Hero

A hero (feminine: heroine) is "a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength." In classical literature the hero is "the main or revered character in heroic epic poetry celebrated through ancient legends," and the classical hero is "a 'warrior who lives and dies in the pursuit of honor.'" The word slides in everyday use: hero is "sometimes used to describe the protagonist or the romantic interest of a story," its antonym is the villain, and Thackeray subtitled Vanity Fair "A Novel without a Hero" over Becky Sharp, "the clearly defined anti-hero."

That slide is the craft lesson: hero names a valued role, someone admired for courage or noble qualities, while the protagonist names a structural position, whoever drives the plot; a villain can hold the second and forfeit the first. The variations negotiate between the two: the antihero, the Byronic hero and the tragic hero.