Characters in literature are the figures who are created by the playwright/novelist to facilitate particular actions or storyline. There are different types of recognisable characters, namely:
- Protagonist: the major character who actions or a storyline centres on. Bigger in Richard Wright's Native Son.
- Antagonist: a major character who goes against/opposes the protagonist in a work of art.
- Eponymous character: a character whose name serves as the title. He's the source of action or narrative. Othello in W. Shakespeare's Othello
- Round character: a developing character whose action(s) cannot be predicted. He evolves in a storyline. He considers facts before acting and may be convinced with the facts and cease from his planned action the reader expects.
- Flat character: a character that doesn't evolve. His actions are predictable.
- Villain: a dramatic character, he's an evil character that fulminate strongly against the protagonist in a dramatic work of art. Iago in W. Shakespeare's Othello