-redirect" title="Second-person narrative">Second-person</a></li>
<li><a href="Third-person_narrative" class="mw-redirect" title="Third-person narrative">Third-person</a>
<ul><li><a href="Third-person_omniscient_narrative" class="mw-redirect" title="Third-person omniscient narrative">Third-person omniscient narrative</a></li>
<li><a href="Narration#Subjective_or_objective" title="Narration">Subjectivity</a></li>
<li><a href="Unreliable_narrator" title="Unreliable narrator">Unreliable narrator</a></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="Multiperspectivity" title="Multiperspectivity">Multiple narrators</a></li>
<li><a href="Stream_of_consciousness" title="Stream of consciousness">Stream of consciousness</a></li>
<li><a href="Stream_of_unconsciousness" title="Stream of unconsciousness">Stream of unconsciousness</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="Grammatical_tense" title="Grammatical tense">Tense</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="Past_tense" title="Past tense">Past</a></li>
<li><a href="Present_tense" title="Present tense">Present</a></li>
<li><a href="Future_tense" title="Future tense">Future</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Related</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="Dominant_narrative" title="Dominant narrative">Dominant narrative</a></li>
<li><a href="Fiction_writing" title="Fiction writing">Fiction writing</a>
<ul><li><a href="Continuity_(fiction)" title="Continuity (fiction)">Continuity</a>
<ul><li><a href="Canon_(fiction)" title="Canon (fiction)">Canon</a></li>
<li><a href="Reboot_(fiction)" title="Reboot (fiction)">Reboot</a></li>
<li><a href="Retroactive_continuity" title="Retroactive continuity">Retcon</a></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="Parallel_novel" title="Parallel novel">Parallel novel</a></li>
<li><a href="Prequel" title="Prequel">Prequel</a> / <a href="Sequel" title="Sequel">Sequel</a></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="Genre" title="Genre">Genre</a>
<ul><li><a href="List_of_genres" title="List of genres">List</a></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="Literary_criticism" title="Literary criticism">Literary science</a></li>
<li><a href="Literary_theory" title="Literary theory">Literary theory</a></li>
<li><a href="Narrative_identity" title="Narrative identity">Narrative identity</a></li>
<li><a href="Narrative_paradigm" title="Narrative paradigm">Narrative paradigm</a></li>
<li><a href="Narrative_therapy" title="Narrative therapy">Narrative therapy</a></li>
<li><a href="Narratology" title="Narratology">Narratology</a>
<ul><li><a href="Metafiction" title="Metafiction">Metafiction</a></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="Political_narrative" title="Political narrative">Political narrative</a></li>
<li><a href="Rhetoric" title="Rhetoric">Rhetoric</a>
<ul><li><a href="Glossary_of_rhetorical_terms" title="Glossary of rhetorical terms">Glossary</a></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="Screenwriting" title="Screenwriting">Screenwriting</a></li>
<li>Series of works</li>
<li><a href="Storytelling" title="Storytelling">Storytelling</a></li>
<li><a href="Tellability" title="Tellability">Tellability</a></li>
<li><a href="Verisimilitude_(fiction)" title="Verisimilitude (fiction)">Verisimilitude</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>
<div class="navbox-styles"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Literary_composition158" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><div id="Literary_composition158" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="Composition_(language)" title="Composition (language)">Literary composition</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">General topics</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul>
<li><a href="Description" title="Description">Description</a></li>
<li><a href="Exposition_(narrative)" title="Exposition (narrative)">Exposition</a></li>
<li><a href="Fiction_writing" title="Fiction writing">Fiction writing</a></li>
<li><a href="Literature" title="Literature">Literature</a></li>
<li><a href="Writer" title="Writer">Writer</a></li>
<li><a href="Writer's_block" title="Writer's block">Writer's block</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="List_of_narrative_techniques" title="List of narrative techniques">Techniques</a> / devices</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="Contrast_(linguistics)" title="Contrast (linguistics)">Linguistic contrast</a></li>
<li><a href="Contrast_(literary)" title="Contrast (literary)">Literary contrast</a></li>
<li><a href="Clich%C3%A9" title="Cliché">Cliché</a></li>
<li><a href="Idiom" title="Idiom">Idiom</a></li>
<li><a href="Trope_(literature)" title="Trope (literature)">Trope</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Methods</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="Writing_process" title="Writing process">Writing process</a>
<ul><li><a href="Prewriting" title="Prewriting">Prewriting</a></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="Assemblage_(composition)" title="Assemblage (composition)">Assemblage</a></li>
<li><a href="Cut-up_technique" title="Cut-up technique">Cut-up technique</a></li>
<li><a href="Diegesis" title="Diegesis">Diegesis</a></li>
<li><a href="Mimesis" title="Mimesis">Mimesis</a></li>
<li><a href="Pastiche" title="Pastiche">Pastiche</a></li>
<li><a href="Plagiarism" title="Plagiarism">Plagiarism</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Features</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="Writing_style" title="Writing style">Writing style</a></li>
<li><a href="Writer's_voice" class="mw-redirect" title="Writer's voice">Writer's voice</a></li>
<li><a href="Grammatical_mood" title="Grammatical mood">Grammatical mood</a></li>
<li><a href="Register_(sociolinguistics)" title="Register (sociolinguistics)">Register</a></li>
<li><a href="Rhetorical_modes" title="Rhetorical modes">Rhetorical modes</a></li>
<li><a href="Stylistics" title="Stylistics">Stylistics</a></li>
<li><a href="Tone_(literature)" title="Tone (literature)">Tone</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Forms</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="Creative_nonfiction" title="Creative nonfiction">Creative nonfiction</a></li>
<li><a href="Essay" title="Essay">Essay</a></li>
<li><a href="Joke" title="Joke">Joke</a></li>
<li><a href="Novel" title="Novel">Novel</a></li>
<li><a href="Poetry" title="Poetry">Poetry</a></li>
<li><a href="Screenplay" title="Screenplay">Screenplay</a></li>
<li><a href="Short_story" title="Short story">Short story</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Beyond the arts</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="Articulation_(sociology)" title="Articulation (sociology)">Articulation (sociological)</a></li>
<li><a href="Composition_studies" title="Composition studies">Composition studies</a></li>
<li><a href="Technical_writing" title="Technical writing">Technical writing</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><!--htdig_noindex--><div><div class="zim-footer">
This article is issued from <a class="external text" title="Last edited on 2025-07-11" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/?title=Characterization&oldid=1300028548">Wikipedia</a>. The text is available under <a class="external text" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en">Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0</a> unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.
</div>
</div><!--/htdig_noindex--></div>
</div>
</main>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</body></html>