definition of flat character in literature

This may be from weak to strong, from strong to weak, from a cheery person to a person in distress, and the like.

The personality of such a character is not consistent, which makes the character more realistic than others in the piece of writing.Įxample: Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley and Severus Snape are among some of the round characters in this series.Ī static character’s personality does not change throughout the piece of work, and save for the initial introduction, there is not much to learn about such a character.Įxample: In the Harry Potter series, we find that Professor McGonagoll or Bellatrix Lestrange are static characters as we notice that their personalities are consistent and do not change nor does our knowledge of these characters increase throughout.Ī dynamic character is someone whose personality changes through the course of writing, due to a change in the situation or the plot. This is a character that develops through the story and therefore, her/his qualities are difficult to identify completely, right up to the end. Filch, the caretaker of Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is a flat character, with his only undying obsession being finding students breaking school rules.Ī round character is someone who has more facets to her/his personality than a flat character. In short, there are not many facets to this character’s personality that are revealed to the reader.Įxample: Mr. For instance, the stepmother who humiliates her stepdaughter, the school bully, the one teacher who is mean, the mother who is only focused on having her daughter married, are all flat characters.

Flat characters have few but easily recognizable traits that make them stereotypical characters.

Definition of flat character in literature