Functions for flat characters include expanding the world, advancing the plot, and serving as a foil for the main character. Lady Capulet and Lord Montague are flat characters.
Flat characters usually work best in supporting roles or as background characters in a story about a round character. They also work very well in a very simple story like a fairy tale or myth. Flat characters only weaken your writing and make it seem simplistic and boring if flat characters end up in the wrong part of your story.
A dynamic character is a character that evolves over the course of the story. A static character, as you might be able to guess, is the opposite. So, mixing and matching is possible.
And flat characters might remain the same throughout the plot, but not necessarily. Round characters are are complex, surprising, and feel like real people. Flat characters are simple, stereotypical, and serve a singular purpose. The protagonist and leading cast of characters will usually be round. If a character is a main part of the story, we want them to be interesting. We want them to feel alive, as Forster would say, so that the reader can feel interested in them and engage with the story through them.
This happens best when a character is complex and layered, surprising and interesting. Flat characters are usually in the background. While round characters might be more unpredictable, the flat ones are there to offer some stability. Not only will it take up way too much time and effort, in the end your book will be weaker because of it — because the reader will be confused about what character they need to care about.
The trick is getting the right mix between round and flat characters, and striking that balancing act is one of the toughest jobs of the writer. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. What is a Round Character? Did you: Admire that Frodo, in Lord of the Rings, persisted in his journey even when it felt impossible and relied on his friendships to make it through? Relate to Mary from The Secret Garden, who explored in a time when she felt trapped and learned to love and heal because of her connection to nature?
Connect to the inner turmoil Holden Caulfield went through in The Catcher in the Rye as a young person trying to find meaning in the world and in himself? Well, they were probably round. Round characters can only be built over time. Round characters have to be surprising. We knew he was good, but not that he would become so angry at death he would reverse the course of human history. We knew he was in love with Lois, but not that he prioritized her above all other humans. Round characters need to change in the eyes of the reader.
Round characters need robust backstories. Things like: Where a character is from Social and economic status Education Family and friends These bits of background can all contribute to what a character chooses to do and why. Round characters need internal conflict. He does terrible things because he wants to prove himself. Round characters have contradictions. Take a look at Macbeth. What is a flat character? When should you write flat characters? To write a certain genre.
Some great examples of active flat characters are all throughout these genres: Fairy Tales. They do not feature heavily in the play, however, we understand that Lord Montague initiates the conflict and fuels the arguments between the two families.
They both care for their son deeply and do not want him to get banished; they try to persuade the Prince to drop the charge. At the end of the play, Lord Montague repents his sins, asks for forgiveness and vows never to argue with the Capulet family again. Personality attributes:. Benvolio is Romeo's cousin and he loves Romeo very much. When Mercutio and Tybalt are fighting, it is Benvolio who tries to stop the conflict.
It is, in fact, Juliet who asks Romeo to marry her. Is Romeo Juliet a true story? Romeo and Juliet belongs to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back to antiquity. Who did Romeo kill?
How old is Juliet? Who do Sampson and Gregory work for? Sampson and Gregory, two servants of the house of Capulet, stroll through the streets of Verona. With bawdy banter, Sampson vents his hatred of the house of Montague. The two exchange punning remarks about physically conquering Montague men and sexually conquering Montague women.
Why did Romeo kill Paris? Paris sees him and thinks he is trying to vandalise the tomb, so he tries to arrest him. They fight, and Romeo kills Paris. Romeo grants Paris' dying wish to be placed next to Juliet in the tomb.
Who is Romio? The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a priest named Friar Laurence.
Forced into exile after slaying Juliet's cousin, Tybalt, in a duel, Romeo commits suicide upon hearing falsely of Juliet's death.
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