Gollum in the Lord of the Rings and Olaf in Frozen are some other examples of flat characters.Įlizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice is an example of round character Difference Between Flat and Round Characters Definitionįlat character is an uncomplicated, two-dimensional character who may not be fully delineated by the author. Micawber in Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield as an example of flat characters. “A serious or tragic flat character is apt to be a bore.” He uses the character of Mrs. He also states that flat characters can be used best as comic characters. They are also easily remembered since they don’t change. Although the term flat character is often used in a negative sense by modern critics, E.M Foster, who was the first to propose these terms, merely uses the term to describe a character who can be summed up in a sentence.įoster also points out some advantages of flat characters: flat characters are easily recognized.

A flat character is also characterized by only by one or two traits. Who is a Flat CharacterĪ flat character is a character that is uncomplicated and remains the same throughout the fictional work. This is the main difference between flat and round characters.

Flat characters are two-dimensional, relatively uncomplicated figures whereas round characters are complex characters with many different characteristics. M Forster in his book, Aspects of the novel. These two terms, flat characters and round characters, were first used by E. Static and dynamic characters are another classification. Flat and round characters are one such classification. Characters can be sorted into different types according to their creation and development. Main Difference – Flat vs Round CharactersĬharacters are a vital component of any literary work.

What is a flat character