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{{For|the 2007 documentary|Protagonist (film)}}

A '''protagonist''' (from the [[Greek language|Greek]] {{Polytonic|πρωταγωνιστής}} ''protagonistes'', "one who plays the first part, chief actor"<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dprwtagwnisth%2Fs πρωταγωνιστής], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus Digital Library, and [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=protagonist&searchmode=none Online Etymology Dictionary].</ref>) is the main [[Character (arts)|character]] (the central or primary personal figure) of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical [[narrative]], around whom the events of the narrative's [[Plot (narrative)|plot]] revolve and with whom the [[audience]] is intended to share the most [[empathy]]. In the [[theatre of Ancient Greece]], three actors played all of the main dramatic roles in a [[tragedy]]; the leading role was played by the protagonist, while the other roles were played by [[deuteragonist]] and the tritagonist.

The terms ''protagonist'', ''main character'' and ''hero'' are variously defined and, depending on the source, may denote different concepts. In fiction, the story of the protagonist may be told from the perspective of a different character (who may also, but not necessarily, be the [[narrator]]). An example would be a narrator who relates the fate of several protagonists, perhaps as prominent figures recalled in a biographical perspective. Often, the protagonist in a [[narrative]] is also the same person as the [[focal character]], though the two terms are distinct. Excitement and intrigue alone is what the audience feels toward a focal character, while a sense of empathy about his/her objectives and emotions is what the audience feels toward the protagonist. He/she is often referred to as the "good guy." However, it is entirely possible for a story's protagonist to clearly be the villain, or [[antihero]], of the piece, as is evident with characters like [[Vic Mackey]] (from ''[[The Shield]]''), [[Tony Soprano]] (''[[The Sopranos]]''), [[Breaking Bad|Walter White]] (''[[Breaking Bad]]''), [[Invader ZIM|ZIM]] (''[[Invader ZIM]]''), [[Fox Mulder]] and [[Dana Scully]] (''[[The X-Files]]''), and [[Gregory House]] (''[[House]]'').

The principal opponent of the protagonist is a character known as the [[antagonist]], who represents or creates obstacles that the protagonist(s) must overcome. As with protagonists, there may be more than one antagonist in a story. Also the antagonist can sometimes actually be the hero, such as ''The Shield'''s [[Internal affairs (law enforcement)|Internal Affairs]] officers, and [[FBI]] agents, police officers from ''The Sopranos'' and [[Dib (Invader Zim)|Dib]] (''[[Invader ZIM]]'')

Sometimes, a work will offer a particular character as the protagonist, only to dispose of that character unexpectedly, as a [[dramatic device]]. Such a character is called a [[false protagonist]]. Marion in [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]'' (1960) is a famous example.

When the work contains [[subplot]]s, these may have different protagonists from the main plot. In some novels, the protagonists may be impossible to identify, because multiple plots in the novel do not permit clear identification of one as the main plot, such as in [[Alexander Solzhenitsyn]]'s ''[[The First Circle]]'', depicting a variety of characters imprisoned and living in a [[gulag]] camp, or in [[Leo Tolstoy]]'s ''[[War and Peace]]'', depicting 15 major characters involved in or affected by a war.

In [[psychodrama]], the "protagonist" is the person (group member, patient or client) who decides to enact some significant aspect of his life, experiences or relationships on stage with the help of the [[psychodrama director]] and other group members, taking supplementary roles as auxiliary egos.

Sometimes, antagonists and protagonists may overlap, depending on what their ultimate objectives are considered to be.

== References ==
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[[Category:Ancient Greek theatre]]
[[Category:Characters by role in the narrative structure]]
[[Category:Greek loanwords]]
[[Category:Protagonists by role| ]]
[[Category:Psychotherapy]]
[[Category:Psychodrama]]

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