flat character literary definition quizlet

Contradictions: Truly complex characters are riddled with internal contradictions.

Their motives can be physical, emotional, material, and/or philosophical.

Desires and motives: The conflict of a story is generated from your protagonist having certain motivations and desires that are not easy to obtain.

A good round character will have their own flaws, insecurities, philosophies, and problems to overcome.

Internal conflict: Many characters are their own obstacles.

External conflict: No one gets along with everyone, and your character will feel very disagreeably about certain people and personalities.

Most round characters will have the following: In order for a fictional human being to reflect the complexities of real world people, the author must unravel several aspects of human psychology in that character. Of course, writing a round character is easier said than done. Round characters exhibit the psychological complicatedness that all of us share as human beings.

Round character definition: any character whose depth and complexities are apparent throughout the story. Round Character Definition: What is a Round Character?Ī round character describes any character whose depth and complexities are apparent throughout the story. More Resources: Writing Flat and Round Characters.Relationship to Static and Dynamic Characters.Flat Character Definition: What is a Flat Character?.Round Character Definition: What is a Round Character?.The former is a ‘flat character, and the Prince is a round character who changes and develops considerably in the course of the play. Shakespeare’s Henry IV (Pts I and II) provides a suitable contrast in the shape of Hotspur and Prince Hal. Micawber in Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield (1849–50) as a flat character and Becky Sharp in William Thackeray’s Vanity Fair (1847–48) as a round one. On the other hand, a ‘round’ character is a complex character with many different characteristics and develops throughout the play or story and thus alters and can surprise the readers.įorster cites Mrs.

A ‘flat’ character is uncomplicated, and remains the same in the course of a story or play, and is characterized by only one or two traits. Forster in Aspects of the Novel (1927) to describe two basically different types of character- and characterization. The terms “flat and round characters” are first used by E.

Flat character literary definition quizlet