PLOT STRUCTURE.

The plot consists of exposition, story and ending.

In the exposition the necessary preliminaries to the action are laid out, such as the time, the place, and the subject of the action. Also some light may be cast on the circumstances that will influence the development of the action. The description of the physical – the place, the time, the significant items, surrounding the action and the character - constitute the setting.

Story consists of the beginning, development, climax and denouement.

The development is that part of the story which shows the collision itself, brings it to the highest point. The crucial point of the conflict is referred to as its climax. The climax as a rule is interpreted through the language units naming the highest point of intensity of the development line, they are action verbs and action verbal phraseological units. The denouement is that part of the plot which shows the falling action and brings the development line to the end. This part of fiction comes after the climax and sometimes coincides with it. The denouement of the story is conveyed through language units naming the relaxation of the collision.

The manner of bringing a fiction work to a close is called ending. There may be a surprise, happy/unhappy ending.

Types of PLOT STRUCTURE. There is no uniformity as far as the above outlined pattern of the plot structure of a fiction work is concerned. Many fiction pieces have the normal plot structure pattern: title – text (exposition – story (beginning – development – climax – denouement) – ending). A work of fiction which has all the plot structure components as clearly discernible parts is viewed as the work having a closed plot structure. A literary work in which the plot structure lacks some of its elements is said to have an open plot structure. There may be intermingling of the plot structure components.

CHARACTER DRAWING. In any story plot is inextricable from characters. Character is much more complex than plot. An author may present his characters either directly or indirectly. In direct presentation he tells us straight out, by exposition or analysis, what a character is, or what someone else in the story tell us what he is like. In indirect presentation the author shows the character in action: we infer what he is like from what he thinks, or says or does.

The direct method is clear and economical but it is not emotionally convincing. It gives not a character but an explanation.

The characters may be flat or round. The flat character is characterized by one or two traits; he can be summed up in a sentence. The round character is complex and many-sided. The stock character is he stereotyped figure whose nature is immediately known (e.g. the strong silent sheriff, the beautiful modest heroine, the cruel stepmother).

All fictional characters may be classified as static and dynamic. The static character is the same person at the end of the story as he was at the beginning. The dynamic or developing character undergoes a permanent change in some aspect of his character, personality or outlook. The change may be a large or small one; it may be for the better or worse but it is something important and basic: it is more than a change in condition or a minor change in opinion. Change in the character may be a result of a crucial situation in his life, this change should be stated and explained: it must be within the possibilities of the character, sufficiently motivated by the circumstances and it must be allowed sufficient time for a change to take place.

Date: 2015-01-11; view: 2319