1/31/13

     In literature, characters are based from a few key types. These types are the following: protagonist, antagonist, hero, anti-hero, and foil. Each of these have a different meaning, which is what makes the characters different. In The Magic Flute characters fulfill these defining meanings. I will discuss the five main characters of the opera, who are Tamino, Pamina, Papageno, Sarastro, and the queen, and I will discuss which character fills the role of the key types.
     The first type is the most important character of the opera, the protagonist. A protagonist is the main character of the opera. Without the protagonist, the opera would lose the main purpose of the story. The protagonist is what the opera is mostly about. Now I am not saying that the opera wouldn't exist without the protagonist, but many people would lose interest if they had to focus on a lot of other characters rather than keeping focused mainly on the protagonist. In The Magic Flute I believe that Tamino and Pamina are the protagonists. They are the main characters that we focus on throughout the opera. The opera is about how each of them gain enlightenment and find love. They are the main focus of the opera.
     The second type is the antagonist. The antagonist is basically the bad guy or opposite of the protagonist. They spend their time plotting against the protagonist. Without the antagonist, the story wouldn't be as good. As humans we love drama and suspense without the antagonist the story would lose most of these qualities. The Queen of the Night(The Magic Flute) fits these characteristics. She is against Tamino and Pamina because they seek enlightenment from the Initiated and she doesn't want them to find enlightenment, but to stay where they were. She tries to get them to kill Sarastro, who is just trying to help them find enlightenment.
     The third type is the hero. The hero is a person who is endowed with power or a great task, like Tamino. He is endowed with the powers of the magic flute. Tamino and goes to save Pamina from Sarastro, but later finds out that he is good. He completes his mission because Pamina is saved from herself. Another hero in The Magic Flute is Sarastro. He is a priest or wise man, and he has chosen to help Tamino and Pamina find enlightenment. He helps save both of them from themselves.
     The fourth type is the anit-hero. The antihero is a character who has some qualities like the antagonist, but has some of the qualities of the hero as well. In this opera, the anti-hero is Papageno in my opinion. He has some qualities like Tamino, but lacks the resolve to be as great as Tamino. An example of this is when he is seen babbling when he should have remained silent. He only wanted to be happy, not enlightened like Tamino.
     The fifth type is the foil character. A foil is a character who is just used to help make another character look better. In The Magic flute an example of a foil character is Papageno. He is in the play in my opinion just to make Tamino look more like a man. He wasn't able to keep silent in the trials, and Tamino was able too. Papageno wasn't allowed to join the Initiated, but Tamino was. Papageno was just a character created to make Tamino look better than he already was.
     In conclusion, characters are important to making an opera, or story of any kind. Without different character types the story would be boring and no one would stay interested. Each type of character helps make the story interesting.