Many people continue to use these as the two main criteria for evaluating whether a character is round, but it's worth noting that Forster's definition could afford to be updated slightly to better reflect the broader sense the term has taken on today: namely, that a round character has to be complex and convincing. has the incalculability of life about it-life within the pages of a book.įorster focuses on two main qualities in his original definition of the round character: it has to be surprising, and it has to be convincing. If it does not convince, it is flat pretending to be round. The test of a round character is whether it is capable of surprising in a convincing way. The word 'round' was first used to describe fictional characters by E M Forster in his 1927 book The Aspects of the Novel. Here's how to pronounce round character: round kare-ik-ter Round Characters in Depth It just means that they are multi-dimensional. Just because a character is round doesn't necessarily mean that they are interesting, likable, or well-written.

Protagonists are often round characters simply because readers know a lot about them, but any character in a story can be round.

The opposite of a round character is a flat character, or a character who lacks complexity and therefore doesn't seem true to life.

Some additional key details about round characters: A wealthy man who throws lavish parties for high-society New Yorkers, at first glance Gatsby may seem quite simple, but over the course of the book he is revealed to have a deep and complicated personal history that gives rise to some surprising motivations: his relentless pursuit of wealth and stature is driven by his desire to get close to the woman he loves. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is a round character.

Round characters typically have fully fleshed-out and multi-faceted personalities, backgrounds, desires, and motivations. What is a round character? Here’s a quick and simple definition:Ī character is said to be 'round' if they are lifelike or complex.

Round/flat character