elements of plot defined

Elements of Plot

When we describe plot, most students will say that it is, "When so-and-so-happens, then,...." But it is more than a series of  events.  It is a pattern of all of the things that permit the story to continue.

It wasn't until Gustav Freytag (1816 - 1895), a German dramatist and novelist first described the structure for the way stories are told in ancient Greek and Shakespearean drama. He divided a play into five parts:

1. exposition
2. rising action
3. climax
4. falling action
5. resolution and denouement

The exposition contains all of the necessary background information that is needed to understand the story. This information can include the characters, setting, etc.. The dramatic situation is usually placed here-- the conflict under which the characters are motivated and their obstacles they have to overcome.

The rising action is what happens before the climax. The rising contains complications--anything that changes the motivation or obstacles of the characters: another bad guy is introduced, the hero is cast adrift to deal with new problems, etc.

The climax is considered the highest point of interest of the story. This is where all the action of the story reaches a peak. It is usually the moment of greatest tension. The crisis can be considered the complication right before the climax, or can also be used as another name for climax.

Falling Action
The falling action deals with events which occur right after the climax. These events are usually the after-effects of the climax.

Resolution/Denouement
This is the end of the falling action and the conclusion to the story. Denouement comes from the French word, denoer, which meant "to untie". The denouement is the "unraveling or untying" of the plot.