The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – antagonistēs, "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, rival," which is derived from anti- ("against") and agonizesthai ("to contend for a prize").[2][3]
The antagonist is commonly positioned against the protagonist and their world order.[4] While most narratives will often portray the protagonist as a hero and the antagonist as a villain, like Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter, the antagonist does not always appear as the villain. In some narratives, like Light Yagami and L in Death Note, the protagonist is a villain and the antagonist is an opposing hero.
Antagonists are conventionally presented as making moral choices less savory than those of protagonists. This condition is often used by an author to create conflict within a story. This is merely a convention, however. An example in which this is reversed can be seen in the character Macduff from Macbeth, who is arguably morally correct in his desire to fight the tyrant Macbeth, the protagonist.
Characters may be antagonists without being evil – they may simply be injudicious and unlikeable for the audience. In some stories, such as The Catcher in the Rye, almost every character other than the protagonist may be an antagonist.[5]
An aspect or trait of the protagonist may be considered an antagonist, such as morality or indecisiveness.[5]
Non-personal
An antagonist may not always be a person or people. In some cases, an antagonist may be a force, such as a tidal wave that destroys a city; a storm that causes havoc; or even a certain area's conditions that are the root cause of a problem. An antagonist also may or may not create obstacles for the protagonist.[6]
Societal norms or other rules may also be antagonists.[5]
Usage
An antagonist is used as a plot device, to set up conflicts, obstacles, or challenges for the protagonist.[5][7] Though not every story requires an antagonist, it often is used in plays to increase the level of drama. In tragedies, antagonists are often the cause of the protagonist's main problem, or lead a group of characters against the protagonist; in comedies, they are usually responsible for involving the protagonist in comedic situations.[7]
Antagonist-design techniques
Author John Truby argues that a true opponent not only wants to prevent the hero from achieving his desire but is competing with the hero for the same goal. According to John Truby, "It is only by competing for the same goal that the hero and the opponent are forced to come into direct conflict and to do so again and again throughout the story."[8]
^Gunderman, Hannah C. (May 2017). "Blurring the Protagonist/Antagonist Binary through a Geopolitics of Peace: Star Trek's Cardassians, Antagonists of the Alpha Quadrant". The Geographical Bulletin. 58 (1): 52–53.
^ abcdBulman, Colin (2007). Creative Writing: A Guide and/or Glossary to Fiction Writing. Polity Press. p. 17. ISBN9780745636870 – via Google Books.
^. roanestate.edu. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
^ abSmiley, Sam (2005) [First published 1971 by Prentice-Hall]. Playwriting: The Structure of Action. Yale University Press. pp. 133–134. ISBN0300107242 – via Google Books.
^Truby, John (2008). The anatomy of story: 22 steps to becoming a master storyteller (1st ed.). New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pp. 46–47. ISBN978-0-86547-993-7. OCLC 281139315.
External links
Media related to Antagonists at Wikimedia Commons
January 06, 2023
antagonist, this, article, about, literary, term, pharmacological, term, receptor, antagonist, other, uses, disambiguation, antagonist, character, story, presented, chief, protagonist, king, claudius, antagonist, married, queen, gertrude, william, shakespeare,. This article is about the literary term For the pharmacological term see Receptor antagonist For other uses see Antagonist disambiguation An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist 1 King Claudius the antagonist is married to Queen Gertrude in William Shakespeare s Hamlet Contents 1 Etymology 2 Types 2 1 Heroes and villains 2 2 Other characters 2 3 Aspects of the protagonist 2 4 Non personal 3 Usage 4 Antagonist design techniques 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksEtymology EditThe English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀntagwnisths antagonistes opponent competitor villain enemy rival which is derived from anti against and agonizesthai to contend for a prize 2 3 Types EditHeroes and villains Edit This section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed September 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message The antagonist is commonly positioned against the protagonist and their world order 4 While most narratives will often portray the protagonist as a hero and the antagonist as a villain like Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter the antagonist does not always appear as the villain In some narratives like Light Yagami and L in Death Note the protagonist is a villain and the antagonist is an opposing hero Antagonists are conventionally presented as making moral choices less savory than those of protagonists This condition is often used by an author to create conflict within a story This is merely a convention however An example in which this is reversed can be seen in the character Macduff from Macbeth who is arguably morally correct in his desire to fight the tyrant Macbeth the protagonist Examples from television include J R Ewing Larry Hagman from Dallas and Alexis Colby Joan Collins from Dynasty Both became breakout characters used as a device to increase their shows ratings Other characters Edit Characters may be antagonists without being evil they may simply be injudicious and unlikeable for the audience In some stories such as The Catcher in the Rye almost every character other than the protagonist may be an antagonist 5 Aspects of the protagonist Edit Main article Antihero An aspect or trait of the protagonist may be considered an antagonist such as morality or indecisiveness 5 Non personal Edit An antagonist may not always be a person or people In some cases an antagonist may be a force such as a tidal wave that destroys a city a storm that causes havoc or even a certain area s conditions that are the root cause of a problem An antagonist also may or may not create obstacles for the protagonist 6 Societal norms or other rules may also be antagonists 5 Usage EditAn antagonist is used as a plot device to set up conflicts obstacles or challenges for the protagonist 5 7 Though not every story requires an antagonist it often is used in plays to increase the level of drama In tragedies antagonists are often the cause of the protagonist s main problem or lead a group of characters against the protagonist in comedies they are usually responsible for involving the protagonist in comedic situations 7 Antagonist design techniques EditAuthor John Truby argues that a true opponent not only wants to prevent the hero from achieving his desire but is competing with the hero for the same goal According to John Truby It is only by competing for the same goal that the hero and the opponent are forced to come into direct conflict and to do so again and again throughout the story 8 See also Edit Literature portalArchenemy Boss a video game term that may refer to the game s antagonist VillainReferences Edit About com Literature Contemporary Antagonist Online 18 October 2007 Protagonist and Antagonist definition Grammarist Retrieved 25 March 2015 Glossary of Literary Terms Archived from the original on 26 March 2015 Retrieved on 27 March 2015 Glossary of Drama Terms Online Learning Center Retrieved on 27 March 2015 Antagonist Definition for Fiction Writers About com Retrieved on 27 March 2015 Antagonist Online Etymology Dictionary Retrieved 28 November 2010 antagonist Oxford English Dictionary Online ed Oxford University Press Subscription or participating institution membership required Gunderman Hannah C May 2017 Blurring the Protagonist Antagonist Binary through a Geopolitics of Peace Star Trek s Cardassians Antagonists of the Alpha Quadrant The Geographical Bulletin 58 1 52 53 a b c d Bulman Colin 2007 Creative Writing A Guide and or Glossary to Fiction Writing Polity Press p 17 ISBN 9780745636870 via Google Books The Elements of Literature roanestate edu Archived from the original on 30 December 2017 Retrieved 29 April 2013 a b Smiley Sam 2005 First published 1971 by Prentice Hall Playwriting The Structure of Action Yale University Press pp 133 134 ISBN 0300107242 via Google Books Truby John 2008 The anatomy of story 22 steps to becoming a master storyteller 1st ed New York Farrar Straus and Giroux pp 46 47 ISBN 978 0 86547 993 7 OCLC 281139315 External links Edit Media related to Antagonists at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Antagonist amp oldid 1131837035, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
