L3: Character Analysis
Analysing characters and their development - understanding who they are, why they act, and how they're presented.
📋 What is Character Analysis?
Definition: Character analysis examines how characters are presented, their role in the text, their development, and how the writer uses them to explore themes.
Characters are central to most exam questions. You need to show understanding of:
- Who they are - personality, background, relationships
- What they do - actions, decisions, motivations
- How they change - development, arc, transformation
- Why they matter - thematic significance, symbolic role
- How they're presented - language, dialogue, other characters' views
👤 Character Types
Protagonist
The main character - the story centres on them.
- Usually undergoes significant change
- Drives the plot forward
- Often the "hero" but not always likeable
Examples
- Macbeth - tragic hero whose ambition leads to downfall
- Scrooge - protagonist who transforms from miser to benefactor
- Romeo - tragic hero whose passion leads to tragedy
Antagonist
Opposes or creates conflict for the protagonist.
- Not always "evil" - may have understandable motives
- Creates obstacles for the protagonist
- Often reflects or contrasts with the protagonist
Examples
- Macduff - opposes Macbeth and ultimately kills him
- Mr Hyde - dark counterpart to Dr Jekyll
- Lord Capulet - opposes Juliet's wishes
Minor Characters
Supporting roles that still have important functions:
- Develop or contrast with main characters
- Advance the plot
- Represent themes or ideas
- Provide exposition or comic relief
Examples
- Banquo - contrasts Macbeth; shows alternative response to prophecy
- Bob Cratchit - shows poverty's effects; humanises the poor
- The Inspector - represents Priestley's moral message
Foil Characters
Characters who contrast with another to highlight their traits.
Examples
- Banquo vs Macbeth - both receive prophecies; Banquo resists temptation
- Lady Macbeth vs Macbeth - she's initially stronger, but guilt destroys her
- Eric vs Gerald - both used Eva; Eric feels guilt, Gerald doesn't
📈 Character Arcs
A character arc is the transformation or journey a character undergoes.
Types of Arcs
| Arc Type | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Positive Arc | Character grows, learns, improves | Scrooge - transforms from miser to generous man |
| Negative Arc | Character declines, falls, corrupts | Macbeth - noble warrior becomes tyrant |
| Flat Arc | Character changes others but stays the same | The Inspector - changes the Birlings; remains unchanged |
| Tragic Arc | Rise then catastrophic fall | Macbeth - prophecy fulfilled, then destroyed |
Analysing Arcs: Focus on the turning point - when does the character start to change? What causes it? What are the consequences?
🔍 Analysing Character Presentation
1. Direct Characterisation
The writer TELLS us about the character directly.
Examples
- "Scrooge was a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!" - Dickens directly describes
- "Macbeth - brave Macbeth - well he deserves that name" - Captain describes Macbeth's reputation
2. Indirect Characterisation
The writer SHOWS us the character through:
- Actions - what they do reveals who they are
- Dialogue - what they say and how they say it
- Thoughts - interior monologue or soliloquy
- Appearance - physical descriptions
- Others' reactions - how other characters respond to them
Indirect Characterisation in "Macbeth"
- Actions: Kills Duncan - shows ambition and moral weakness
- Dialogue: "Stars, hide your fires" - reveals secret ambition
- Thoughts: Soliloquies reveal inner turmoil and guilt
- Appearance: Lady Macbeth says he's "too full o'th'milk of human kindness"
- Others: Duncan calls him "worthiest cousin" - trusted by king
💬 Analysing Dialogue
What characters say and how they say it reveals their personality.
What to Analyse
| Feature | What It Shows | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Vocabulary choice | Education, class, personality | Scrooge's harsh, business language |
| Sentence length | Emotional state, confidence | Macbeth's fragmented speeches when guilty |
| Tone | Attitude to others | Lady Macbeth's mocking, controlling tone |
| Who dominates | Power dynamics | The Inspector controls conversations |
| Interruptions | Impatience, power | Lady Macbeth interrupts Macbeth |
| Silence | Guilt, shock, powerlessness | Eric's silence when accused |
Analysing Lady Macbeth's Dialogue
"When you durst do it, then you were a man"
She challenges Macbeth's masculinity - manipulates him by attacking his pride. The conditional "when" implies he's failed to be a man. This shows her controlling, ambitious nature.
🎭 Analysing Motivation
Understanding WHY characters act as they do is crucial for analysis.
Types of Motivation
- Internal - desires, fears, beliefs, ambitions
- External - pressure from others, society, circumstances
- Psychological - mental state, past experiences
- Social - class, gender, social expectations
Macbeth's Motivations
- Internal: Ambition ("I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent")
- External: Witches' prophecy, Lady Macbeth's manipulation
- Psychological: Fear of being caught, growing paranoia
- Social: Expectations of masculinity, kingship
Key Question: "What drives this character?"
Consider: desires, fears, relationships, context, personality
Consider: desires, fears, relationships, context, personality
👥 Character Relationships
How characters interact reveals their personalities and themes.
Analysing Relationships
- Power dynamics - who holds power? Does it shift?
- Conflict - what tensions exist? How are they resolved?
- Love and loyalty - who do characters care about?
- Contrasts - how do different characters highlight each other?
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
- Early: She dominates - "Leave all the rest to me"
- Middle: Macbeth acts independently - doesn't tell her about Banquo
- End: They're emotionally separated - he's cold about her death
- Significance: Shows how guilt and evil destroy their marriage
✍️ How to Write About Characters
Golden Rule: Don't just DESCRIBE characters. ANALYSE how and why the writer presents them this way.
Structure for Character Analysis
- Make a point about the character
- Use a quotation to support
- Analyse language/structure
- Link to themes or context
Good Character Analysis
Lady Macbeth is presented as manipulative and calculating. She tells Macbeth "Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under't," using imperatives to assert control. The contrasting imagery of "flower" and "serpent" reflects her ability to deceive - she coaches Macbeth to hide his murderous intentions behind a facade of hospitality. This establishes her as the dominant force in their relationship in the early acts.
Useful Verbs for Character Analysis
presents, portrays, depicts, characterises, reveals, suggests, implies, highlights, contrasts, develops, transforms
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
| Mistake | Why It's Wrong | How to Fix It |
|---|---|---|
| Describing instead of analysing | Retelling doesn't show understanding | Focus on HOW and WHY the character is presented |
| Ignoring language and structure | Character analysis requires AO2 | Comment on dialogue, actions, descriptions |
| Treating characters as real people | They're literary constructs | Write "Shakespeare presents Macbeth as..." not "Macbeth is..." |
| Forgetting minor characters | They often have important functions | Consider what each character contributes |
| Ignoring development | Static analysis misses the arc | Track how characters change over the text |
📝 Memorising Character Quotations
Since exams are closed book, memorise key quotations for main characters.
Strategy
- Choose 5-8 key quotations per major character
- Group by theme or trait
- Learn quotations that can be used for multiple points
- Practise writing paragraphs with each quotation
For Each Character, Memorise:
• 1-2 quotations showing key personality traits
• 1-2 showing their relationships
• 1-2 showing their development/turning point
• 1-2 showing their role in themes
• 1-2 quotations showing key personality traits
• 1-2 showing their relationships
• 1-2 showing their development/turning point
• 1-2 showing their role in themes
❓ Practice Questions
Q1: What is a foil character and why are they useful?
Q2: Give an example of a character with a negative arc and explain their decline.
Q3: What's the difference between direct and indirect characterisation?
Q4: How can you tell if one character has power over another in dialogue?
✅ Answers
- A foil character contrasts with another character to highlight their traits. By showing how characters differ, the writer emphasises specific qualities. Example: Banquo contrasts Macbeth - both receive prophecies, but Banquo resists temptation, highlighting Macbeth's moral weakness.
- Answers vary. Macbeth is the classic example - he begins as "brave Macbeth," a loyal warrior, but declines into a tyrant who orders the murder of women and children. His negative arc is driven by ambition and guilt.
- Direct characterisation: the writer tells us about the character directly ("Scrooge was a squeezing, wrenching... old sinner"). Indirect characterisation: the writer shows the character through actions, dialogue, thoughts, and others' reactions.
- Look for: who dominates the conversation (word count), who interrupts whom, whose questions are answered, whose language controls the interaction, body language (stage directions), and who has the last word.
🎯 Exam Tips
- Focus on HOW characters are presented, not just what they do
- Use specific quotations to support analysis
- Track character development across the text
- Consider characters' roles in themes
- Use foil characters to deepen analysis
- Write about the writer's choices, not just the character's personality
- Link to context when relevant (social, historical)
📝 Exam Technique
Character Questions Strategy: Track how a character is PRESENTED, not just what they do. Use the writer's name in every paragraph ("Shakespeare presents Macbeth as..." not "Macbeth is..."). Focus on methods: language, structure, and form. Memorise 5-8 quotations per major character that show development across the text.
Mark allocation: Character questions assess AO1 (understanding), AO2 (analysis of methods), and potentially AO3 (context). Spend 5 minutes planning your character's arc: beginning, turning point, end.
What examiners look for: Analysis of how characters are presented (not just described); tracking of character development; consideration of foil characters; discussion of the writer's methods and purposes.
⚠️ Common Errors
Watch Out!
Students often treat characters as real people rather than literary constructs. Wrong: "Macbeth is evil because he wants power." Correct: "Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a man whose 'vaulting ambition' overwhelms his moral reasoning, using soliloquies to expose the psychological cost of his choices."
Students often describe characters without analysing how they're presented. Wrong: "Scrooge is mean at the start and nice at the end." Correct: "Dickens charts Scrooge's moral transformation through the semantic shift from harsh, metallic verbs — 'squeezing, wrenching, grasping' — to warm, generous language of 'delight' and 'joy,' tracing the recovery of his humanity."
Students often ignore minor characters' functions. Wrong: "Banquo is just another character in the play." Correct: "Banquo functions as a foil to Macbeth — both receive prophecies, but Banquo resists temptation, highlighting by contrast the moral weakness that drives Macbeth's descent."
✍️ Model Answer
Full-Mark Response
25 marks: "How does Shakespeare present the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth?"
Shakespeare presents the Macbeths' relationship as a power structure that inverts destructively over the course of the play. Initially, Lady Macbeth dominates: her imperative command to "Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under't" instructs Macbeth in deception, whilst the contrasting imagery of delicate "flower" and dangerous "serpent" reveals her ability to conceal ruthlessness behind femininity. She weaponises gender, attacking his masculinity — "When you durst do it, then you were a man" — using the conditional "when" to imply he has failed to be a man. Structurally, Shakespeare shifts their dynamic at the banquet scene: where once Lady Macbeth managed Macbeth's public appearances, she now cannot control his hallucinations, and his failure to maintain composure marks the fracture of their partnership. By Act 5, they are emotionally severed — Macbeth's cold response to her death, "She should have died hereafter," with its dismissive modal "should," reveals a man for whom human connection has been entirely consumed by survival. The relationship's arc from intimacy to isolation enacts the play's central argument: evil destroys even the bonds it initially strengthens.
Mark scheme: AO1 (4/4) — sustained argument tracking relationship development; AO2 (4/4) — analysis of imperatives, imagery, structural shift, modal verb; AO3 (3/4) — links to Jacobean gender expectations; AO4 (3/4) — fluent, precise, analytical style.
📊 AO Deep Dive
Assessment Objective Analysis
Character analysis draws on AO1 (understanding and personal response), AO2 (analysing how characters are presented through language, form, and structure), and AO3 (contextual influences on characterisation). At grade 5, students describe characters and list their traits. At grade 7, students analyse how characters are presented, using quotations to support points about language and structure. At grade 9, students treat characters as literary constructs: they discuss why the writer presents them this way, track development across the whole text, use foil characters to deepen analysis, and integrate context. The critical shift is from "Macbeth is ambitious" (treating the character as real) to "Shakespeare presents ambition as destructive through Macbeth's degenerating language" (analysing the writer's methods).
📝 Exam Questions by Topic
🎬 Video Resources
Ready to ace your GCSE English Language exams?
Get the best revision books and guides to boost your grades.