Characterisation

What is Characterisation?

Within English, which covers grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, poetry, drama and the skills for clear communication, this topic explains Characterisation. English topics help you read closely and write with purpose, so each one here explains a skill and shows how it works in a model text.

Check that you can explain Characterisation in your own words and give one example from everyday life. If you can do that, you have understood the core idea.

Understanding Characterisation helps you read texts more closely and write with more control, which earns marks in both reading and writing papers.

Characterisation in detail

Characterisation is how a writer creates and develops characters. Direct characterisation tells us about them ("She was generous"), while indirect characterisation shows us through their actions, speech, thoughts, appearance and how others react to them.

Characters can be protagonists (the main character), antagonists (opposing forces), round (complex and changing) or flat (simple and unchanging). A dynamic character changes during the story. When analysing, use evidence, such as a quotation, to explain what it reveals and how our feelings toward the character develop. Convincing characters have motivations, strengths and flaws.

How the interactive helps you understand Characterisation

Click a card to flip it and reveal the answer, then move on to the next one.

Before you change anything, predict the result. Then change one value at a time and check whether your prediction was right. This is a quick way to build a correct mental model of Characterisation.

Real-life uses and examples

• Support a point about Characterisation with a short, accurate quotation.
• Plan an essay paragraph by linking the technique to the reader’s response.
• Spot Characterisation when you read a poem, story or speech, then explain the effect it creates.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Naming a technique without explaining its effect on the reader.
• Quoting a long passage instead of picking a short, precise phrase.
• Learning the definition without testing it. Use the quiz and the interactive to check that you can apply the idea.