Protagonist

Main character of a creative work

For other uses, see Protagonist (disambiguation).

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

A protagonist (from Ancient Greek πρωταγωνιστής prōtagōnistḗs 'one who plays the first part, chief actor')[1][2][3] is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles and choices. If a story contains a subplot, or is a narrative made up of several stories, then each subplot may have its own protagonist.[4]

The protagonist is the character whose fate is most closely followed by the reader or audience, and who is opposed by the antagonist. The antagonist provides obstacles and complications and creates conflicts that test the protagonist, revealing the strengths and weaknesses of the protagonist's character, and having the protagonist develop as a result. A particularly noble, virtuous, or accomplished protagonist is commonly called a hero, though the terms are not synonyms.

## Etymology

[edit]

The term protagonist comes from Ancient Greek πρωταγωνιστής (prōtagōnistḗs) 'actor who plays the chief or first part', combined of πρῶτος (prôtos, 'first') and ἀγωνιστής (agōnistḗs, 'actor, competitor'), which stems from ἀγών (agṓn, 'contest') via ἀγωνίζομαι (agōnízomai, 'I contend for a prize').[5]

## Ancient World

[edit]

The earliest known example of a protagonist can be found in the Epic of Gilgamesh, dated around the 3rd millennium BCE.[6] However, the term originated only later with the dramatic performances of Ancient Greece. At first these involved merely dancing and recitation by the chorus, but then, according to Aristotle's Poetics, a poet named Thespis introduced the idea of one actor stepping out and engaging in a dialogue with the chorus. This was the invention of tragedy, and occurred about 536 B.C.[7] Then the poet Aeschylus, in his plays, introduced a second actor, inventing the idea of dialogue between two characters. Sophocles then wrote plays that included a third actor.[8][9][10][11]

A description of the protagonist's origin cited that during the early period of Greek drama, the protagonist served as the author, the director, and the actor and that these roles were only separated and allocated to different individuals later.[12] There is also a claim that the poet did not assign or create the protagonist as well as other terms for actors such as deuteragonist and tritagonist primarily because he only gave actors their appropriate part.[13] However, these actors were assigned their specific areas at the stage with the protagonist always entering from the middle door or that the dwelling of the deuteragonist (second most important character) should be on the right hand, and the tritagonist (third most important character), the left.[13]

In Ancient Greece, the protagonist is distinguished from the term "hero", which was used to refer to a human who became a semi-divine being in the narrative.[11]

## Types

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### Hero/Heroine

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In literary terms, a hero (masculine) or heroine (feminine) protagonist is typically admired for their achievements and noble qualities.[14] Heroes are lauded for their strength, courage, virtuousness, and honor, and are considered to be the "good guys" of the narrative.[15]

Examples include DC Comics' Superman (hero) and Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games (heroine).

### Antihero

[edit]

Main article: Antihero

An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who lacks conventional heroic qualities and attributes such as idealism, courage, and morality.

Examples include Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye, Scarlett O'Hara from Gone With the Wind, Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby, and Walter White from Breaking Bad.

### Tragic hero

[edit]

Main article: Tragic hero

A tragic hero is the protagonist of a tragedy.

Examples include Oedipus from Oedipus Rex and Prince Hamlet from Shakespeare's Hamlet.

### Villain protagonist

[edit]

The protagonist is not always conventionally good.[16] Contrasting the hero protagonist, a villain protagonist is a protagonist who is a villain, driving the story forward regardless of the evil qualities the main character has. These traits can include being cruel, malicious, and wicked.[17]

Examples include Humbert Humbert in Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita[18] and Richard III in the eponymous play by William Shakespeare.[19]

### Supporting protagonist

[edit]

When a supporting protagonist appears, the story is told from the perspective of a character who appears to be minor. This character may be more peripheral from the events of the story and are not as involved within the "main action" of the plot. The supporting protagonist may be telling the story while viewing another character as the main influence of the plot.[20]

One example is Nick in The Great Gatsby.[citation needed]

## Further examples

[edit]

Euripides' play Hippolytus may be considered to have two protagonists, though one at a time. Phaedra is the protagonist of the first half, who dies partway through the play. Her stepson, the titular Hippolytus, assumes the dominant role in the second half of the play.[21]

In Henrik 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.[22]

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. Tybalt, as an antagonist, opposes Romeo and attempts to thwart the relationship.[23]

In Shakespeare's play Hamlet, Prince Hamlet, who seeks revenge for the murder of his father, is the protagonist. The antagonist is the character who most opposes Hamlet, Claudius (though, in many ways, Hamlet is his own antagonist).[24]

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.[25]

A novel may contain a number of narratives, each with its own protagonist. Alexander Solzhenitsyn's The First Circle, for example, depicts a variety of characters imprisoned and living in a gulag camp.[26] Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace depicts fifteen major characters involved in or affected by a war.[27]

Though many people equate protagonists with the term hero and possessing heroic qualities, it is not necessary, as even villainous characters can be protagonists. For example Michael Corleone from The Godfather (1972–1990) film series (1978–1983).

In some cases, the protagonist is not a human: in Richard Adams' novel Watership Down, a group of anthropomorphised rabbits, led by the protagonist Hazel, escape their warren after seeing a vision of its destruction, starting a perilous journey to find a new home.[28]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ πρωταγωνιστής, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek–English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library.
2. ^ "protagonist". Dictionary.com, Random House. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
3. ^ Harper, Douglas. "protagonist". Online Etymology Dictionary.
4. ^ Duncan, Stephen. A Guide to Screenwriting Success: Writing for Film and Television. Rowman & Littlefield (2006) ISBN 9780742553019
5. ^ "Protagonist". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
6. ^ Hansen, Svend (2013). "The Birth of the Hero. The Emergence of a Social Type in the 4th Millennium BC". In Starnini, E. (ed.). Unconformist Archaeology. Papers in honour of Paolo Biagi. Oxford: BAR. pp. 101–112. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
7. ^ Müller, K.O. History of the literature of Ancient Greece. [Library of Useful Knowledge.] Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. London (1840) page 306
8. ^ "Protagonist – literature". Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1 April 2016.
9. ^ Aristotle. Poetics. Oxford University Press (January 20, 2013) ISBN 978-0199608362
10. ^ Packard, William. The Art of the Playwright. Thunder's Mouth Press. 1997 ISBN 1-56025-117-4
11. ^ a b Storey, Ian; Allan, Arlene (2008). A Guide to Ancient Greek Drama. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. pp. 84. ISBN 978-1405102148.
12. ^ Telias, Rozei (2018-07-06). Moreno's Personality Theory and its Relationship to Psychodrama: A Philosophical, Developmental and Therapeutic Perspective. Routledge. ISBN 9781351021081.
13. ^ a b Bart, M. P. (2018-03-22). History of the Literature of Ancient Greece. Charles River Editors. ISBN 9781632956316.[permanent dead link]
14. ^ "Hero". Britannica. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
15. ^ "Hero". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
16. ^ "A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory". John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
17. ^ "Villain". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
18. ^ Byford, Andy; Doak, Connor; Hutchings, Stephen (2020-01-30). Transnational Russian Studies. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-1-78962-087-0.
19. ^ The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge. Encyclopedia Americana Corporation. 1918.
20. ^ "Protagonist". LitCharts. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
21. ^ Euripides. Hippolytos. Oxford University Press (October 29, 1992) ISBN 978-0195072907
22. ^ Ibsen, Henrik. Meyer, Michael Leverson. editor. Ibsen Plays: 1: Ghosts; The Wild Duck; The Master Builder. Dramatists Play Service Inc. (1980) ISBN 9780413463302. page 241
23. ^ Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare; Third edition (July 15, 2012) ISBN 9781903436912
24. ^ Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Simon & Schuster (July 1, 1992) ISBN 978-0743477123
25. ^ Kolker, Robert Phillip. Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho: A Casebook. Oxford University Press (2004) ISBN 9780195169195
26. ^ The Solzhenitsyn Reader: New and Essential Writings, 1947–2005: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Edward E. Ericson, Jr., Daniel J. Mahoney.
27. ^ Moser, Charles. 1992. Encyclopedia of Russian Literature. Cambridge University Press. pp. 298–300.
28. ^ Adams, Richard, 1920–2016. Watership Down. London: Rex Collings Ltd, 1972. Print.

Look up protagonist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

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