What is Etopoeia:
The etopeia it’s a rhetorical device that consists of the description of the character, actions, customs and other intrinsic aspects that determine the personality of an individual.
The word, as such, comes from the Greek ἠθοποιΐα (ethhopoeia), which is composed with ethoswhich translates ‘way of doing things’; poieinwhich means ‘create’, ‘imitate’, ‘describe’, and the suffix -iawhich indicates ‘action or quality’.
Thus, etopeia is the description through which the set of internal characteristics (psychological, moral, spiritual) of a character is made known.
In this sense, it differs from the prosopographywhich is the description of the external characteristics of a character, that is, their physical features.
See also Prosopography.
The ethopeia, as such, is a literary construction technique which allows us to refer to the most notable or outstanding characteristics of a character regarding the plot in which he is immersed. Additionally, it helps us understand what this character is like, and how he would act or react in a given situation.
To approach an etopeia, we can use a series of traits from which someone’s way of being can be configured. For example, talk about your virtues and defects, your likes and hobbies, your affections and disaffections, your beliefs and prejudices, your way of seeing life and the world, etc.
Miguel de Cervantes, For examplein its Quixotedraws an epic of the eponymous hero of this novel when he says: “[…] It is, therefore, worth knowing that this aforementioned gentleman, in the moments he was idle—which were the most of the year—was given to reading books of chivalry, with such fondness and pleasure, that he almost completely forgot the exercise of hunting. and even the administration of his estate […]”.
See also Literary Figures.