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Protagonist
Protagonist. In ancient Greek drama the tragic poet was originally allowed only one actor and a chorus. By the 5th century BC, when three actors were allowed, each playing if necessary more than one part, they were named the Protagonist, Deuteragonist, and Tritagonist (from agon, contest). This probably did not mean that the Protagonist was the best actor of the three. He may have been allotted the best role, but in the plays of Euripides and Sophocles there are usually at least two major roles of equal importance. It may merely have been that he was the first to speak. There is certainly no indication that the Tritagonist was a third-rate or small-part player.
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PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Protagonist." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Protagonist." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-Protagonist.html PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Protagonist." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-Protagonist.html |
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protagonist
pro·tag·o·nist / prōˈtagənist; prō-/ • n. the leading character or one of the major characters in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text. ∎ the main figure or one of the most prominent figures in a real situation: in this colonial struggle, the main protagonists were Great Britain and France. ∎ an advocate or champion of a particular cause or idea: a strenuous protagonist of the new agricultural policy. |
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Cite this article
"protagonist." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "protagonist." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-protagonist.html "protagonist." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-protagonist.html |
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protagonist
protagonist chief personage in a drama XVII; leading person in a contest or cause XIX. — Gr. prōtagōnistḗs, f. prôtos first + agōnistḗs combatant, actor, f. agōnízesthai contest; see -IST.
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "protagonist." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "protagonist." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-protagonist.html T. F. HOAD. "protagonist." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-protagonist.html |
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protagonist
protagonist •Hispanist • Zenist • pyrotechnist
•Jainist • liberationist
•machinist, tambourinist
•hygienist • trampolinist
•mandolinist, violinist
•unwitnessed
•misogynist, philogynist
•Stalinist • Hellenist • feminist
•illuminist • determinist • Leninist
•alpinist • larcenist • Latinist
•Byzantinist • Calvinist • chauvinist
•Darwinist
•honest, monist
•corniced, hornist
•trombonist • vibraphonist
•sousaphonist
•balloonist, bassoonist, cartoonist, lampoonist
•opportunist • communist • pianist
•Fabianist • accordionist • alienist
•unionist • Zionist • urbanist
•hedonist • modernist • telephonist
•symphonist
•saxophonist, xylophonist
•agonist, antagonist, protagonist
•tobogganist • organist • revisionist
•diffusionist, exclusionist, fusionist, illusionist
•religionist • tobacconist • mechanist
•Africanist • Vaticanist • colonist
•Mammonist
•harmonist, shamanist
•humanist • Germanist • canonist
•expansionist • onanist • timpanist
•accompanist • ironist • Saxonist
•Jansenist • arsonist • abstractionist
•expressionist, impressionist, progressionist, secessionist
•insurrectionist, perfectionist, projectionist, protectionist, rejectionist, vivisectionist
•interventionist • receptionist
•accommodationist, associationist, collaborationist, conservationist, creationist, deviationist, educationist, federationist, isolationist, preservationist, representationist, restorationist, revelationist, salvationist, situationist, vacationist
•abolitionist, coalitionist, demolitionist, exhibitionist, intuitionist, nutritionist, partitionist, prohibitionist, requisitionist, traditionist
•fictionist, restrictionist
•abortionist, contortionist, extortionist
•Confucianist, devolutionist, elocutionist, evolutionist, revolutionist
•constructionist, percussionist
•obstructionist, reductionist
•excursionist
•Neoplatonist, Platonist, satanist
•botanist
•earnest, Ernest
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Cite this article
"protagonist." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "protagonist." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-protagonist.html "protagonist." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-protagonist.html |
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