Plot:
- A literary term used to describe the events that make up a story or the main part of a story. These events relate to each other in a pattern or a sequence. The structure of a novel depends on the organization of events in the plot of the story.
- The term plot refers to the way a story unfolds in text or the way in which the story was written.
- According to Aristotle (384-322 BC), a plot (mythos) needs to have a beginning, middle, and end.
- To analysis, a plotline is divided into four main stages:
- Exposition: This is the beginning of the story, where the characters and setting are established. The conflict or main problem is introduced as well.
- Complication or Conflict: Is the struggle or clash between opposing characters or force? A conflict is an event, circumstance, person, or personal characteristic that stands in the way of a character pursuing a goal, even if that goal is simply survival.
- Climax: The climax occurs when the conflict is at its peak and when there seems to be no viable solution to the conflict. In the climax or the main point of the plot, there is a turning point in the story. This is meant to be the moment of highest interest and emotion, leaving the reader wondering what is going to happen next.
- Resolution/ Denouement: When the conflict has been solved and usually indicates the ending and possibly even a happy ending.
- Traditional drama, fiction and film normally rely on this basic plot structure.
Flashback:
- A way of presenting something that took place in the past.
For example, in the oldest surviving epic Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest part of which go back to the third millennium BC works with these techniques. The third-person narration by Utnaphisti, a figure who clearly resembles the Biblical Noah, relates the story of the great flood as an elaborate flashback.
Foreshadowing:
- Foreshadowing gives hints or clues about events that occur in the past.
For example, Billy Wilder’s (1906-2002) Sunset Boulevard (1950): in a voice-over, the first person narrator posthumously relates the events that lead to his death while the dead body is drifting in the swimming pool.
Types of plot:
- Linear Plot: A linear plot consists of a series of events that have a clear beginning, middle and end. A plot in which time is followed or events is going on in sequence according to time.
- Non-Linear Plot: A plot in which time is not followed or events are not going in sequence.
Character:
- These are the person or animals involved in a story in order to entertain and show us some truth about human experience and ourselves.
Types of character:
- Flat Character/typified character: A character whose personality can be defined in one or two traits and does not change in the course of study.
For Example Benvolio from Romeo and Juliet (By William Shakespeare)
Benvolio is another flat character, who remains unchanged throughout the play. He is temperate, solid, and loyal, he always tries to maintain peace and harmony between the two families. Benvolio’s purpose is to support Romeo to get married to Juliet. However, the irony is that others accuse him of his hot temperament and wild attitude.
- Round character: A round character is a character whose personality is complex and multi-dimensional and changes throughout the story.
For Example Romeo from Romeo and Juliet (By William Shakespeare)
Romeo is a round character, who undergoes significant changes throughout the play. He starts as a lovesick youth who pines for Rosaline but then falls in love with Juliet at first sight. He becomes passionate, impulsive, and romantic, willing to risk everything for his love. He also becomes violent, killing Tybalt and Paris in revenge for Mercutio’s death and Juliet’s supposed death. He finally kills himself when he thinks Juliet is dead, showing his tragic flaw of rashness.