The three stock characters often referenced in literature and drama are the "Damsel in Distress," the "Hero," and the "Villain." The Damsel in Distress typically embodies innocence, vulnerability, and a need for rescue, often serving as the emotional focal point of a story. The Hero is characterized by bravery, moral integrity, and a strong sense of justice, driving the narrative forward through their quest. The Villain, on the other hand, possesses traits such as cunning, ruthlessness, and a desire for power, often creating obstacles for the Hero and contributing to the conflict in the story.
In melodrama, stock characters embody exaggerated personal qualities that serve to highlight moral themes and emotional conflicts. The hero is typically virtuous and noble, representing good, while the villain is often characterized by deceit and malevolence, symbolizing evil. The damsel in distress is innocent and vulnerable, requiring rescue, while the comic relief character provides humor, often through foolishness or naivety. These archetypes simplify complex human emotions and moral dilemmas, making the narrative easily digestible for the audience.
A stock character is immediately recognised by the audience. They are often not the main character in the book or play. Stock characters have no requirement to be developed by the reader. An example of a stock character is the 'hero'.
a stock character in a play is the typical character in a play
Commedia dell'arte flourished during the Renaissance (1450s-1600s) in Italy. The characters were known as stock characters and depicted a set of stock scenarios.
You would have: Villian Hero Heroine Loveable Rogue Elderly Parent
B. women
B. women
In melodrama, stock characters embody exaggerated personal qualities that serve to highlight moral themes and emotional conflicts. The hero is typically virtuous and noble, representing good, while the villain is often characterized by deceit and malevolence, symbolizing evil. The damsel in distress is innocent and vulnerable, requiring rescue, while the comic relief character provides humor, often through foolishness or naivety. These archetypes simplify complex human emotions and moral dilemmas, making the narrative easily digestible for the audience.
A. stock characters
A stock character is immediately recognised by the audience. They are often not the main character in the book or play. Stock characters have no requirement to be developed by the reader. An example of a stock character is the 'hero'.
There's an entire WikiPedia article about this subject - click the link to learn all about stock characters.
a stock character in a play is the typical character in a play
Stock characters are instantly familiar to the reader, and will allow the reader to understand what's going to happen and how the characters are going to react without a lot of description and explanation.
You can purchase wigs and hats for your characters. Stock characters have more hairstyles than recruited characters.
A good example of stock characters are Tom Walker and his wife from the story "The Devil and Tom Walker" by Washington Irving. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Devil_and_Tom_Walker
Stock characters are familiar to everyone, so everyone knows what they're supposed to be doing and can enjoy watching them in their roles.
A stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetype re often more narrowly defined. Stock characters are a key component of genre fiction, providing relationships and interactions that people familiar with the genre will recognize immediately. Stock characters make easy targets for parody which will likely exaggerate any stereotypes associated with these characters.