Characterisation is a way authors convey information about fictitious people in their work of fiction. It is an artistic representation of individuals in works of art; the careful choices of details about the fictitious individuals whose lifestyle, actions and mannerisms are limned in a work of fiction. It is a written representation of the people who make the story in fiction and drama.
There are two ways an author can convey information about his characters, either in a direct or indirect way.
In direct or explicit characterisation, the author tells what a character is like either through a narrator, through another character or by the character himself.
Indirect or implicit characterisation reveals a character’s personality through the character’s thoughts, actions, choice of words (does he use profane words? Swear? Bless? Is he assertive? Fearful? Daring? Etc.).
A character’s personality can be revealed by physical appearance: is he/she sloppy? Shabbily dressed? Neatly turned out?
Mannerism: is he/she kind? Jovial? Taciturn? Talkative? Frowns often, smiles often? Dribbles saliva? Stutters? Is he/she impatient? Gentle? Harsh? Etc. A character’s personality can also be revealed through what other characters say about them, etc.
Characters are crucial to the meaning of the story. Good writers create characters their readers get to meet and love or hate, drawing conclusion about them from their behaviour, speech, thoughts and the way they respond to conflicts. Authors give readers details of their characters also through presenting some character traits like, is a character overbearing? Self-effacing? Does he or she act first and think later? Or does he consider things before he does them?
The History of Characterisation
The history of characterisation in fiction started in the time of Aristotle. In his Poetics, the ancient Greek philosopher believed in the primacy of the plot over character. However, by the 19th century, with the development of the realistic novel and later psychology, the primacy of character over plot was established. Aristotle believed that narratives are plot-driven. In his Poetics, he wrote that “(Tragedy) is a representation, not of men, but of action and life.”
Realism in literature depicts contemporary social realities in the lives of ordinary people in their day to day living. In realism, unlike romanticism, realistic setting, characters, themes are employed, shunning elaborate imagery, figurative language such as hyperboles, metaphors, etc.
In realism, readers can identify with the characters, their world and their troubles. Realism is marked by simple language, social critique, omniscient narrator, ordinary everyday character, etc. These are more identifiable to the readers. Because realistic novels lay strong emphasis on the actual (everyday and banal activities), the characters are pragmatic and seek truths that are relatable to readers with consequences that are both discernible and verifiable by experience.
So by the 1800s, with the development of the realistic novel and the influence of psychology, it is discovered that tragedy is a function of character and not events (plot). It is a human fault. It has something to do with the psychology of characters, not actions and life. This is because when you place two individuals in the same situation, you will definitely have two different outcomes depending on the behaviour and character of the individual.
The psychologist, Carl Jung, separated 12 different archetypes in fiction. He believed that these 12 patterns of human behaviours cut across race, culture, political leanings, etc. He identified the flat and the round characters, arguing that the flat character sticks to a single archetype without deviating. The round or complex and realistic character, Jung said, combines several archetypes as people are in real life. Jung’s 12 archetypes are: the innocent, the orphan, the hero, the lover, the explorer, the caregiver, the rebel, the jester, the creator, the sage, the ruler and the magician.
Differences of characterisation in drama and fiction can also be separated considering that, in drama actors have licence to interpret a writer’s description and dialogue of a character in their own unique ways which is not possible in a novel. In the novel, readers and writers can get into the head of a character, but not so in drama. In drama, characters can be seen and heard, but in fiction, readers rely on written representation.
Characterisation and Mythology
Mythological characters have been adapted into different cultures and situations to form new configurations and new archetypes in order to suit different ages and eras. By using unlimited components in a configuration, in an ever changing lifestyle and cultures, we see that there are new developments in stories. For instance, Ola Rotimi adapted Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, which in turn was adapted from a Greek mythology, into the Yoruba culture and the configuration of his time using unlimited components of his culture and his people. Just recently, in 2019, to mark the 50th convocation of the University of Lagos, Dr Lekan Balogun adapted this story into the culture of multi ethnicity Nigeria (making Odewole to be raised by an Igbo man, the palace messenger who gave him away to come from Calabar, Alaka to be an Igbo man) and even bringing into it the modernity of the 21st century era when he made the first child of Odewole and Ojuola to be female with accusation of lesbianism tendencies towards her mother!
Voice and Characterisation
The character’s voice gives him/her personality. Some characters are talkative, some taciturn. If an author creates a character’s voice that is rich and distinctive, he can get away with omitting tag lines (…said Jide; said Yacob, etc).
Voice of the character deals with distinctiveness, personality quirks, individual temperaments. Character’s voice also shines through as the author deals with character’s educational level, family background (rich or poor person), where the character grew up (slum, inner city, GRA). Gender, circumstances in which a character grew up, etc., all affect characters in fiction and drama. So, an author depicts character using diction, cadence, attitude, catch-phrases, etc. Tone of voice comes into play too. Is the character soft spoken, loud and unruly as the Swede in Stephen Crane’s The Blue Hotel? There are a host lot of other things to consider under voice.
Characters as Plot Devices
Not every character is critical to the plot. Some characters are used just to move the plot forward.
The most important characters are the protagonist and the antagonist. The major character or protagonist must encounter conflict with another character, with the society, nature, etc. This conflict has been described by some literary school as ‘major dramatic question.’ This question must be answered in the narrative or drama. Consider ‘what will happen to king Odewole when he discovers that he has killed his father and is married to his mother?’ ‘How will Okonkwo respond to the culture change that Umuofia has fallen into?’ A new government is in power, and it doesn’t have respect for native culture and customs.
The changes or conflicts in fiction must bring about changes in the fictitious character’s life, psychology or behaviour. Okonkwo refuses to accept the change brought about by colonialism, he has to bow out of the circumstance by taking his own life. King Odewole removes his eyes and wanders off the set.
In conclusion, we need to know characters in fiction: where they come from (background), where they live/lived; their age, their names, appearance, what the character does for a living, who’s in the character’s life, how they influence the character and the goal a character intends to achieve or what motivates him/her.
Characterisation in a work of fiction is what brings such influence on readers that they can begin to live, walk, talk and behave like a fictitious character. Good characterisation is a great influencer.