A LOOK AT FREYTAG’S PYRAMID AND VARIOUS TECHNIQUES EMPLOYED IN

FICTION

Intro to Fiction

All the Stuff that Happens…

PLOT refers to the events that take place in a story.

The plot is set in motion by conflicts either between characters or internally within a character.

The plot of a story is measured by what is known as Freytag’s Pyramid.

FREYTAG’S PYRAMID

The exposition is the introduction to the characters. This is a crucial time in the plot because it makes or breaks the story. The inciting incident or conflict is when the main problem of the story is introduced. The rising action is the building up of the conflict. The rising action is usually the bulk of a story. The climax is the big moment or turning point of the story. The falling action or denouement is the action after the climax that leads to the resolution. The resolution is when the conflict or inciting incident is resolved.

Types of Conflicts

Internal Conflicts take place entirely within a character’s own mind. This can be a simple as choosing between an apple and a candy bar or as complex as self-discovery.

External Conflicts occurs when a character struggles with an outside force (people, animals, nature, robots, etc.)

And This Plot Is Starring…

CHARACTERS are the stars of the story. The development of the characters is called a characterization. Characterizations can be either direct or indirect, meaning the author either describes the character outright or allows the reader the freedom to create the character in his mind.

In indirect characterizations, the author describes what a character looks like, does, and says, as well as relationships with other characters. It’s up to the reader to draw conclusions from that information.

Types of Characters

The protagonist of a story is the main character. Usually the reader feels some sort of empathy towards him, but not always.

The antagonist of a story can come in many different forms: Another person A force of nature A situation Fate Society The protagonist

himself

The main conflict of the plot is generally between the protagonist and the antagonist. Figuring these

out will help you identify the main conflict.

DYNAMIC CHARACTERS

STATIC CHARACTERS

Dynamic characters change and grow during some part of the story. These are generally the main characters.

Static characters remain the same throughout the story. These are generally minor characters, but sometimes a character is static to show either in contrast to the constant change of the dynamic characters or as a solid role model for the main character.

Types of Characters

FLAT CHARACTERS ROUND CHARACTERS

A flat character is just as the name suggests – flat. This character is one-dimensional. The reader only sees one side of this character.

A round character is multi-dimensional. We see many different sides of this character.

Types of Characters

Think about why a character would be flat or round. What

could that tell us about his or her role in the story?

CHARACTER FOILS STEREOTYPES

A foil is a character that is used as a contrast to another character. An author uses a foil to accentuate and clarify the distinct qualities of two characters.

A stereotype is a fixed idea or conception of a character that does not allow for any individuality.

Types of Characters

A Dark and Stormy Night Indeed…

SETTING is the time and place the events of a story occur. The setting is important because oftentimes the time and place have a huge impact on how the events of a story unfold.

All That Emotional Stuff

The tone of a story is the attitude a writer takes toward the audience, a subject, or a character.

The mood is the feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage. The mood is often suggested with descriptive details.

Finding the theme…

THEME is the central idea or message of a work of literature. Themes are generally universal ideas or morals that can be applied to any story. Themes are very seldom stated directly; rather, the reader must infer the theme from the information read.

Other Fictional Elements

Foreshadowing is the use of clues that hint at events that will occur later in the plot.

Symbolism is a person, a place, a thing, or an event that stands for itself and for something beyond itself.

Imagery is language that appeals to the senses.

An allusion is a reference to a statement, person, place, or event from literature, history, religion, myth, politics, sports, science, or pop culture.

A flashback is a scene that interrupts the present action of the plot to “flash” backward and tell what happened at an earlier time.

Irony is a contrast or discrepancy between expectation and reality. There are three types of irony. Verbal – A writer or speaker says one

thing but really means something completely different.

Situational – There is a contrast between what would seem appropriate and what happens.

Dramatic – The audience or reader knows something important that a character in a story or play does not know.

Who’s Talking Here, Anyway?

POINT OF VIEW is the relationship between the narrator and what’s going on in the story. There are three main types of P.O.V. in literature: First Person means the story

is told by a character in it and the pronoun “I” is used frequently.

Third Person Limited means a narrator is telling the story as one character perceives it.

Third Person Omniscient means a narrator who knows all the characters thoughts and feelings is telling the story.

Now try it on your own…

Think of a movie or book that you enjoy. On a scrap piece of paper, describe the plot and characters of the work using Freytag’s Pyramid as a model.

Exposition

We are introduced to this ogre named Shrek who loves his swampy home and his privacy. Shrek seems likeable enough to the audience, with his “bubbly” mud baths, but it is obvious the people of the nearby town do not like him. He could not care less, he just loves life!

The Conflict

Shrek’s paradise of solitude in the swamp is destroyed by the unwelcome relocation of all sorts of fairytale creatures to his yard, one of which is Donkey, who vows to help Shrek get to Duloc to be granted his land by the evil Lord Farquaad.

Rising Action

Lord Farquaad tells Shrek he must rescue a princess for the Lord, a princess that is locked in a tower guarded by a dragon. Shrek does this, and journeys back home with Donkey and the princess Fiona in hopes of having his home returned back to its peaceful state.

Still Rising Action, and New Conflict!

As a result of his saving her and their ample time spent together, Shrek and Fiona fall in love. However, she has withheld a secret from him that changes their lives forever.

The Climax

Shrek finds out Fiona’s secret that she is actually an ogre on the day she is to wed Lord Farquaad. This changes everything; they will be allowed to be together now!

Falling Action or Denouement

Lord Farquaad is defeated by Shrek and Donkey and a companion they have picked up along the way, Dragon, and Shrek and Fiona are left to live happily ever after…

Resolution

…which they do!