Anti-hero: Difference between revisions

Anti-heroes normally share characteristics such as being "incompetent, unlucky, tactless, clumsy, cock-handed, stupid, buffoonish (Literary Terms & Literary Theory 42-43)." Even though the anti-hero normally has one or more of these characteristics, the reader is still drawn into feeling sympathetic for the anti-hero.  

In the early days of literature, the anti-hero was rarely seen, yet now the anti-hero is seen more and more frequently. 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)."

"'''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)."

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)."