Sunday 30 November 2014

dramaturgy or meme-base

An aspiring thespian and student of Aristotle named Theophrastus devised a list of archetypal and stock-characters. While it may not be predictive of every aspect of human nature—as their ought to be as well a generic Misogynist, the Fan-Boy and the Xenophobe—and alternately, many positive qualities that probably are not very exciting are absent, it seems to be pretty complete, same-otherwise, and you could certainly apply the same template to a lot of modern means of expression, though the Greek makes the caricatures sound especially harsh:

The Insincere One (Eironeia, irony) The Flatterer (Kolakeia, the shit-sayer) The Garrulous One (Adoleschia, the Sophomoric One)


The Boor (Agroikia, the Skeptic) The Complacent One (Areskeia, the Inactive One) The One without Moral Feeling (Aponoia, the Psychopath)
The Talkative One (Lalia, Chatty-Cathy) The Fabricator (Logopoiia, the Wordsmith) The Shamelessly Greedy One (Anaischuntia, shunning society)


The Pennypincher (Mikrologia, Scrooge)
The Offensive One (Bdeluria, who sides towards delusion)
The Hapless One (Akairia, the Unlucky One)


The Officious Man (Periergia, just like a Boss)
The Absent-Minded One (Anaisthesia, the Selective One)
The Unsociable One (Authadeia, the Loner)


The Superstitious One (Deisidaimonia, the staunch conventionalist)
The Faultfinder (Mempsimoiria, the vulnernable one with something to prove)
The Suspicious One (Apistia, the conspiracy theorist)
The Repulsive One (Duschereia, poor hygiene)
The Unpleasant One (Aedia, the jaded, the scapegoat)
The One with Petty Ambition (Mikrophilotimia, the vain)
The Stingy One (Aneleutheria, the ungrateful child)
The Show-Off (Alazoneia, the dare-devil)
The Arrogant One (Huperephania, the by-stander)


The Coward (Deilia, the nostalgic soul)
The Oligarchical One (Oligarchia, the Untouchable)
The Late Learner (Opsimathia)
The Slanderer (Kakologia)
The Lover of Bad Company (Philoponeria)
The Basely Covetous Man (Aischrokerdeia)