Elements of Plot

Elements of Plot

Basic Elements of the Plot

• Exposition/Introduction

• Rising Action

• Climax

• Falling Action

• Characters

• Setting

• Theme

Characters

• Protagonist (main character)

• Antagonist (opposes the main character)

• Supporting Characters

• Love Interest

• Foil

Setting

• Time and place

• Can help create the conflict (is the setting dangerous or hostile to the characters in the story?)

Theme

• A theme is an observation about some aspect of life or human experience. It can be summarized as a single sentence.

• Theme = topic + observation about the topic.

• For example, a thematic topic in A Midsummer Night's Dream is love. A theme of the play would be what the story tell us about that topic.

• When you are writing a story, adding a theme helps give it weight and make it more memorable to the person reading it.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is a theme about love from A Midsummer Night's Dream?

• Love

• Hermia and Lysander are in love.

• All people will fall in love and act foolishly.

• Love can cause people to act foolishly.

Exposition

• Introduction to the characters and the setting

• Introduce the conflict.

Rising Action

• The longest part of the story.

• Begins with an inciting incident--- something that sets the events of the story into motion.

• Involves a series of conflicts that escalate, or get more challenging, as the story progresses.

Climax

• This is the moment of greatest tension and excitement in a story.

• It often involves the character making an important decision that will change everything.

Falling Action

• This is where the conflict in the story is resolved.

Resolution/Denouement

The ending of your story. What happens to your characters?

Now you're going to write your own story...