Structure and form in fiction - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Structure and form in fiction

Objective 1: Key Terms and VocabularySlide2

Objectives

By the time you finish taking notes on this presentation, you should

understand the definitions of the following terms

and

be able to identify examples

of each:

Plot

Plot structure

Chronology

Nonlinear narrative

Reverse chronology

Flashback

Flash forward

In Medias Res

Stream of Consciousness

Internal MonologueSlide3

Plot

At its heart, plot is simply the term used to describe the events that make up a story.

These events should relate to each other in some way, to create a sequence.

The

structure

of a text, however, depends on how the author chooses to order the events of their plot.Slide4

Plot Structure

Most plots can be outlined using the following structure:

Exposition

Characters, setting, and conflict are introduced

Rising Action

The situation surrounding the conflict becomes complicated and the stakes are raised

Climax

The turning point of a story, when the conflict reaches its boiling point and tensions are highest

Falling Action

After the climax, when the conflict begins to be resolved

Denouement

The very ending of the story, where everything is wrapped up (or not)Slide5

Plot structure

You may have seen something like this before!

This is known as the classic “plot chart” and is a visual representation of the different stages of plot.

Pretty simple, right?Slide6

not so fast, my friend.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) there aren’t a whole lot of works of great literature that follow that plot structure strictly.

Why not?

Authors like to play around with the

chronology

of their plots.

Authors include things like

subplots

to complicate their stories.

Authors like to use techniques like

stream of consciousness

to improve characterization at the expense (sometimes) of plot.Slide7

Chronology

Chronology

refers to the

order

of events in a plot.

Nearly all plots have a chronological order –

meaning that you can order the events of the plot in the

time

order in which they happen.

For example, a plot has Events A, B, C and D which occur in that exact order.

The truth is, though, that very few novels actually present their events in exact

chronological

order.

Authors use some of the following techniques to play around with chronology in order to achieve a specific effect:

Flashback

Flash Forward

In Medias Res

Nonlinear narrative

Reverse chronologySlide8

Nonlinear narrative

A nonlinear narrative is simply any story in which the events are told out of their chronological order.

In some cases, this could mean that the story is told

completely

out of order.

In other cases, it could simply mean that the author makes use of techniques like flashbacks, flash forwards, and

in medias res

.

Nonlinear narratives can be confusing at times, because it is more difficult to follow the plot. However, it is an effective technique to emphasize specific events or scenes, or to avoid revealing aspects of a character until a particular moment.Slide9

Flashback and flash forward

A

flashback

is a common technique that authors use to manipulate the chronology of their plots.

Definition

:

The literary technique of giving an account of a conversation, an episode, or an event that happened before the main chronological sequence of the narrative

.

Flashbacks can be used to reveal crucial backstory to help develop the characters or the plot

Less commonly used is the

flash forward

Definition:

The

literary technique in which the chronological sequence of events is interrupted by the interjection of a future event

.

The purpose of flash forwards vary, though in general, they are used to reveal the outcome of an event or to create suspense and tension.Slide10

In Medias res

Literally,

in medias res

means “in the midst of things”

In the context of literature, this term refers to a story that starts in the middle of the action, usually skipping (at least at first) the

exposition

stage.

Texts that utilize

in medias res

will often use flashbacks or elements of non-linear narrative later on to fill in the missing parts of the storySlide11

Reverse chronology

The most extreme example of a narrative structure that doesn’t follow a chronological timeline are narratives that employ

reverse chronology

.

This means that the story is literally told backwards – starting with the ending (denouement) and working its way back to the beginning (exposition).

This is not a common type of story, though it is useful to know about.

A few examples:

Chris Nolan’s film

Memento

Julia Alvarez used the technique in her novel

How the Garcia Girls Lose Their Accents

Martin Amis used the technique in his novel

Time’s ArrowSlide12

Stream of consciousness

A literary technique in which the narration attempts to provide the character’s internal thought processes, often using the technique of

internal monologue

.

As with most thought, stream of consciousness sometimes does not follow logical patterns – a character might have a thought or memory triggered by something and then shift attention entirely to that thing.

This is largely used to deeply explore characters and their internal struggles and conflicts.

Authors who are well-known for their use of stream of consciousness:

Virginia Woolf

James Joyce

William Faulkner

Dave Eggers

Sylvia Plath