CBSE ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE

Detailed explanation-1: -A literary foil is a character whose purpose is to accentuate or draw attention to the qualities of another character, most often the protagonist. This literary term is named after an old jewelry trick of setting a gem on a foil base to enhance its shine.

Detailed explanation-2: -A foil character by definition is a device used by writers to contrast or reflect another character – often your protagonist (main character)-by highlighting their traits, appearance, personality or morals.

Detailed explanation-3: -In any narrative, a foil is a character who contrasts with another character; typically, a character who contrasts with the protagonist, in order to better highlight or differentiate certain qualities of the protagonist. A foil to the protagonist may also be the antagonist of the plot.

Detailed explanation-4: -Foil characters are characters that contrast, in personality, to other characters. Usually, the foil character contrasts with the protagonist. They are like a photo negative of the story’s hero. So, if the hero is strong and courageous the foil character will be weak and cowardly, or visa-versa.

Detailed explanation-5: -Foil character: A character who is used to highlight the traits in another character (usually the protagonist) by displaying opposite traits him/herself. Often, but not necessarily, the antagonist.