Plot Development Welcome to the third and final part of the language effects. I am Lungelwa Phakathi one of your English studies lecturer.

What is Plot Development? This refers to how the plot develops from the central problem to the problem’s resolution and the aftermath. It unfolds through the following aspects. Conflict Tension Climax/Anti-climax Denouement Let us begin by recapping on a slide I have used in the past on how to analyse. In your guide you find these questions repeatedly, yet some students still struggle to respond to them effectively, so I have paraphrased them. It is important to note that no response is fully exhausted until the triangle is complete. I am going to retain the colour coding that appears here, so whenever you see this colour coding, please remember what it represents. Green is for “What”, avocado is for “How” and purple is for “Why”.

Conflict Conflict refers to the problem around which the story is centred. It comes at the beginning of the story, as the story depends on it to unfold. Do not mistake conflict for arguments or disagreements between characters with this conflict. Conflict as a literary aspect is different. This can be internal (coming from within the character) or external (coming from external forces)

Tension This is the suspense that is the result of the conflict, which means you cannot have tension before conflict has been established. In stories, you do not get one tension point, but numerous tension points keep building until the highest point of tension.

Climax This is the point when the initial conflict is resolved – it could be the problem being solved or the main character deciding how to handle the problem. At this point there should be no tension.

Anti-climax We talk of this when the conflict is not resolved. Here is an example: A man who sets off looking for his adoptive parents, in order for them to tell him who his biological parents are. After tracking them across the provinces he arrives at the place his adoptive parents are supposed to be only to find that they died some years ago. The story ends with the man sitting in a bus on the way home. In such a story there is an anti-climax because the man’s problem is not solved. At this point tension still remains, because there is no resolution or solution.

Denouement This is the aftermath. It is used as a way of concluding the story in a neat manner. At this point there is no tension. An Example: “And they lived happily ever after.”