Protagonist

Look up protagonist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Shakespeare's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. William Morris Hunt, oil on canvas, circa 1864.

The word protagonist (from Ancient Greek πρωταγωνιστής (protagonistes), meaning "player of the first part, chief actor") has more than one definition which can be found in the dictionary. It is used notably in stories and forms of literature and culture that contain stories, which would include dramas, novels, operas and films. In those forms the definition may simply be the leading actor, or the principle character in the story. But in addition the word takes on more formalized definitions. For example, the protagonist, while still defined as a leading character, may be also defined as the character whose fate is most closely followed by the reader or audience, and who is opposed by a character known as the "antagonist". The antagonist will provide obstacles and complications for the protagonist; the antagonist will create conflict, which will test the protagonist — thus revealing the strengths and weaknesses of his character.^[1][2]

The protagonist should be at the center of the story, should be making the difficult choices and key decisions, should be experiencing the consequences of those decisions. The protagonist should be propelling the story forward. There are variations in the use of the protagonist. For example, if a story contains a subplot, or is a narrative that is actually made up of several stories, then there may be a character who is interpreted as the protagonist of each subplot or individual story.^[3]

Ancient Greece

The invention of the protagonist occurred in ancient Greece. At first performances involved merely dancing and recitation by the chorus. But then in Poetics, Aristotle describes how a poet named Thespis introduced the idea of having one actor step out and engage in a dialogue with the chorus. This was the invention of tragedy, which occurred about 536 B.C.^[4] Then the poet Aeschylus, in his plays, introduced a second actor, inventing the idea of dialogue between two characters. Sophocles then wrote plays that required a third actor.^[5][6][7][8]

Examples

Euripides' play, Hippolytus, may be considered to have two protagonists. The protagonist of the first half is Phaedra, until she dies. Then her stepson, the title character, Hippolytus, has the dominant role in the second half.^[9]

In Ibsen’s play, The Master Builder, the protagonist is the architect Halvard Solness. The young woman, Hilda Wangel, whose actions lead to the death of Solness, is the antagonist.^[10]

In Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is the protagonist. He is actively in pursuit of his relationship with Juliet, and the audience is invested in that story. The character of Tybalt opposes Romeo’s desires, he is the antagonist.^[11]

In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Prince Hamlet, who seeks revenge for the murder of his father, is the protagonist. The antagonist would be the character who most opposes Hamlet, Claudius.^[12]

In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the character Holden Caulfield is the protagonist. He is the leading character, and the reader is invested in his story.^[13]

Sometimes, a work will have a false protagonist, who may seem to be the protagonist, but then may disappear unexpectedly. The character Marion in Alfred Hitchcock's film Psycho (1960) is an example.^[14]

A novel that contains a number of narratives, may have a number of protagonists. Alexander Solzhenitsyn's The First Circle, for example, depicts a variety of characters imprisoned and living in a gulag camp.^[15] Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, depicts fifteen major characters involved in or affected by a war.^[16]

References