Transcript Document

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.
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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
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 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.
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Freytag’s Pyramid
German playwright Gustav Freytag drew a
pyramid to illustrate the events of a
dramatic plot:
Crisis
Complication
(Rising
action)
(Falling
action)
Resolution/Dénouement
Exposition
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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).
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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
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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”).
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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).
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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..
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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?
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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.
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CREDITS
 Developed and prepared by Dr. Linda
Lovell
 NorthWest Arkansas Community
College
 http://faculty.nwacc.edu/ljlovell
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