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How Many Agonists?
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Author:  Airianna Valenshia [ June 25th, 2012, 10:23 am ]
Post subject:  How Many Agonists?
A protagonist is the main or central character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, which ends up in conflict because of the antagonist and with whom the audience is intended to most identify with.

In literature, the deuteragonist is the second most important character, after the protagonist. The deuteragonist may switch from being with or against the protagonist, depending on the Deuteragonist's own conflict/plot.

A Tritagonist can be the instigator or cause of the sufferings of the protagonist. Despite being the least sympathetic character of the drama, he occasions the situations by which pity and sympathy for the protagonist are excited.

And finally, an Antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend. In other words, 'A person, or a group of people who oppose the main character, or the main characters.'

So, in my story, I have a Protagonist (Tierin), Deuteragonist (Airianna), Tritagonist (Volgarin), and Antagonist (Dunndar, Shadar, and so forth). Each of the categories of agonists have served me well in my very looong trilogy, helping to deepen plot, as well as deepening the character of my characters. This got me thinking, though, how many people use all of the agonists?

How many do you have, and how have they served you in your writing?
Author:  Willow Wenial Mimetes [ June 26th, 2012, 8:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
Aw, man! I walked in and was expecting to hear about characters who go through agony! ;)

I have one protagonist (Nessa), although...that's debatable, because some people aren't nearly as interested in my protagonist as my antagonist. However!

My Deuteragonist... Well, it's debatable. The one that STAYS the Deuteragonist is Nolan.

My Tritagonists are three (Jadran, The Emperor, Ixi)

My Antagonist (Azriel)...Could possibly be considered the protagonist or the Deuteragonist at different times...he's very well developed and his fall is a HUGE part of the story...

*sigh* Why does this have to be so COMPLICATED, Aiva? ;)
Author:  Airianna Valenshia [ June 26th, 2012, 8:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
That's what I want to know, darling, Willow! I have so many characters that could fall into so many categories. Latharian, Enia, Alonah, Brogan, Mikhail, Argon- the list goes on.

It is exhausting. :D
Author:  Riniel Jasmina [ June 26th, 2012, 8:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
My Protagonist is definitely Tanner.

I might have very many Dueteragonists... The biggest at the moment is probably Kaida though... Maybe Guilo...

My Tritagonist is Amos... Although God does get the heat for some of it too.

My Antagonists are many and varied. :twisted:

And all of that seems to change for the sequel and triquel. :D
Author:  Willow Wenial Mimetes [ June 26th, 2012, 8:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
Psh. Well, really, this is just what comes of trying to label people and put them in boxes. :dieshappy:

I propose a rebelagonist. One that fits into none or all of the other categories.
Author:  Riniel Jasmina [ June 26th, 2012, 9:03 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
Willow Wenial Mimetes wrote:
Psh. Well, really, this is just what comes of trying to label people and put them in boxes. :dieshappy:

I propose a rebelagonist. One that fits into none or all of the other categories.



But that would just be the Tritagonist of this thread. :D
Author:  Zoe M. Scrivener [ July 2nd, 2012, 1:04 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
Hmm, let's see...

In The Masked Bird, I have:
Protagonist: Rosamund/Raven
Deuteragonist: Robin, methinks.
Tritagonist: King John
Antagonist: Sir Guy.

I'm not really sure whether to classify the earl of Nottingham as a Tritagonist or a secondary Antagonist. He could fit in either/both...
Author:  Airianna Valenshia [ July 2nd, 2012, 1:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
Hear hear, Willow!

So, it seems we all have one that fits in each category. :)
Author:  Aragorn [ July 2nd, 2012, 7:36 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
For The Resurrectionist, I have:

Protagonist: Zeke
Deuteragonist: Mandy
Tritagonist: Mr. Ridge
Antagonist: Dyson, Morello, etc.
Author:  Lady Elanor [ July 12th, 2012, 6:46 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
This is very interesting! :cool: I don't have any WIP at the moment. :( But when I do, and I intend to have one soon, I'll fill this in. :D
Author:  Airianna Valenshia [ July 12th, 2012, 10:50 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
I look forward to it. :)
Author:  Bethany Faith [ July 14th, 2012, 5:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
Wow... I only knew two of these terms. * feels enlightened and ignorant simultaneously * :shock: * promptly files characters into organized names *

In my novel...

I have two protagonists; Levi and Zaely/Ana.

Several Deuteragonists (Say, how do you pronounce that?...) Levi's parents, Clara, the bad-ish guy that I never name, and Maleficus.

Tritagonist (that is hard to spell.) - Miri, Avooda, and Grunge, kind of... Well, Grunge is just a gryphon. I don't even know if he counts as a character. :P

And I have lots of Antagonists - Sevel, the Diobaine, and basically anybody else in the book... My novel has loads of bad guys. :D

Anyways, I have lots of characters in my novel. I didn't even realize how many I had until I just tried to organize them. o.O In hindsight, it would have been easier just to organize the characters in my Trials of Three trilogy, considering they're just either protagonists or antagonists. :rofl:

-Bethany Faith
Author:  Airianna Valenshia [ July 14th, 2012, 8:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
I'm not sure exactly how to pronounce it. I say it how it looks, but I could be doing that wrong....
Author:  Riniel Jasmina [ July 14th, 2012, 9:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
I would think it sounds like Deuteronomy.
Author:  Airianna Valenshia [ July 14th, 2012, 9:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
That was my thought as well.
Author:  BushMaid [ July 15th, 2012, 12:43 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
In my novel-to-be, I will have:

Protagonist: Ethan (renamed from Branton... constantly reminding myself)
Deauteragonist: Lexus
Tritagonist: Verdandi
Antagonist: Aram
Author:  Airianna Valenshia [ July 15th, 2012, 8:09 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
Nice names. :cool:
Author:  Mistress Kidh [ July 23rd, 2012, 8:22 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
* thought it would be easy to plot out who was what in current novel * * discovered it wasn't * * is fainted *
Author:  Suiauthon Mimetes [ July 24th, 2012, 2:03 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
(The title of this thread caught my eye. :rofl:)

For my Sci-Fi novel which I'm not working on right now...
Protagonist: Isaac
Deuteragonist: I'm not sure. :roll: Depending on which way I take the story, it could be Isaac's potentially-dead mother, the guy who tries to hunt Isaac down, Isaac's secretary, or even Isaac's assistant (...who might not exist. I haven't decided yet. :roll:).
Tritagonist: Isaac's uncle
Antagonist: Anyone related to the government. ;)
Author:  Airianna Valenshia [ July 24th, 2012, 7:33 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
Glad it caught your attention. :D

Ooh, a character who may or may not exist. ;)
Author:  Suiauthon Mimetes [ July 24th, 2012, 9:58 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
*laughs* 'Tis usually annoying. ;)
Author:  Tsahraf ChahsidMimetes [ September 22nd, 2012, 7:36 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
I like this, I have noticed this pattern in stories before.

The Magician's Nephew:

Protagonist: Digory
Deuteragonist: Polly
Tritagonist: Uncle Andrew
Antagonist: Jadis

But... sometimes...
The Riddle of the Spear (one of my stories):

Protagonist: The Swordsmith
Protagonist: The Hunter
Protagonist: The General
Protagonist: The Scholar
Deuteragonist: The Hunter's Brother
Deuteragonist: The Tyrants Father
Deuteragonist: The Spear Finder
Tritagonist: The Hunter's Brother
Antagonist: The Wizard
Antagonist: The Tyrant
Antagonist: The Elf King
Antagonist: The Unicorn

And of course, The Lord of the Rings:

Protagonist: Frodo
Protagonist: Gandalf
Protagonist: Aragorn
Deuteragonist: Sam
Deuteragonist: Merry
Deuteragonist: Pippin
Deuteragonist: Theoden
Tritagonist: Gollum
Tritagonist: Boromir
Tritagonist: Denethor
Antagonist: Sauron
Antagonist: Witch King
Antagonist: Saruman

Or maybe I am not understanding this at all!
Author:  Jay Lakewood [ September 22nd, 2012, 1:58 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
How many characters can you have in one, say...45 - 75k novel? 3? 5? In my 22k long novel, I have three Protagonists, one Deuteragonist, one Tritagonist, and two Antagonists. Are 7 characters(important to the plot) too many? :?
Author:  Airianna Valenshia [ September 24th, 2012, 6:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
In order to have multiple Protagonists, you'd have to have multiple POVs, I'd assume.
Author:  kingjon [ September 24th, 2012, 8:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
Airianna Mimetes wrote:
In order to have multiple Protagonists, you'd have to have multiple POVs, I'd assume.

That's most common, but POV characters aren't necessarily protagonists, nor vice versa ... the most obvious example (as much as I hate to mention it, since it's IMO a clear example of an idiot plot, and as such any sane publisher should have rejected it on first reading) that leaps to mind is The Great Gatsby, where Gatsby is the "protagonist" but is seen only through the eyes of Nick.
Author:  Airianna Valenshia [ September 24th, 2012, 9:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
Right, I agree, but I can't see a book without multiple POVs truly having 4-5 protagonists... Just because someone is a reoccurring character, doesn't make them a protagonist. For example, Sam, Merry, and Pippin are not protagonists. They are supporting characters to Frodo. *is trying to figure this out, as she is unsure at the moment, and is not an expert on the classification of characters, yet
Author:  Arien [ September 25th, 2012, 10:21 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
I would hesitate to call Sam merely a supporting character. In the earliest parts, certainly, but by the end it's almost more about him than Frodo. Of course, classifications like this aren't always going to be what I think makes sense, so maybe I'm wrong. The story I'm currently working on has one POV but three people that I would consider protagonists. Although by the time I hit the end, one of them may be the clear protagonist, unless I actively avoid that, which I might... But, of course, just because I think they're protagonists doesn't mean anyone else would agree.
Author:  Jay Lakewood [ September 25th, 2012, 11:42 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
I'm considering having two Protagonists, at least 3 Deuteragonist, probably 1 or 2 Tritagonists, and several(2 - 4) Antagonists in my latest novel idea. (18 Merchants) Is that too many? Some other people said to me that having so many characters would get confusing. :?
Author:  Airianna Valenshia [ September 25th, 2012, 11:53 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
I adore Sam, and I think he's what makes Frodo's struggle interesting, but as much as I adore him, I don't think he would be classified as an MC. He's a supporting character. Think of his role. He supports Frodo. He's the backbone behind Frodo. Without Sam, there would be no Frodo. Sam has more of a focal point in the final book, but he is still a supporting character. At least according to my studies of character placement.

Character placement is hard, though, if you have good, complex characters. Sam was complex, thus making him difficult to place. There is often overlap when the characters are deep.
Author:  Tsahraf ChahsidMimetes [ September 29th, 2012, 11:17 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How Many Agonists?
Yes, if you make yourself pick one it would look like this:

Protagonist: The Hunter
Deuteragonist: The Tyrants Father
Tritagonist: The Hunter's Brother
Antagonist: The Wizard

And this:

Protagonist: Frodo
Deuteragonist: Sam
Tritagonist: Gollum
Antagonist: Sauron

It is more simple, but it is debatable whether it is more useful.
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