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Literature vocabulary · Character and Characterization

Round character

Meaning in literature, with examples

nounCommon term

In literature, round character means: A complex, many-sided character with mixed qualities and believable motives, who can surprise the reader in a convincing way.

In Turkish: yuvarlak karakter, çok boyutlu karakter

How it is used

Term introduced by E. M. Forster in Aspects of the Novel (1927), together with flat character. Reviewers praise fully rounded characters and criticize stories where the characters are not rounded enough.

Example sentences

  1. The mother is the only round character in the book; everyone else feels like a type.

  2. Forster said a round character must be able to surprise us convincingly.

Common collocations

  • a round character
  • fully rounded character
  • round and flat characters
  • flat characterA simple character built around one main quality or idea, who can be summed up in a sentence and does not change or surprise the reader.
  • dynamic characterA character who goes through an important inner change during the story, for example in personality, beliefs or understanding.
  • characterizationThe ways a writer creates and reveals a character's personality, through description, actions, speech, thoughts and other characters' reactions.
  • characterA person, or sometimes an animal or creature, who takes part in the events of a story, play or poem.

More terms: Character and Characterization

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