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HERO/PROTAGONIST |
In ordinary usage “hero” has two meanings: “leading character in a
story” and “brave, admirable person.” In simple tales the two meanings
may work together, but in modern literature and film the leading
character or “protagonist” (a technical term common in literary
criticism) may behave in a very unheroic fashion. Students who express
shock that the “hero” of a play or novel behaves despicably reveal their
inexperience. In literature classes avoid the word unless you mean to
stress a character’s heroic qualities. However, if you are discussing
the main character in a traditional opera, where values are often
simple, you may get by with referring to the male lead as the
“hero”—but is Don Giovanni really a hero?
See also “heroin/heroine."
