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Wednesday 6 January 2016

Flat and round characters

This week during our reading circle, we started thinking about the protagonists, about their personalities, their traits and if their characters are round or flat.



ROUND CHARACTER: A round character is depicted with such psychological depth and detail that he or she seems like a "real" person. The round character contrasts with the flat character, a character who serves a specific or minor literary function in a text, and who may be a stock character or simplified stereotype. If the round character changes or evolves over the course of a narrative or appears to have the capacity for such change, the character is also dynamic. Typically, a short story has one round character and several flat ones. However, in longer novels and plays, there may be many round characters. The terms flat and round were first coined by the novelist E. M. Forster in his study, Aspects of the Novel.



FLAT CHARACTER: Also called a static character, a flat character is a simplified character who does not change or alter his or her personality over the course of a narrative, or one without extensive personality and characterization. The term is used in contrast with a round character
http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_R.html

Watch the video to see examples of round and flat characters.

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