A stock character is one which relies heavily on cultural types or names for his or her personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes, but they are often more narrowly defined. An archetype ( pronounced: /ˈɑːkɪtaɪp/ (Brit or /ˈɑrkɪtaɪp/ (Amer Stock characters are a key component of genre fiction, providing relationships and interactions that people familiar with the genre will recognize immediately. A genre (ˈʒɑːnrə also /ˈdʒɑːnrə/ from French "kind" or "sort" from Latin: genus (stem gener-) is a loose set Stock characters make easy targets for parody, which will likely exaggerate any stereotypes associated with these characters. A parody (ˈpɛɹədiː US, [ˈpaɹədiː] UK) in contemporary usage is a work created to mock comment on or poke fun at an original work its subject
In the United States, courts have determined that copyright protection can not be extended to the characteristics of stock characters in a story, whether it be a book, play, or film. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A court is a forum used by a power base to adjudicate disputes and dispense civil, labour administrative and criminal Justice under its Copyright is a legal concept enacted by Governments, giving the creator of an original work of authorship Exclusive rights to control its distribution usually for A Book is a set or collection of written printed illustrated or blank sheets made of Paper, Parchment, or other material usually fastened together A play, or stageplay, is a form of Literature written by a Playwright, almost always consisting of Dialogue between Fictional characters [1]
Contents |
Examples and history
Ancient Greece
By the loosest definition, stock characters have been around ever since the tragedy of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, being based upon the traits of mythological characters. Aeschylus (ˈɛskɨləs or /ˈiːskɨləs/ Greek: Ασχύλος, Aischylos, 525 BC/524 BC 456 BC/455 BC was an ancient Greek Playwright Sophocles (ˈsɒfəkliːz Ancient Greek, sopʰoklɛ̂ːs circa Euripides ( Ancient Greek:) (ca 480 BC–406 BC was the last of the three great tragedians of classical Athens (the other two being Aeschylus Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance Although mythological characters are not representations of real people, they are a group that would have been recognizable to ancient audiences, and even back then, tended to fall into well-established group types. For example, Hephaestus, Hermes, and Prometheus represented the fool character as "jesters to the gods. Hephaestus (hɨˈfiːstəs or /hɨˈfɛstəs/ Greek Hēphaistos) was a Greek god whose Roman equivalent was Vulcan. Hermes ( Greek,, ˈhɝmiːz in Greek mythology, is the Olympian god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them of Shepherds and In Greek mythology, Prometheus (Προμηθεύς "forethought" is a Titan known for his wily intelligence who stole Fire from Zeus "
In a stricter definition, stock characters originated in the theater. For example, the Greek Old Comedy of Aristophanes typically employed three stock characters: the alazon, the boastful imposter; his ironic opponent, the eiron; and the buffoon, known as the bomolochos. Comedy was one of two principal dramatic forms in ancient Greece the other being Tragedy. Aristophanes (Ἀριστοφάνης ˌærɪˈstɒfəniːz in English ca The alazon (ἀλαζών in Greek comedy is the opponent of the Eiron (εἴρων In Greek drama, the eiron (ειρων self-deprecator was a comedic character who succeeded by bringing his braggart opponent the Alazon, The bomolochus (Greek βωμολόχος is one of the Stock characters in Greek Old Comedy, corresponding to the English Buffoon. Furthermore, the furnishing of these prototypes of Old Comedy with accents, costumes, or props illustrated the desire of the playwright to have the audience readily recognize and relate with the character quickly. The servants wore short-sleeved cassock; parasites carried a short truncheon; rural deities, shepherds, and peasants held a crook; heralds and ambassadors had the caduceus; kings held a sceptre, heroes a club, and old men carried a crooked staff. The caduceus (/kəˈdjuːsiəs/ -ʃəs -ˈduː- κηρύκειον in Greek) or wand of Hermes is typically depicted as a short herald's staff
Aristotle
As Aristotle explored theories on the pursuit of happiness, he discussed the virtues of people surrounding him and, perhaps unintentionally, was the first person to study characters. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great.
His Book IV of Nicomachean Ethics, after an outline of positive characteristics (e. Nicomachean Ethics (sometimes spelled "Nichomachean" or Ta Ethika, is a work by Aristotle on Virtue and Moral character which g. , "liberality," "noble-mindedness," "wit") encouraged in humans, sketched some characters based on their possession, or lack, of these characteristics. Examples include the "rich man of vulgar profusion," the "vainglorious," the "great-souled man," the “choleric,” the “good tempered man,” the “officious,” the “contentious,” the “self-detractor,” and the “buffoon. "
In his Rhetoric, Aristotle explored how “young men, old men, men in their prime, well-born men, rich men, men of power, men of good fortune” varied emotionally. Rhetoric has had many definitions no simple definition can do it justice Although Aristotle’s work closely resembles what came to be known as the Character, Ethics and Rhetoric contained “disquisitions,” not Characters.
Theophrastus
The study of the Character, as it is now known, was conceived by Aristotle’s student Theophrastus. Theophrastus ( Greek:; 371 – c 287 BC a Greek native of Eressos in Lesbos, was the successor of Aristotle in the Peripatetic In The Characters (c. 319 BC), Theophrastus introduced the “character sketch,” which became the core of “the Character as a genre. ” It included 30 character types — twenty-six moral types and four social types. Each type is said to be an illustration of an individual who represents a group, characterized by his most prominent trait. The Theophrastan types are as follows:
|
|
|
It is unclear where Theophrastus derived these types, but many strongly resemble those from Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. Despite the fact that Theophrastus sought to portray character types and not individuals, some of the sketches may have been drawn from observations of actual persons in Athenian public life. Although the preface of the work implies the intention to catalogue “human nature, associate[ed] with all sorts and conditions of men and contrast[ed] in minute detail the good and bad among them,” many other possible types are left unrepresented. These omissions are especially noticeable because each of the thirty characters represents a negative trait (“the bad”); some scholars have therefore suspected that another half of the work, covering the positive types (“the good”), once existed. This preface, however, is certainly fictitious, i. e. added in later times, and cannot therefore be a source of any allegation. Nowadays many scholars also believe that the definitions found in the beginning of each sketch are later additions.
New Comedy
New Comedy was the first theatrical form to have access to Theophrastus’ Characters. Comedy was one of two principal dramatic forms in ancient Greece the other being Tragedy. Menander was said to be a student of Theophrastus, and has been remembered for his prototypical cooks, merchants, farmers and slave characters. Menander ( Greek:, Menandros; ca 342&ndash291 BC Greek Dramatist, the best-known representative of Athenian New Comedy, was the son Although we have few extant works of the New Comedy, the titles of Menander’s plays alone have a “Theophrastan ring": The Fisherman, The Farmer, The Superstitious Man, The Peevish Man, The Promiser, The Heiress, The Priestess, The False Accuser, The Misogynist, The Hated Man, The Shipmaster, The Slave, The Concubine, The Soldiers, The Widow, and The Noise-Shy Man.
Mimistry
Another early form that illustrates the beginnings of the Character is the mime. Greco-Roman mimic playlets often told the stock story of the fat, stupid husband who returned home to find his wife in bed with a lover, stock characters in themselves. Although the mimes were not confined to playing stock characters, the mimus calvus was an early reappearing character. Mimus calvus resembled Maccus, the buffoon from the fabula atellana or Atellan farce. This is a list of characters appearing in the film series Pirates of the Caribbean The Atellan Farce is highly significant in the study of the Character because it contained the first true stock characters. The Atellan Farce employed four fool types. In addition to Maccus, Bucco, the glutton, Pappus, the naïve old man (the fool victim), and Dossennus, the cunning hunchback (the trickster). UserPolbot. --> Bucco is a genus of Puffbird in the Bucconidae family A fifth type, in the form of the additional character Manducus, the chattering jawed pimp, also may have appeared in the Atellan Farce, possibly out of an adaptation of Dossennus. The Roman mime, as well, was a stock fool, closely related to the Atellan fools.
Roman input
Plautus
The Roman playwright Plautus drew from Atellan Farce as well as the Greek Old and New Comedy. The Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a Republican form of government a period which began with the overthrow of the Titus Maccius Plautus (c 254–184 BCE commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman Playwright. He expanded the four types of Atellan Farce to eight (not quite as distinct as the farcical types). The types include:
- Old man, probably a miser - SENEX IRATUS
- Young man in love, possibly the miser's son, who rebels against authority - ADULESCENS AMATOR
- Clever slave - SERVUS CALLIDUS
- Stupid slave - SERVUS STULTUS
- Parasite
- Courtesan - MERETRIX
- Slave dealer or pimp - LENO
- Braggart soldier - MILES GLORIOSUS
Plautus’s fool was either the slave or parasite. Miles Gloriosus (literally "famous or boastful soldier" in Latin) is a Stock character from the Drama, specifically Comedy,
Laertius
In revision of Theophrastus, Diogenes Laertius published Ethical Characters (Circa 230 BC), sparking interest in two lines of study. Diogenes Laërtius ( Greek:, Diogénes Laértios) the biographer of the Greek Philosophers, is supposed by some to have received his surname
The first is that of the character book. Imitators of Theophrastus including Satyrus Atheneus, Heracleides Ponticus, Lycon, and Rutilius Lupus wrote their own character sketches. "Heraclides" redirects here The former Butterfly Genus of the same name is now included in Papilio. Publius Rutilius Lupus was a Roman Rhetorician who flourished during the reign of Tiberius. Circa 212 BC, Ariston’s discourse on morality included several proud Character types and mimicked the Theophrastan style. Aristo of Ceos, (Ἀρίστων ὁ Κέως flourished c 225 BC was a Peripatetic philosopher and a native of the island of Ceos where his birthplace was the Following Philodemus of Gadara’s work on “Self seeking Affability” and Ariston’s characters, evidence of acquaintance with the genre is present, however popularity of the portrait over the generalized stock figures in increasing. Philodemus of Gadara (in Greek) ( Gadara, Coele-Syria, c 110 BCE&ndashprobably Herculaneum c This may explain the gap of time from the beginning of the Common Era to the 16th century marked by an absence of character sketching.
The second field is the study of nomenclature. As the Character rose as a literary genre, many terms were coined in attempt to place labels on the new subject. The translation Theophrastus’ title is based on the terms charassein and Charakter, associated with the stamping of an impression. Rhetorica ad Herennium (c. The Rhetorica ad Herennium may be the oldest surviving Latin book on Rhetoric. 20 BC), attributed to Cicero, split the character up into two qualities: effictio, the description of physical appearance, and notation, the nature of man. Marcus Tullius Cicero ( Classical Latin ˈkikeroː usually ˈsɪsərəʊ in English January 3, 106 BC &ndash December 7, 43 BC was a Roman Later in his De Inventione, Cicero divided the character, or conformation as he called it, into eleven points: name, nature (natura), way of life (victus), fortune (fortuna), physical appearance (habitus), passions (affectio), interests (studium), reasons for doing things (consilium), one’s deeds (factum), what happens to one (casus), one’s discourses (orationes). The De Inventione is a handbook for orators that M Tullius Cicero composed when he was still a young man Seneca, too, played a part in providing labels for the new genre in his Epistulae Morale, using the terms ethologia and characterismos for characteristic conduct of moral types. Circa 93 AD, Quintilian’s Institutio Oratoria discussed the effect of personality on rhetoric and in so doing, coined the terms ethopoeia, an orator’s imitation of another person’s character or habits, and prosopopoeia, the same thing, but with a dramatization of the person as well as the giving of his words. Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (ca 35 – ca 100 was a Roman Rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (ca 35 – ca 100 was a Roman Rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and Other terms conceived in the period include figurae sententiarum and descriptio personae. Decorum, the rhetorical principle that an individual’s words and subject matter are appropriately matched, also became a relevant term, and would remain significant into the Renaissance. Decorum (from the Latin: "proper fit becoming" was a principle of classical Rhetoric, poetry and theatrical theory The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere
Supersession by philosophy
The Romans' “perverse admiration for decorum,” is in part responsible for the deterioration and the resulting blackout period of the Character genre. During this blackout, the Character smoldered under the philosophies of such men as Horace. Quintus Horatius Flaccus, ( Venosa, December 8, 65 BC - Rome, November 27, 8 BC known in the English-speaking world as Horace In the Ars Poetica (c. Ars Poetica is a term meaning "The Art of Poetry" or "On the Nature of Poetry" 18 BC), Horace drew pictures of typical men at various ages, from childhood to old age. Horace’s belief that “what is typical of a class should be observable in the individual,” was illustrated in his epistles classifying Achilles as a man of rage and love, Paris an impractical lover, and Ulysses the model of virtue and wisdom. "Achilleus" redirects here For the emperor with this name see Achilleus (emperor. See List of King Priam's children Paris ( Greek:; also known as Alexander or Alexandros, c grc-Latn Odysseus or la Ulysses ( Greek grc-Latn Odysseus; Latin: la Ulixes or more commonly Ulysses) oʊˈdɪsiəs Others, such as Hermogenes, Aphthonius, and Priscian, shared this belief and sought to explore the workings of human nature. Hermogenes is a Greek name that may refer to Hermogenes (philosopher, a follower of Socrates who lived in the late 5th century BCE-early 4th century Priscianus Caesariensis ( fl 500 AD commonly known as Priscian, was a Latin grammarian.
English resurgence
Steady return
In Medieval England, the study of the Character began its slow recovery, perhaps partly because the existence of feudalism at this time created several clear types in society. Feudalism, a term first used in the early modern period (17th century in its most classic sense refers to a Medieval Europe Political system composed
The Canterbury Tales of Chaucer centered around prototypical characters, including moral and professional types as well as astrological or physiological classifications. The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century (two of them in Prose, the rest in verse) Geoffrey Chaucer (c 1343 – 25 October 1400? was an English author poet Philosopher, bureaucrat, courtier and Diplomat. With works such as Vision of Piers Plowman (c 1380) and Everyman (c 1520) the use of allegorical characters, such as Dowel ("Do-Well"), Dobet ("Do-Better"), and Dobest ("Do-Best"), and Death, Everyman, Strength, Discretion, Beauty, Fellowship, Knowledge, Good-Deeds, and Avaricia, became a familiar device, not unlike the use of stock characters. Piers Plowman (written ca 1360 &ndash 1399) or Visio Willelmi de Petro Ploughman ( William's Vision of Piers Plowman) is the title Everyman (German Jedermann) is a late 15th century English Morality play, There is a similar Although both stocks and allegories will be recognized by society and represent an institution beyond the individual, stock characters are representative of actual men, while allegorical characters are horizontal studies of one tendency in all men. The English Mystery plays, also contained a form of prototypical character: the vice or devil, and the clown. Mystery plays and Miracle plays are among the earliest formally developed plays in Medieval Europe. Although some trace these characters no farther that our natural proclivity for fools, the devil and clown figures seem to have descended from the satirical interludes of the Grecian stage (the satyr play), the Fabula Atellana of Rome theaters, and the Exodiarii and Emboliaria of the mimes. Satyr plays were an ancient Greek form of tragicomedy similar to the modern-day Burlesque style Brant-Barclay’s Ship of Fools (1494) drew upon these simple characters of mystery plays, miracle plays, and morality plays to create this early source of strong medieval sketches. The ship of fools is an Allegory that has long been a fixture in Western literature and art. Mystery plays and Miracle plays are among the earliest formally developed plays in Medieval Europe. Morality Play is a detective story by Barry Unsworth, a Man Booker Prize -winning author for his book Sacred Hunger Published in 1996 by
Erasmus proved to have a deep understanding of the Character in his De Duplici Copia Verborum ac Rerum (1512). In Copia, Erasmus sketched the moral types of “amantis,” “luxoriosi,” “avari,” and “voracis,” as well as the “pretender to wealth. ” Especially significant was his sketch of the “pseudoplutus,” which connected the Character with the type-personages of Plautus and Terence. Erasmus also painted vivid sketches in his Moriae Encomium (Praise of Folly) (1509). The Praise of Folly ( Greek title Morias Enkomion (Μωρίας Εγκώμιον, Latin: Stultitiae Laus, sometimes translated as The Praise of Folly ( Greek title Morias Enkomion (Μωρίας Εγκώμιον, Latin: Stultitiae Laus, sometimes translated as
Flourishing of ideas
At this point, the Character genre was on its way to being recollected, as evidenced by the many editions of Theophrastus published between the years 1527 and 1599. During these years, several additional sources, too, suggested the coming reemergence of the Character. Thomas Wilson’s Arte of Rhetorique (1553) made use of the term descriptio in sketching the pinch-penny. Thomas Wilson (1524-1581 was an English diplomat and Judge, and a Courtier at the court of Elizabeth I. Richard Sherry’s Treatise of the Figures of Grammer and Rhetorike (1555) revisited the terms characterismus and effictio in imitating Erasmus. George Pettie’s translation of Guazzo’s Civile Conversation (1586) included what may have been the first post-Ciceronian attempt to enumerate the divisions of society. Pettie’s divisions included "young men and old, gentlemen and yeomen, princes and private persons, learned and unlearned, citizens and strangers, religious and secular, men and women. ” George Puttenham’s Arte of English Poesie (1589) also took a part in the nomenclature trend. George Puttenham (1529–1590 is the reputed English author of The Arte of English Poesie (1589 Puttenham used the term prosopogrphia describing sketches of real people and set it apart from the previously coined term prosopopoeia, which Puttenham took to describe the personification of abstractions. Other significant titles of the period include Fraterinty of Vocabondes (1561) by Awdeley, Caveat or Warening, for Commen Corsetors (1567) by Thomas Harman, The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia (1587) by Sir Philip Sidney, Pierce Penilesse (1592) by Nashe, and Wits Miserie (1596) by Lodge. Thomas Harman was an Elizabethan author who lived in Kent, England The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia, also known simply as The Arcadia is by far Sir Philip Sidney 's most ambitious work Sir Philip Sidney ( November 30, 1554 &ndash October 17, 1586) became one of the Elizabethan Age's most prominent figures
New genres
The real impetus to establish a new genre came only in 1592 and 1599, when Isaac Casaubon published the Greek text together with Latin translations, an elaborate commentary, and a ‘Prolegomena’ discussing literary connections. Isaac Casaubon ( February 18 1559 &ndash July 1 1614) was a classical scholar and Philologist, first in France Casaubon coined the terms “Characters Ethici” and “Notationes Morum” and set the concept of the Character whirring with Renaissance spirit. Following Casaubon, Ben Jonson produced several works highly influenced by the Character. Benjamin Jonson ( c 11 June 1572 &ndash 6 August 1637) was an English Renaissance Dramatist Cynthia’s Revels (1600) is said to contain the first genuine English Characters. Every Man Out of His Humour (1600) and Volpone (1606) also follow the Theophrastan model. Every Man out of His Humour is a satirical comedy written by English Playwright Ben Jonson, acted in 1599 by the Lord Chamberlain's Men Volpone, or The Fox (in Italian: "Big Fox" is a Comedy by Ben Jonson first produced in 1606 drawing on elements
Shakespeare, too, contributed to the genre of Character, although not quite as straightforwardly as Jonson. William Shakespeare ( baptised Shakespeare was known for his remarkable ability to write a broad range of characters. Although he was interested in writing realistic character, in exploring various types, he, of course, hit on several stocks. Shakespeare especially employed the fool character in many of his plays: Feste in Twelfth Night, or What You Will, Lavatch and Parolles in All's Well That Ends Well, and Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Launcelot Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice, Touchstone in As You Like It. Twelfth Night Or What You Will is a Comedy by William Shakespeare, based on the Short story "Of Apolonius and Silla" by All's Well That Ends Well is a play by William Shakespeare, originally classified as a Comedy, though now often counted as one of his problem plays A Midsummer Night's Dream is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, suggested by " The Knight's Tale " from The Merchant of Venice is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598 As You Like It is a Pastoral Comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published In addition, Shylock in The Merchant of Venice has often been described as an antisemitic character designed to play into the prejudices of the time, and in this way he would also fit the definition of a "stock character" as well. The Merchant of Venice is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598 However, he often settled on rounded characters, stock types with individualized twists.
The genre continued to climb with Joseph Hall’s Characters of Virtues and Vices (1608). Joseph Hall may refer to Joseph Hall (bishop (1574–1656 Joseph Hall (metallurgist (1789–1862 Joseph N Hall is thought to be responsible for the unquestioned emergence of the Character as a distinctive and acknowledged literary form. At last coining the term “character,” Hall presented nine virtuous and fifteen vicious types, all moral or psychological, based on Christian ideals. Among these types are the wise man, the honest man, the faithful man, the valiant man, the humble man, the patient, the truly noble, the good magistrate, the busy-body, the superstitious, the malcontent, the flatterer, the covetous, the vain-glorious, the hypocrite, the profane, the unconstant, the slothful, the ambitious, the envious, the unthrift, and the distrustful. Especially of note is Hall’s sketch of “the good magistrate,” for it is said to bridge the gap between innumerable analytic and satiric pictures of feudal Estates written before Hall and the numerous Characters of social and professional classes written after Hall.
Around the time of Hall, a new stock-based form was developing in England. The puppet tradition known as Punch and Judy involved a trickster on strings. Punch and Judy is a traditional popular English Puppet show featuring the characters of Punch and his wife Judy Although the lazy, gluttonous Punch resembles Bucco and Maccus from the Atellan Farce, such a stock character is present in all stock pools. Such forms came easily with the new awareness of character building up in England.
The pinnacle
The Character genre finally reached its pinnacle with Sir Thomas Overbury’s A Wife: Witty Characters Written by Himselfe and Other Learned Gentlemen His Friends (1614). Sir Thomas Overbury (1581 &ndash 15 September 1613) English Poet and essayist and the victim of one of the most sensational crimes in English history The most famous of the 17th-century Character-books, Overbury included 83 types in his fullest edition. Of these, 32 are speculated to have been written by John Webster, with others by Thomas Dekker and John Donne. John Webster (c 1580 &ndash c 1634 was an English Jacobean Dramatist, and a late contemporary of William Shakespeare. Thomas Dekker is the name of Thomas Dekker (writer (1572&ndash1632 Elizabethan poet and dramatist Thomas Dekker (actor (born 1987 John Donne (pronounced like done, dʌn 1572 – 31 March 1631 was a Jacobean poet preacher and a major representative of the Metaphysical poets In addition to the Theophrastan moral types, the Overburian characters include complex social types, including national representatives, women, and representatives of institutions. According to Overbury, his Character sketches are “pictures (real or personal) quaintlie drawne in various colours, all of them heightened by one shadowing. ” His Characters include A Good Woman, A Virtuous Widow, A Worthy Commander in the Wars, A Nobel and Retired House-keeper, A Very Very Woman, A Fair and Happy Milkmaid, A Mere Common Lawyer, A Mere Scholar, A Mere Pettifogger, An Arrant Horse-Courser, An Excellent Actor, An Almanac-maker, An Improvident Young Gallant, A Revered Judge, Fantastic Inns of Court Man, A Drunken Dutchman Resident in England, Cleargy Hypocrites, Clerke Hypocrites, A Sailor, A Whore, A Jesuit, and several prison types.
Other character books
Although the character sketch is said to have peaked with Overbury, A Wife was by no means the last character book. On the contrary, as the character sketch became vogue, countless books continued to catalogue character prototypes. Some noteworthy works include John Stephens’ Satyrical Essayes Characters (1615) including 50 types, and John Earle’s Microcosmography (1628) including 76 types. John Stephens may be John Stephens (politician, (1603-1679 English MP for Bristol 1660 John Lloyd Stephens (1805-1852 American explorer John Earle may refer to John Earle (bishop (c1601&ndash1665 English bishop John Earle (Australian politician (1865&ndash1932 Eloquentiae Sacre et Humanae Parallela Libri XVI (1619) by Nicholas Caussin, includes many “epidictici characters,” moral and social types, and abstractions suggesting the origin of the types. Caussin alleges that “Garrulus” descends from Theophrastus and Horace; “Avarus, et Tenax” comes from Theophrastus and Plautus; and “Avarus Dives” is from Carthaginian saint Cyprianus. By 1665, the Character genre was so clearly defined that Ralph Johnson in his Scholar's Guide from the Accidence to the University, could outline the “Rules for Making a Character. For other people of the same name see Ralph Johnson (disambiguation Ralph E ” In 1688, the Character first extended beyond England and into the mainland of Europe. Jean de La Bruyere’s Les Caracteres, ou les Moeurs de ce Siecle was to become the first work of social criticism in French literature. Jean de La Bruyère (ʒɑ̃dəlabʁyˈjɛʁ in French ( August 16 1645 – May 10, 1696) was a French Essayist and La Bruyere systematically organized his types under the categories Of Works of the Mind, Of Personal merit, Of Women, Of the Affections, Of Society and Conversation, Of the Gifts of Fortune, Of the Town, Of the Court, Of the Great, Of the Sovereign and the State, Of Mankind, Of Opinions, Of Fashion, Of Certain Customs, Of the Pulpit, Of Free-Thinkers
Extemporal comedy
Perhaps by chance, this seems to have coincided with the beginnings of the extemporal comedy or commedia dell'arte. Commedia dell'Arte ( Italian: "the comedy of artists" is a form of Improvisational theatre that began in Italy in the 16th century Most likely having descended from the Atellan Farce and the Greek and Roman mime, commedia began with four stock characters, first known as magnifici (magnificent ones) and zanni (slaves), later receiving the names Pantalone, Dottore, Arlecchino, and Scapino/Brighella. Zanni (from the Italian dialectal nickname for Giovanni can refer to either the archetype comic servant of the Commedia dell'arte or various Pantalone (French Pantalon) is a stock character that is classified as one of the vecchi (old men in Commedia dell'arte. Il Dottore or the Doctor (usually called Dottore Balanzone Dottore Baloardo or Dottore Graziano is a Commedia dell'arte Stock character, one Commedia dell'Arte ( Italian: "the comedy of artists" is a form of Improvisational theatre that began in Italy in the 16th century Scapino, Scappino or Scapin is a Zanni character from the Commedia dell'arte. Brighella (French Brighelle is a comic masked character from the Commedia dell'arte. In 1667 the character of Harlequin appeared in a comedy by Ravenscroft. Harlequin ( Arlecchino in Italian, Arlequin in French) is the most popular of the Zanni or comic servant characters from Ravenscroft is a Surname, and may refer to Edward Ravenscroft, an English dramatist Edward James Ravenscroft (1816-1890 Succeeding La Bruyere, Novelty; or Every Act a Play (1697) came to include Harlequin, Pantalone, Columbina, and Clown. For the Dove Genus, see Columbina (genus. Columbina (in Italian, Colombina, "little Dove Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by their Grotesque appearance colored wigs stylistic makeup, outlandish Costumes unusually Commedia flourished into a form that would mark the height of the stock character. Like in the Greek Old Comedy, stock costumes are important in assisting the audience in identifying the familiar type. The use of masks in Commedia helped the clear physical portrayal of the character. Masks also served to exaggerate the characters, aiding Commedia in its sense of satire. At no other point in theater history has a form so perfectly typifying the Character genre arisen.
The Innamorati or lovers of commedia dell'arte were stock characters in the sense that they appeared in every scenario, which often revolved around them. The Innamorati is from the Italian Language and means he or she who is in love Commedia dell'Arte ( Italian: "the comedy of artists" is a form of Improvisational theatre that began in Italy in the 16th century However, their lack of distinctive character was shown by their lack of masks, and the action took place about them, with other characters bringing about their fate.
References
- ^ Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corporation, 45 F.2d 119 (2d Cir. 1930). Nichols v Universal Pictures Corporation, 45 F2d 119 ( 2d Cir Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past Court cases either in special series of books called reporters The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Lists of stock characters
- List of heroic stock characters
- List of stock characters in comedy
- List of stock characters in military fiction
- List of stock characters in science fiction
- List of female stock characters
See also
- For stock characters with articles on Wikipedia, see . This is a list of Stock characters within the Heroic Archetype. This is a list of Stock characters that are used in military fiction This is a list of Stock characters that are used in Science fiction. A Stock character is a dramatic character representing a type in a conventional manner and recurring in many works
- Anti-hero
- Archetype
- Authority figures in comedy
- Central Casting
- Commedia dell'arte
- Fall guy
- Ingenue
- Redshirt
- Sidekick
- Stereotype
- Tragic hero
- Vice
- Villain
Dictionary
stock character
-noun
- Any fictional character drawn from some stereotype who is instantly recognizable
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic