Literary or social stereotype used to create characters or determine their role in a story
A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a type of character in a narrative (e.g. a novel, play, television show, or film) whom audiences recognize across many narratives or as part of a storytelling tradition or convention. There is a wide range of stock characters, covering people of various ages, social classes and demeanors. They are archetypal characters distinguished by their simplification and flatness. As a result, they tend to be easy targets for parody and to be criticized as clichés. The presence of a particular array of stock characters is a key component of many genres, and they often help to identify a genre or subgenre. For example, a story with the stock characters of a knight-errant and a witch is probably a fairy tale or fantasy.
There are several purposes to using stock characters. Stock characters are a time- and effort-saving shortcut for story creators, as authors can populate their tale with existing well-known character types. Another benefit is that stock characters help to move the story along more efficiently, by allowing the audience to already understand the character and their motivations.[1][2] Furthermore, stock characters can be used to build an audience's expectations and, in some cases, they can also enhance narrative elements like suspense, irony, or plot twists if those expectations end up subverted.
^Chris Baldick (2008). "stock character". The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Oxford University Press. p. 317. ISBN 9780199208272. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
^Kamesha Jackson (2010). "stock character". In Ronald L. Jackson II (ed.). Encyclopedia of Identity. SAGE Publications. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
A stockcharacter, also known as a character archetype, is a type of character in a narrative (e.g. a novel, play, television show, or film) whom audiences...
A stockcharacter is a dramatic or literary character representing a generic type in a conventional, simplified manner and recurring in many fictional...
The girl next door is a young female stockcharacter who is often used in romantic stories. She is so named because she often lives next door to the protagonist...
The straight man is a stockcharacter in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically...
regarded by fellow actors. Commedia dell'arte Stockcharacter Digital Polyphony, Top 25: Great Character Actors Archived 13 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine...
A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears...
shortened form simp is also a derogatory term with a long history. Fool (stockcharacter) Fools of Chelm Jester Lightbulb joke Molbo story Polish joke Wise...
A Manic Pixie Dream Girl (MPDG) is a stockcharacter type in fiction, usually depicted as a young woman with eccentric personality quirks who serves as...
comedies. Stockcharacters in Atellan Farce are speculated as the beginnings of the Commedia dell'arte stockcharacters. For example, theorized character progressions...
Italian actor Tristano Martinelli in Paris in 1584–1585, and became a stockcharacter after Martinelli's death in 1630. The Harlequin is characterized by...
prōtagōnistḗs 'one who plays the first part, chief actor') is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot,...
typically played minor roles as either a "bum" or an "old codger/geezer" stockcharacter. Sunshine Parker died on February 17, 1999, in Burbank, California...
Italian Scaramuccia [skaraˈmuttʃa]; lit. 'little skirmisher') is a stock clown character of the 16th-century commedia dell'arte (comic theatrical arts of...
Dream Girl – Stockcharacter type Portrayal of women in American comics Redshirt (stockcharacter) – Stockcharacter; an expendable character who dies soon...
A character arc is the transformation or inner journey of a character over the course of a story. If a story has a character arc, the character begins...
a stockcharacter, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. Random House Unabridged Dictionary defines such a character as...
'fatal woman'), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stockcharacter of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare...
literature as the demon in the Faust legend and has since become a stockcharacter appearing in other works of arts and popular culture. The name Mephistopheles...