First, we have a character arch that is downward. This character arch is called a "tragedy". History and fiction have many tragedies. Julius Caesar in real life and in the Shakespeare play is a tragedy. Adolf Hitler lived a tragic life. Richard Nixon as the President was a tragic character. King Lear and Macbeth are both tragedies, in that the main character goes on a downward path in their story.
In the Bible there are a few characters that fit into the tragedy character arch. Judas is the greatest tragedy in the Bible. Old Testament characters like Saul, Gideon, and Samson all fall under the tragedy character arch. These are the main characters in their story. They function as the protagonist in their stories. Yet every step they take just leads them down the ultimate path of failure and misery. Each of these Biblical characters does not live out their faith and as a result, their lives all end on a negative tone. Seeing these characters and understanding them as tragedies, is important for correct interpretation of their stories.
Second, we have the upward character arch. This character arch is called a "comedy". I know comedy sounds like it should be a character that brings laughter or funny jokes to a story. But in the historical use of the word comedy and characters, it refers to the character that goes on an upward path and ends his story on a high note. Famous characters that have a "comedy" arch are; Tom Sawyer, Frodo Baggins, George Washington, and Dick Winters. These are all fictional or historical characters that had their arch as characters go upward and end on a high note.
The Bible has a long list of characters that go on the comedic character arch. King David and Noah are two characters that are both "comedies". Joseph is one of the clearest arch in the Bible as a comedy. Peter and Paul are both New Testament characters that go on the upward path, even as they make mistakes and stumble at times.
One of the most interesting character arch connections is David and Saul. Saul is a tragedy. David is a comedy. Yet beginning in 1 Samuel and finishing in 2 Samuel, these character arch overlap. As Saul falls as a character, in his tragedy, David rises as a character in his comedy. The overlapping of Saul and David is a great place to see the movement of characters in their arch and see how the trajectory of their lives, dictates each moment. And in turn, these two characters are meant to be compared.
This point is why it is helpful to know a character's arch. We know Saul is a tragedy. So we expect him to fail. Then as he fails in a lack of faith, we see his unbelief make bad choices. Saul never repents. Saul never falls before God in faith. Saul is a character that goes from bad to worse to evil. And as a tragedy we expect this. The entire time Saul is failing, David on the other hand is rising in faith. Yes David makes some big mistakes. But David is a comedy, so we expect him to right his mistakes in faith and repentance. David does. David, as a comedy, responds with faith and repentance and does not stay on the downward path. And we know this of David because his arch as a character is a comedy.
So next time you are reading a story in the Bible, think about the character in the story. Is the main character a tragedy or a comedy? Does the main character in the story go in an upward path in his/her life? Or does the character lack faith and live out his/her unbelief and go on a downward path? Thinking through the arch of the characters life will help interpret the individual story of the character correctly. Let us delight in the hard work it takes to know the characters in God's Word.
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