The phrase "title role" is found in colloquial speech, literary works and newspaper publications quite often, and not only in relation to theatrical and cinema productions. They talk about it when they want to emphasize the exclusivity of someone's participation in an enterprise, conflict, dispute, charity event. What is more important - the title role or the main role?
Similar in sound but different in meaning
The definitions of "main" and "uppercase" are synonyms, that is, words similar in morphological composition, but with different meanings.
The first adjective characterizes something significant, eye-catching, more substantial. For example: the main event.
The second definition is derived from the word "title", that is, it can be said about something that is contained in the title, title.
Now it’s easy to guess that the main role on the stage or in the movie is the action performed by the central character. But the title role belongs to the hero, whose name appears in the title of the play or script.
For example, a ballerina can dance the title part in the play Carmen, but not in Swan Lake.
One and more title roles
In world literature there are many works named after the names of heroes. For example: Anna Karenina, Poor Lisa, Taras Bulba, Queen Margot, Eugene Onegin, Romeo and Juliet, Ruslan and Lyudmila, Tristan and Isolda, The Master and Margarita and so on. Obviously, in the same theater productions or films there will be one or two title roles performed by actors creating images of the corresponding characters.
If the name of the hero is not present in the title, then no matter how significant this role may seem, it can only be called the main one. Take the sensational series “The Brigade”. Here the main role was played by Sergey Bezrukov. But in the film Yesenin, this popular Russian artist has a title role.
You can not talk about the presence of several capital roles in cases where the name contains collective or numerical values. For example, in the films “Three in a boat, not counting a dog”, “Seven Spartans”, “Four against the cardinal” there are only main roles, since the names or surnames of the central characters are not specified.
The use of phrases in a figurative sense
Sometimes you can hear statements like this phrase: "The main role in the formation of the individual belongs to family education." Although the sentence is perceived quite logically by ear, from the point of view of linguistics it is incorrect. We have already found out that the title is related to the title. Therefore, here and in other similar formulations, where it is necessary to emphasize the importance of an object, phenomenon or event, one should say “the main role”.
When a saying like this sounds from the lips of a literary character : “Baba Manya played a leading role in all village intrigues,” you need to understand that the writer intentionally makes a mistake while trying to convey the nuances of colloquial speech.
Therefore, there is nothing reprehensible when such turns are used in private conversations, but in official publications you still need to adhere to the established norms and rules of the Russian language.
Typical Speech Errors
The phrase "the title role in the comedy" The Inspector General "belongs to Khlestakov, which has become a stamp, contains several semantic inaccuracies. Firstly, Khlestakov is not an actor, and the protagonist of the play and roles can not perform. Secondly, there are no title roles in this stage work, as the name does not mention personal names. Thirdly, the word "role" in this context has a synonymous meaning "mission".
It would be more correct to say: "The main character of the comedy is Khlestakov" or "The main mission in the events is entrusted to Khlestakov."