Drama: Characterization & Types of Character – SS1 Literature-in-English Lesson Note (Second Term)

CHARACTERIZATION:

Characterization has to do with the description, representation and analysis of the various characters in a play/novel. It means how the author/playwright presents or portrays his characters.

Types of character

1. Static Characters: They hardly change in a play/novel or play and considerable role. They neither move nor change position throughout the novel/play. The opposite of a static character is a dynamic character
2. Dynamic Character: These are the characters that change with time and with different experiences throughout the novel/play. Most of the time, they grow from ignorance to maturity as the plot advances.
3. Round Character: They are like dynamic characters hence we can be presented with their bad and good traits.
4. Minor-Character: A character that features regularly in a novel
5. Flat Characters: These are at times called Caricature; they maintain only one side in the novel/play. They are stable and static because they maintain the same values, attitudes, and ontholee. t.c. from the start to the end of the story

Note that the three(3) main ways to determine and assess a character in a play or novel are: 

• What a person does 
• What he says of himself/herself
• What others say about him/her