3. Upon the completion of this section, you will
be able to:
1. To define "plot" as an element of drama
2. To summarize the development of the
understanding of the dramatic structure from
Aristotle to modern times.
3. To recognize the parts Freytag's pyramid of
the development of dramatic plot.
4. To state the main criticism to Freytag's
pyramid.
5. To apply Freytag's pyramid on a story line.
5. Plot is a literary term for the events a
story comprises, particularly as they
relate to one another in a pattern, a
sequence, through cause and effect, or
by coincidence.
It is the artistic arrangement of a
sequence of events.
6. Dramatic structure is the structure of
a dramatic work such as a play or film.
7. There is no difference between
plot and dramatic structure.
•Agree
•Don’t agree
8. There is no difference between plot and
dramatic structure.
Plot is related to the arrangement of the
events.
Dramatic structure is the overall layout
of the story.
9. There can be more than one plot
in a play.
•Agree
•Don’t agree
10. There can be more than one plot in a play.
The play may contain a main plot a
several sub-plots.
13. In his Poetics, Aristotle considered plot
("mythos") the most important element
of drama—more important than
character, for example.
14. He put forth the idea that ("A whole is
what has a beginning and middle and
end.
This three-part view of a plot structure
(with a beginning, middle, and end –
technically, the protasis, epitasis, and ca
tastrophe) must causally relate to one
another as being either necessary, or
probable.
15. The Roman drama critic Horace
advocated a 5-act structure: ("A play
should not be shorter or longer than five
acts").
16. Gustav Freytag (1816 –1895) was a
Nineteenth Century German novelist
and dramatist who saw common
patterns in the plots of stories and
novels and developed a diagram to
analyze them. He diagrammed a story's
plot using a pyramid.
18. ------ diagrammed a story's plot using a
pyramid.
A. Aristotle
B. Horace
C. Freytag
19. ------ considered plot the most important
element of drama —more important than
character.
A. Aristotle
B. Horace
C. Freytag
21. A diagram of dramatic structure that is a
visual representation of the structure
of a story’s events.
It shows complication and emotional
tension
22. Emotional tension rising like one side
of a pyramid toward its apex, which
represents the climax of action.
Once the climax is over, the
descending side of the pyramid
depicts the decrease in tension and
complication as the drama reaches its
conclusion and denouement.
24. Freytag designed the chart for
discussing tragedy, but it can be
applied to many kinds of fiction.
It is also called Freytag's
Triangle, Freytag's Arc.
26. 1. Exposition: setting the scene.
2. Rising Action: the story builds and
gets more exciting.
3. Climax: the moment of greatest tension
in a story.
4. Falling Action: events happen as a
result of the climax
5. Dénouement: the ending
27. 1. Which part of the plot sets the scene?
A. Rising Action
B. Exposition
C. Climax
28. 1. Which part of the plot is the moment
of greatest tension in a story?
A. Rising Action
B. Exposition
C. Climax
30. Freytag's analysis was intended to apply
not to modern drama, but rather to
ancient Greek and Shakespearean
drama.
31. A specific exposition stage is criticized
by Lajos Egri in The Art of Dramatic
Writing. He states, “exposition itself is
part of the whole play, and not simply a
fixture to be used at the beginning and
then discarded.”
According to Egri, the actions of a
character reveal who they are, and
exposition should come about naturally.
The beginning of the play should therefore
begin with the initial conflict.
32. Contemporary dramas increasingly use the
fall to increase the relative height of the climax
and dramatic impact (melodrama). The
protagonist reaches up but falls and succumbs
to their doubts, fears, and limitations.
Arguably, the negative climax occurs when
they have an epiphany and encounter their
greatest fear or lose something important. This
loss gives them the courage to take on
another obstacle. This confrontation becomes
the classic climax.
34. Exposition: the main characters are
introduced
(Gregers, Hialmar, Ekdal, werle), the
setting is set.
35. Rising action: Hialmar and Gina's
confrontation of her past, the
progressive revelation of Hedvig's
uncertain parentage, and the arrival of
Hedvig's birthday gift that ultimately
precipitates this revelation in its explicit
form.
36. Climax: The Wild Duck features two
immediately discernable climaxes:
Hialmar's exit from his home and
Hedvig's suicide
37. Falling action: the discovery and the
display of Hedvig's body as well as the
final dialogue between Relling and
Gregers. This dialogue leaves Gregers
utterly disillusioned and precipitates his
exit from the world.
38. Dénouement : Gregers utterly
disillusioned and his exit from this world.