Characterisation and narrative voice – WJECWhat is characterisation?

Characters in texts are developed through what they say and do, and the language used to describe them. Voice means the tone of a narrative.

Part ofEnglish LanguageAnalysing fiction

What is characterisation?

Characterisation is the way authors create characters and make them believable. When writing about texts, it is easy to treat characters as real people. Try to remember that the author is creating characters using language.

Think about the set of characters in a text:

  • What are the characters like?
  • How you know this?
  • What do the characters say ()?
  • How are they described?
  • How are they seen by other characters?
  • What happens to them at the end of their story?
Colin Firth playing Mr Darcy. He is wearing a black jacket, white shirt and looking at the camera with a serious expression.
Image caption,
Colin Firth playing Darcy in the BBC adaptation of 'Pride and Prejudice' in 1995