
List of stock characters
Character Type | Description | Examples |
Absent-minded professor | An eccentric scientific genius who is so ... | Professor Calculus, Emmett Brown, Julius ... |
Action hero | A hero of an action story, often one who ... | |
Ace pilot | The advent of aviation spawned a genre o ... | Books and comics: Biggles and Hop Harrig ... |
Full Answer
What is the purpose of using stock characters?
- Loves himself more than anything else
- Very stupid, cowardly, and gullible
- Interested in the same girl as the adulescens most of the time
What does "stock characters" mean in?
A stock character is a stereotypical fictional person or type of person in a work of art such as a novel, play, or a film whom audiences recognize from frequent recurrences in a particular literary tradition. There is a wide range of stock characters, covering men and women of various ages, social classes and demeanors.
How to write stock characters?
Stock characters are based on clichés and social prejudices. For example, the dumb blonde, the mean stepmother, the loyal servant, the abusive boyfriend, or the evil dictator or CEO are all stock ...
What is the definition of stock characters?
Stock characters are ones who represent specific stereotypes. These characters are types and not individuals. Stock characters are based on clichés and social prejudices. For example, the dumb blonde, the mean stepmother, the loyal servant, the abusive boyfriend, or the evil dictator or CEO are all stock characters.

What are the main stock characters?
The following stock characters can be observed in melodramas:Hero: The hero is moral, manly, brave, courageous and handsome. ... Heroine: The heroine is beautiful, kind, gentle and innocent. ... Villain: The villain is the main enemy of the hero. ... Villain's accomplice: ... Faithful servant:
What is a stock character examples?
Stock characters are ones who represent specific stereotypes. These characters are types and not individuals. Stock characters are based on clichés and social prejudices. For example, the dumb blonde, the mean stepmother, the loyal servant, the abusive boyfriend, or the evil dictator or CEO are all stock characters.
What does stock character mean?
stock character, a character in a drama or fiction that represents a type and that is recognizable as belonging to a certain genre. Related Topics: theatrical production. See all related content → Most of the characters in the commedia dell'arte, such as Columbine and Harlequin, are stock characters.
What is a stock character in film?
A stock character is a type of character used in fictional media that is instantly recognizable to audiences.
Who is a stock character in Harry Potter?
Example: A stock character from the Harry Potter series is Professor McGonagall, the stereotypical strict, rule-abiding teacher. Her personality is evident from her demeanor, her expression, her manner of talking, and the typical glasses that seem to define such teachers. characters.
Is Cinderella a stock character?
Fairy Tale Stock Characters: Cinderella, Big Bad Wolf, Queen, Baba Yaga, Princess and Dragon, Ugly Sisters, Wicked Fairy Godmother, Tom Thumb.
What are stock characters commedia?
Commedia dell'arte has four stock character groups:Zanni: servants, clowns; characters such as Arlecchino (also known as Harlequin), Brighella, Scapino, Pulcinella and Pedrolino.Vecchi: wealthy old men, masters; characters such as Pantalone and Il Dottore.More items...
Where do stock characters come from?
Origins of Stock Characters Looser versions of the stock character have been around since ancient Greece with the plays of Aeschylus and Sophocles, when certain deities would serve the role of the fool.
What are the 4 types of characters?
One way to classify characters is by examining how they change (or don't change) over the course of a story. Grouped in this way by character development, character types include the dynamic character, the round character, the static character, the stock character, and the symbolic character.
What is the difference between a stock character and an archetype?
Stock Characters are always Flat and Static. ALWAYS. Their behavior is predictable and so is their outcome. While it is possible for Character Archetypes to be Static (especially a supporting character), they should never be Flat.
What are stock characters and why are they used in pantomime?
Commedia spread across Europe from Italy to France and by the middle of the 17th century began to be popular in England. Like pantomime, Commedia dell'arte had set types of character called stock characters. Each character had set movements and gestures that represented his or her personality.
What are stock characters and which ones did the Romans use?
More videos on YouTubeLatin Stock CharacterRugnetta's DefinitionChloë's Definitionmeretrixprostitutesex workersenexfather/old manbumbling grandpaservuswily slavetricky/clever slavelenopimptoxic masculinity vibes4 more rows
What is stock character?
Stock character, a character in a drama or fiction that represents a type and that is recognizable as belonging to a certain genre. Most of the characters in the commedia dell’arte, such as Columbine and Harlequin, are stock characters.
What comic characters survived from old comedy?
A number of the stock comic characters survived from Old Comedy into New: an old man, a young man, an old woman, a young woman, a learned doctor or pedant, a cook, a parasite, a swaggering soldier, a comic slave. New Comedy, on the other hand, exhibits a degree…
What is stock character?
A stock character is a dramatic or literary character representing a generic type in a conventional, simplified manner and recurring in many fictional works. The following list labels some of these stereotypes and provides examples. Some character archetypes, the more universal foundations of fictional characters, are also listed.
What is the name of the pejorative stereotype used as one of the earliest gay stock characters in Hollywood films?
Flotsam and Jetsam, Pain and Panic, Thing Number 1 and Thing Number 2, Winged monkeys. Sissy. In the 1930s, the "sissy" or "pansy" was a pejorative stereotype used as one of the earliest gay stock characters in Hollywood films.
What character is based on a Christmas Carol?
Some characters that were first introduced as fully fleshed-out characters become subsequently used as stock characters in other works (e.g., the Ebenezer Scrooge character from A Christmas Carol, upon whom the miserly Scrooge type is based).
What is a sidekick in the Lord of the Rings?
A friend who accompanies the main character or hero. A sidekick may also simultaneously be a bard, fool, or other stock character. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a slave named Jim accompanies Huck Finn on his travels. In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo has his loyal friend Samwise Gamgee by his side throughout.
Origins of Stock Characters
Looser versions of the stock character have been around since ancient Greece with the plays of Aeschylus and Sophocles, when certain deities would serve the role of the fool. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales has a cast of stock characters, and almost all of Shakespeare’s comedies (and some of his tragedies) employ the use of the fool.
Take Your Stock Characters Out of the Box
Often, these stock characters are pretty flat. There’s not much development that goes into them except to inform the reader as to what kind of story to expect. If you have a damsel in distress, there’s probably going to be a dramatic rescue. If you have an underdog sports team, there’s likely going to be a fairly large upset.
PRACTICE
Take fifteen minutes and write about your own version of the fool, and then add a twist to create a subversion of that archetype.
What is stock character?
A Stock Character is a character who is instantly recognizable to us from other stories: the gruff grandpa, the snooty cheerleader, the bratty younger sibling. You can sum up their role in the story in a sentence or less and people will know exactly what you're talking about.
Can you sum up a character's role in a story?
You can sum up their role in the story in a sentence or less and people will know exactly what you're talking about. Such characters are frequently one-dimensional in nature. Sometimes that's okay. Sometimes that opens the door to Playing With Tropes as well. Sometimes two or more character types get combined as well.
Can two or more character types be combined?
Sometimes two or more character types get combined as well. Major and Rounded characters will likely embody more than one of these tropes depending on the story. A stock character can be an Archetype, an example of Characters as Device, or just very recognizable. See also Archetypal Character .
