personazh

Personazh is a term used in certain language communities to denote a character within a narrative work, including novels, plays, films, comics, and video games. A personazh may be fictional or based on real people, and it is the entity through which the audience experiences the story. Core elements of a personazh include a name, appearance, personality, backstory, and motivations, as well as the relationships and actions that connect them to other figures and to the plot.

In literary and media studies, personazhes serve various functions: they create conflict, convey themes, and provide a point of entry for audience empathy or critique. They can be classified by their role (protagonist, antagonist, supporting), by their development (dynamic vs static), and by depth of portrayal (round vs flat). The portrayal of a personazh can vary across media; a written character may be revealed through thoughts and narration, while a screen character is shown through performance, visuals, and dialogue. Some narratives feature a cast of multiple personazhies who together drive the story's arc.

The term's spelling and usage vary by language and orthography, with related forms such as personaj or personazh used in different linguistic communities to mean the same concept. See also: character (literary), protagonist, antagonist, narrative arc.