Fairytale Stock Characters-Examples

What is a stock character? A stock character is a common character type or stereotype that can be found in many different types of stories, especially fairytales. Each story won’t give them the same name, or even the same personality, but they will have a similar purpose in that story.

Some of the common stock characters that are found in fairytales are: ​ ​ ● Hero/Prince/Heroine(female hero) ○ These are usually one of the main characters of the story. They are the ones who save the day. They either rescue the princess, defeat the monster, or save the kingdom. ● Princess/Damsel ○ Also very commonly one of the main characters. Damsel is another word for woman, and many times in fairytales, the damsel is in distress, meaning they are in need of rescuing. ● Good Fool ○ This character is usually male, commonly a father, but not always. Is not evil, but allows evil people to control them or makes very unwise choices. ● Witch/Villain ○ Most fairytales have to have the bad guy, and it is very commonly an evil witch or an evil queen; not always, but more often than not, that is what they are.

For this worksheet, I want you to come up with examples of different characters from fairytales or movies that you think would fit into these different categories of fairytale stock characters. ​ For each category, I want you to come up with 3 examples. *Hint: If you are unfamiliar with ​ ​ ​ fairytales, think of Disney movies or Shrek to help you with this.

Stock Character Examples

1.

Hero/Prince/Heroine 2.

3.

1.

Princess/Damsel 2.

3.

Good Fool 1. (Only 1-2 Examples Needed) 2.

1.

Witch/Villian 2.

3.