Anti-hero

A hero lacking in the qualities that commonly make up a heroic individual.

Characteristics of an anti-hero include someone who is "incompetent, unlucky, tactless, clumsy, cock-handed, stupid, buffoonish (Literary Terms & Literary Theory 42-43)" yet the reader is drawn into feeling sympathy for the anti-hero none the less. The anti-hero was a rare character in early literature but has become more common in modern times. Some of the earliest examples include "the endearing figure of the eponymous knight of Don Quixote (1605, 1615) (Literary Terms & Literary Theory 42-43)" and in "Hylas, in d'Urfe's very successful Astrée (1627) who is a contrast to the conventional hero Céladan (Literary Terms & Literary Theory 42-43)."

"A non-hero, or the antithesis of a hero of the old-fashioned kind who was capable of heroic deeds, who was dashing, strong, brave and resourceful. It is a little doubtful whether such heroes have ever existed in any quantity in fiction except in some romances and in the cheaper kind of romantic novelette. However there have been many instances of fictional heroes who have displayed noble qualities and virtuous attributes. The anti-hero is the man who is given the vocation of failure (Literary Terms & Literary Theory 42-43)."

"A protagonist who lacks traditional heroic virtues and noble qualities and is sometimes inept, cowardly, stupid, or dishonest, yet sensitive. The type is best represented in modern fiction and drama, although it appears as early as 1605, in DON QUIXOTE. James Joyce's Leopold BLOOM in ULYSSES, Kingsley Amis' Jim DIXON in LUCKY JIM, and Joseph HELLER's Yossarian in CATCH-22 are antiheores (Benét's Readers Encyclopedia 40)."

Etymology

"Anti - a prefix meaning against, opposed to, or opposite of, as in 'anti-aircraft' or 'anti-social'. Borrowed through Old French, or directly from Latin anti-, representing Greek anti-, from anti- against, instead. Anti- is cognate with Latin ante, in front of, Gothic and, anda- against, along, Old High German ant- against, and Old English and- against. Related in function to Old English and-, the prefix was generally confined to words such as antichrist (Antecrist), antipope (Antepope), antidot, antidotum. The formation was not popularized until the period of modern English (Barnhart 29)."

"Hero - men of superhuman strength, courage, or ability; borrowed from Latin hērōēs, plural of hērōs, from Greek hểrōs (hểrōes). The sense of the chief male character in a play, motion picture, story, etc., is first recorded in 1697.

The earliest English forms were the plural heroes and the singular heros, corresponding to the Latin. A variant singular heroe was replaced by hero in the 1600's. --heroic adj. 1549, shortening of earlier heroycus, adj. (1410), borrowing of Latin hērōicus; and of earlier heroical, adj. (probably before 1425), borrowed from Latin hērōicus, from Greek hērōïkós, from hērōs hero; for suffix see -IC. --heroine n. Before 1659 heroina demi-goddess; borrowed through French héroïne, and directly from Latin hērōïna, hērōïne, from Greek hērōīnē, feminine of hểrōs hero. --heroism n. 1717, borrowed from French héroïsme, from héros hero (from Latin hērōs); for suffix see -ISM (Barnhart 351)."

Examples

Skif, from Mercedes Lackey's Heralds of Valdemar books. (Take a Thief.)

Vanyel, from Mercedes Lackey's Heralds of Valdemar books. (The Last Herald Mage.)

Vincent Valentine, from Squaresoft/Square Enix's Final Fantasy VII.

Works Cited

Benét's Readers Encyclopedia. 4th edition. Harper Collins. 1996.

The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology. 1st edition. Harper Collins. 1995.

Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. 4th edition. Penguin Reference. 2000.