The Impact of External Influences on Character Development

The Impact of External Influences on Character Development

It has been said that individuals define themselves by their relationship to others. If so, the identities of characters in literary works are also determined by external influences, such as religious influences, social expectation, codes of behavior, and familial or political loyalties because these external influences alter or affect the individual’s sense of identity and purpose. To prove this thesis, this essay analyzes major characters from the works Beowulf, Paradise Lost, and King Lear and the relation of their development as characters to developing external influences within their works.