How the author Builds Series of Interesting

Characters
Three musketeers
by Alexandre Dumas

Date: 19-23-9-
Learning
Objective
 To create a profile for a
character which can then be
used in writing.
 To compare and contrast
characters of choice using a
Venn diagram.
Characters and
characterization
Characterization
Definition
Characterization is a literary
device that is used step-by-step
in literature to highlight and
explain the details about a
character in a story. It is in the
initial stage in which the writer
introduces the character with
noticeable emergence. After
introducing the character, the
writer often talks about his
 D'Artagnan

•The central character of the novel,

d'Artagnan is a young,
impoverished Gascon nobleman
who comes to make his fortune in
Paris. He is brave, noble,
ambitious, crafty, and intelligent.
Like any romantic hero, he is
driven by love and ruled by
chivalry, but occasionally prone to
I may not wear the tunic, but I fall into amoral behaviour.
believe I have the heart of a
Musketeer.
 Athos

The most important of the Three

Musketeers, Athos is something
of a father figure to d'Artagnan.
Athos is distinguished in every
way--intellect, appearance,
bravery, swordsmanship--yet he
is tortured by a deep
melancholy, the source of which
our manners have not no one knows.
improved yet. You're late.
 Porthos

•Porthos, the third of

the Three Musketeers,
is loud, brash, and
self-important. He is
extremely vain and
enjoys outfitting
himself handsomely;
but for all that, he is a
valiant fighter and a
courageous friend. His
mistress is Madame
Ah ha! The Cardinal's
Coquenard, the wife of
a wealthy attorney. sacred snack chamber.
 Aramis

A young Musketeer, one of the

great Three. Aramis is a
handsome young man, quiet
and somewhat foppish. He
constantly protests that he is
only temporarily in the
Musketeers, and that any day
now he will return to the
Church to pursue his true
calling. Aramis has a
mysterious mistress, Madame
de Chevreuse, a high
noblewoman, whose existence "Porthos, you are as vain as
and identity he tries to keep Narcissus; I plainly tell you so,"
from his friends.
Lady de Winter

•A mysterious, beautiful,
dangerous, and ultimately evil
Cardinalist agent. D'Artagnan
becomes obsessed with her,
but eventually she and the
Musketeers become fierce
adversaries. Milady has a
secret, and she kills anyone
who finds it out--her left
shoulder is branded with the On the contrary. I have no issues with you
Fleur-de-Lis, a mark put on the killing Athos, but if it's all the same to
worst criminals. you, I'd rather not watch him die.
 Madame
Bonacieux

Wife of Monsieur Bonacieux

and lady-in-waiting for Queen
Anne. Madame Bonacieux is
loyal to the Queen through
and through. D'Artagnan falls
in love with her, and in doing
so gets involved in the
Queen's secret affairs.

Look, D'Artagnan. You may

have a new set of clothes and
the King's favour, but you still
act like a clumsy country boy.
Now excuse me.
 Monsieur
Bonacieux
D'Artagnan's landlord, and Madame
Bonacieux's husband. He originally comes
to d'Artagnan for help when Madame
Bonacieux is kidnapped, but after a
private audience with the Cardinal, turns
on his wife and becomes a Cardinalist
agent.
He is over twice his wife’s age. He is also
cowardly, stingy, selfish, and basically
betrays his wife in exchange for the
Cardinal’s good favour. No wonder
Constance fell in love with D’Artagnan so The Bastille! Well, I tell you, I don't want to
quickly. Monsieur Bonacieux is practically go to the Bastille! Because it's got very deep
a caricature designed to have us rooting dungeons and terrible instruments of torture
for the young, handsome, and brave operated by very unsympathetic men! And
D’Artagnan to win the girl. they snip very important parts off people!
Monsieur de
Treville
•The head of the King's
Musketeers. Monsieur de
Treville is an honorable and
distinguished gentleman, and
close friend to the King. He
treats all his Musketeers as
his sons, and is an important
figure of support for the
young d'Artagnan. He is a
rival of Cardinal Richelieu for
favor and influence with the
King.

our father says that you carry his old sword,

M. D'Artagnan.
 King Louis XIII

King of France. Louis XIII is

not much of a ruler, and is
dominated by his advisors,
most notably Cardinal
Richelieu, the most
powerful man in France. He
is a petulant and petty
person, and those around
him who are most
This world is an uncertain realm, successful are those who
filled with danger. Honor undermined
by the pursuit of power, freedom
have learned to
sacrificed when the weak are
oppressed by the strong. But there
are those who oppose these
powerful forces, who dedicate their
lives to truth, honor and freedom.
These men are known as
Cardinal Richelieu

The King's most influential

advisor, Richelieu is the
most powerful and important
man in France. He is
furiously self-absorbed, but
also an extremely effective
leader of the state. Richelieu
works hard to maintain the
reputation and power of the
king, since this is the stock You of all people should know that the
on which his own status is Cardinal does not answer to the laws of
based. men.
 Queen Anne
•Queen of France. Anne is
Spanish, and her loyalties
are divided between her
Spanish heritage, her
position as Queen of France,
and her love for George
Villiers, the Duke of
Buckingham. The King does
not trust her, or particularly
like her, and the Cardinal I'm not sure the King shares your
hates her. Anne leads an opinion. We've barely spoken since
our wedding day. Whenever we're
unhappy life in the court. together he seems so... uncertain.
 George Villiers, the Duke of
Buckingham

•Favorite and Minister of War for

King Charles I of England.
Buckingham is the perfect English
gentleman, handsome, witty, brave,
wealthy, and powerful. He is
desperately in love with Anne of
Austria, who, more reservedly,
returns his affections. Throughout
the novel, Buckingham's only
motivation is to see and please
Anne.
Every time I see you is a fresh
diamond which I enclose in the
casket of my heart.
Lord de Winter
•Lady de Winter's brother-
in-law. Lord de Winter is a
foppish gentlemen, not
given to intrigue or action,
but he rises to the
occasion when more is
demanded of him toward
the end of the novel.
Comte de
Rochefort

The Cardinal's
private spy, a
dangerous man.
 Assignment

With the use of a Venn

diagram, compare and
contrast any two characters
of you choice