Literary Elements Plot is a structure of events arising out of a conflict in a story (“Plot”). Rather than simply defining plot as the events in a story, i.e., “what happens,” Kennedy & Gioia define plot as “the artistic arrangement of those events” (10). When writing about plot, focus on the arrangement of events. 11/29/2018

Stages of a Plot: Exposition, Complication, Crisis, Resolution/Dénouement Exposition: the opening portion of a story which sets the scene, introduces the main characters, tells us what happened before the story opened, and provides any other needed background information. Complication or conflict: any story needs some sort of conflict. Here are the major types of conflict which can occur: person vs. person person vs. society person vs. nature person vs. self 11/29/2018

Rising and Falling Action Crisis: a moment of greatest tension, the high point of crisis in a story, when the outcome is to be decided. Resolution/Dénouement: the outcome or conclusion; literally, dénouement means the “untying of the knot,” an “unraveling,” for an explanation or tying up of loose ends. _________________________________________________ Rising and Falling Action The part of a structure before the crisis is called Rising Action, while the part after the crisis is Falling Action. 11/29/2018

Freytag’s Pyramid German playwright Gustav Freytag drew a pyramid to illustrate the events of a dramatic plot: Crisis Complication (Falling (Rising action) action) Resolution/Dénouement Exposition 11/29/2018

Plot Devices Events in a story are causally related -- that is, one event causes the next, which causes the next and so on to the end of the story. But some stories do not contain these parts in the same order. Or authors may use various plot devices to add interest or create complexity to the story or to advance the plot. The following pages show seven of these devices (Holman). 11/29/2018

Plot devices In medias res: an author may begin the story “in the middle of things,” in the middle of the story. Flashback: an author may include a section in the story which interrupts the normal chronological flow of events to present an event from an earlier time 11/29/2018

more plot devices . . . Foreshadowing: Clues given which hint about events that have not yet occurred Deus ex machina: (Day-oose ex makina)“God from the machine” – use of an unlikely or improbable event to make a story turn out right. In Greek theatre, “Gods” intervened to “right” the plot. They were brought onto the stage by a machine -- the stage works -- from above. (“Deus ex machina”). 11/29/2018

more plot devices . . . Subplot: authors may include a secondary or subplot (“underplot”) which tells another story and provides interest and complexity to the main story’s plot. Suspense: the creation of a feeling of anxious uncertainty about the outcome of events Surprise Ending: an unexpected event occurs at the end of the story. Sometimes when you analyze a story's plot you may discover a "false” climax and resolution leading to the surprise ending (when the real climax and resolution are revealed). 11/29/2018

Avoid Retelling the Story Although it is important to know what events occur in any story, writing about literature requires only a minimal amount of retelling the plot. If you feel that readers need a review or basic information about the plot, write a very brief sentence or two in the first paragraph which offers a general overview of the plot. Do not write an essay which simply retells what happens in a story. Be especially alert to this danger if you organize an essay in chronological order, discussing one story event after another in the same narrative order the author has used.. 11/29/2018

Writing About Plot If you really want to write about the plot, focus your essay on the arrangement of the story’s events, i.e., what is important about the arrangement? Is there some aspect of the order of events which is of interest? How do the order or plot stages or devices (the story’s structure) affect the way readers might interpret the story? Is foreshadowing important? Are flashbacks used? Does the story’s arrangement of events seem unusual? In what way? Is there a subplot? Does the story begin in medias res? Does the lack of a complete exposition create any effect? Are prior events of great importance? Does the author withhold important information, and if so, why, to what end? 11/29/2018

For more info Read Literature and the Writing Process, Chapter 5, on structure. Works Cited “Deus ex machina.” A Handbook to Literature. Holman, C. Hugh and William Harmon, eds. New York: MacMillan, 1986. Kennedy, X. J. and Dana Gioia, eds. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. New York: Longman, 1999. 9-10. “Plot.” A Handbook to Literature. Holman, C. Hugh and William Harmon, eds. New York: MacMillan, 1986. 11/29/2018

CREDITS Developed and prepared by Dr. Linda Lovell NorthWest Arkansas Community College http://faculty.nwacc.edu/ljlovell 11/29/2018