Plot Flashcards
Individual event or series of events depicted in a literal work
Action
If the other story begins in the middle of the action?
in medias res
In medias res: If the fictional past inserted into fictional present
flashbacks
In medias res: If the fictional future inserted into fictional present
flashforward
distinct action or series of actions within a plot
episode
Hint or clue about what will happen later of the plot
Foreshadowing
Secondary plot in a work of fiction or drama
Subplot
A specific discrete moment portrayed in a fictional work: “The day before Maggie fell down…”
Discriminated occasion
The first part of the plot, which sets the scene, introduce or identifies characters.
Exposition
Second part of the plot which complicates the situation
Rising action
The action sets the plot in motion by creating conflict.
Inciting incident
An action or event which introduces a new conflict especially during the rising action phrase
Complication
Decisive moment, emotional intensity, and the point which actions stop rising and begin falling
Climax / Turning point
Sudden revelation of truth, often inspired by a seemingly simple or commonplace event.
Epiphany
In plot, the moment when the conflict comes to a head, often requiring the character to make a decision
Crisis
Any improbable, unprepared-for-plot contrivance introduced late in a literary work to resolve the conflict.
deus ex machina
Fourth of the five phases or parts of the plot, in which the conflict or conflicts move toward resolution.
Falling action
The situation that was destabilized at the beginning becomes stable once more and the conflict is resolved
Conclusion
tying up loose ends and often describing what happens to the characters after the resolution of the conflict
Epilogue
A synonym for a falling action, conclusion, or resolution.
Denouement
A brief recounting of the principal action of work of drama, fiction, or narrative poetry. Ordering, Selection of actions—significance
Plot summary
4 common Plot Types?
Quest
Tragedy
Comedy
epic
A traditional way of expressing something, or a traditional or characteristic feature of a particular literary genre or subgenre
Convention
