Narrative
and Character
Types
There are lots of theories on
the ways that stories work: some people say that most stories
or narratives have similar themes, and similar characters.
The following 'character types' come from Propp's
work on folk tales:
HERO: Individual whose quest
is to restore the equilibrium.
VILLAIN: Individual(s) whose
task is to disrupt the equilibrium.
DONOR: Individual(s) who gives
the hero something e.g. advice or an object.
HELPER: Individual who aids
the hero with their set task.
PRINCESS/PRINCE: Individuals
who need help, protecting and saving.
DISPATCHER: Individual(s) who
send the hero on their quest.
FALSE HERO : Individual(s) who
set out to undermine the hero's quest by pretending to aid them.
Often unmasked at the end of the film.
Student Task
Can you match the characters from the
film to the roles above? Write their character types in the boxes
below
Justify your decisions based on evidence
from the film, poem or both. Do some characters fit into more than one role?
Jealousy, Greed, Power
How does Unferth behave towards Beowulf? Why
do you think he acts the way he does? Explore the following details
from the poem to give you some ideas:
"Beowulf’s courage,
his steadfast strength
Was a burden to Unferth; envious man,
He could not
bear to be bettered"
Why do you think Beowulf agrees to kill
Grendel and go after Grendel’s mother? Do
these images from the film give you any further ideas?
- If you are familiar with both the film
and the poem, you could think about the differences between
them - what
motivates Beowulf in each version?
- What guesses can you make about the ‘values’ of
warriors and kings at the time the poem is set? What was important
to them, do you think?
- Do you think the old king sets a good example to his young
warriors?
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