Stock Characters

Definition

Stock characters are stereotypical fictional characters that are instantly recognizable and recur across various works, serving specific roles and traits in comedic narratives. These characters help establish familiar themes and situations, making it easier for audiences to connect with the humor and messages conveyed in the plays.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Stock characters include types like the clever servant, the foolish old man, the romantic lead, and the miserly character, which appear repeatedly across various comedic plays.
2. These characters allow playwrights to quickly set up comedic situations by relying on audience familiarity with their typical traits and behaviors.
3. In ancient comedies, stock characters served as a way to comment on contemporary social issues through recognizable figures like the braggart soldier or the naive lover.
4. The use of stock characters contributed to the structure of plays, as their predictable interactions often led to comedic misunderstandings and plot developments.
5. Both Greek New Comedy and Roman Comedy heavily utilized stock characters, paving the way for modern theatrical forms that continue to reference these archetypal figures.

Review Questions

• How do stock characters enhance the comedic effect in ancient plays?
  • Stock characters enhance comedic effects by providing immediate recognition for the audience, allowing for quicker setups of jokes and situations. Their predictable behaviors create a framework that helps develop humor through repetition and irony. By leveraging these familiar character types, playwrights could focus on the intricacies of plot and dialogue while relying on established character traits to drive the comedy forward.
• Compare the use of stock characters in Greek New Comedy and Roman Comedy. How did each tradition adapt these figures?
  • Greek New Comedy primarily featured stock characters that reflected domestic life, like the clever servant or the strict father. Roman Comedy adopted these figures but often exaggerated their traits for heightened comedic effect, such as in Plautus' works where he utilized stock characters for slapstick humor. Both traditions relied on these archetypes to communicate cultural norms and social commentary while adapting their traits to fit local tastes and expectations.
• Evaluate the significance of stock characters in influencing modern comedic forms and storytelling techniques.
  • Stock characters have significantly influenced modern comedic forms by establishing recognizable character types that audiences can easily relate to. Their continued presence in contemporary storytelling illustrates how humor can rely on archetypal figures to quickly convey personality traits and situational dynamics. This influence extends into various media, from sitcoms to films, demonstrating how these timeless character types help shape narratives and facilitate humor across different cultures and eras.

Related terms

Archetype: An archetype is a universally recognized symbol or character type that embodies fundamental human experiences, serving as a model upon which stock characters can be based.

Comedy of Manners: A genre of comedy that satirizes the manners and affectations of a social class, often using stock characters to highlight societal norms and behaviors.

Character Tropes: Character tropes are commonly used themes or devices associated with certain character types, often overlapping with stock characters in their predictable nature.