SF1 - Lesson: Explaining the Function of Plot and Structure

Explaining the Function of Plot and Structure

Although characters and setting are essential core elements of fiction, without a plot there is no story. There are three main structural choices made by a writer that contribute to the reader’s interpretation of a text:

  • The arrangement of parts and sections of a text
  • The relationship of the parts of a text to each other
  • The sequence in which the text reveals information

In this lesson, you will review how to analyze how a story’s plot brings other literary elements together. 

Plot

Plot is the sequence of events in a narrative. Events throughout a narrative are connected, with each event building on others, often with a cause-and-effect relationship. The dramatic situation of a narrative includes the setting and action of the plot and how the narrative develops to place characters in conflict(s), and it often involves the rising or falling fortunes of a main character or set of characters. Plot and the exposition that accompanies it focus readers’ attention on the parts of the narrative that matter most to develop, including the characters, their relationships, and their roles in the narrative, as well as the setting and the relationship between characters and the setting.

Diagramming a Plot

With traditional narratives, plot can be considered linear where events occur in chronological order. These generally represent the common plot diagram that most of us learn in elementary school:

A line describes the plot of a story from Beginning to Middle to End. Full image description on the page.
Plot Diagram: a line that describes the plot of a story from Beginning to Middle to End. In the beginning, there is exposition. A conflict triggers rising action (the line going up), leading to a climax in the middle of the story. After the climax, the line points down for the falling action and reaches a resolution for the end of the story.

However, authors can also manipulate this structure with techniques such as the following:

  • In medias res: starting in the middle
  • Flashback: going back in time prior to the central sequence of events
  • Foreshadowing: presenting hints about what will come later in a sequence of events
  • Framed narratives: stories within stories
  • Epistolary: traditionally stories told in the form of letters (or some modern adaptation such as email)
  • Parallel Plot Lines: a story with two or more plot lines that mirror and often interact with each other

Most stories (even traditional ones) use some combination of these devices to achieve their desired effect. 

Reflection

Plot is essential because it is what creates a story. The goal of AP English Literature is to not only identify the elements of plot development but also to show how these elements plot elements function with other literary elements. 

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