Definition of Plot

Plot is a literary device that writers use to structure what happens in a story. However, there is
more to this device than combining a sequence of events. Plots must present an event, action, or
turning point that creates conflict or raises a dramatic question, leading to subsequent events that
are connected to each other as a means of “answering” the dramatic question and conflict. The
arc of a story’s plot features a causal relationship between a beginning, middle, and end in which
the conflict is built to a climax and resolved in conclusion.

For example, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens features one of the most well-known and

satisfying plots of English literature.

I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the
Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the
lessons that they teach.

Dickens introduces the protagonist, Ebenezer Scrooge, who is problematic in his lack of

generosity and participation in humanity–especially during the Christmas season. This conflict
results in three visitations by spirits that help Scrooge’s character and the reader understand the
causes for the conflict. The climax occurs as Scrooge’s dismal future is foretold. The above
passage reflects the second chance given to Scrooge as a means of changing his future as well
as his present life. As the plot of Dickens’s story ends, the reader finds  resolution in Scrooge’s
changed attitude and behavior. However, if any of the causal events were removed from this plot,
the story would be far less valuable and effective.

Common Examples of Plot Types

In general, the plot of a literary work is determined by the kind of story the writer intends to tell.
Some elements that influence plot are genre, setting, characters, dramatic situation, theme, etc.
However, there are seven basic, common examples of plot types:

 Tragedy: In a tragic story, the protagonist typically experiences suffering and a downfall,
The plot of tragedy almost always includes a reversal of fortune, from good to bad or happy
to sad.
 Comedy: In a comedic story, the ending is generally not tragic. Though characters in comic
plots may be flawed, their outcomes are not usually painful or destructive.
 Journey of the Hero: In general, the plot of a hero’s journey features two elements: a
recognition and a situation reversal. Typically, something happens from the outside to
 inspire the hero, bringing about recognition and realization. Then, the hero undertakes a
quest to solve or reverse the situation.
 Rebirth: This plot type generally features a character’s transformation from bad to good.
Typically, the protagonist carries their tragic past with them which results in negative views
of life and poor behavior. The transformation occurs when events in the story help them see
a better world-view.
 Rags-to-Riches: In this common plot type, the protagonist begins in an impoverished,
downtrodden, or struggling state. Then, story events take place (magical or realistic) that
lead to the protagonist’s success and usually a happy ending.
 Good versus Evil: This plot type features a generally “good” protagonist that fights a
typically “evil” antagonist. However, both the protagonist and antagonist can be groups of
characters rather than simply individuals, all with the same goal or mission.
 Voyage/Return: In this plot type, the main character goes from point A to point B and back
to point A. In general, the protagonist sets off on a journey and returns to the start of their
voyage, having gained wisdom and/or experience.

Aristotle’s Plot Structure Formula

Though this principle may seem obvious to modern readers, in his work Poetics, Aristotle first
developed the formula for plot structure as three parts: beginning, middle, and end. Each of these
parts is purposeful, integral, and challenging for writers. It can be difficult for writers to create an
effective plot device in terms of making decisions about a how a story begins, what happens in the
middle, and how it ends. Here is further explanation of Aristotle’s plot structure formula:

 Beginning: The beginning of a story holds great value. It has to capture the reader’s
attention, introduce the characters, setting, and the central conflict.
 Middle: The middle of a plot requires movement toward the conclusion of the story, as well
as plot points, obstacles, or various subplots along the way to maintain the reader’s interest
and infuse value and meaning into the story.
 End: The end of a story brings about conclusion and resolution of the conflict, generally
leaving the reader with a sense of satisfaction, value, and deeper understanding.
Freytag’s Pyramid

In 1863, Gustav Freytag (a German novelist) published a book that expanded Aristotle’s concept
of plot. Freytag added two components: rising action and falling action. This dramatic arc of plot
structure, termed Freytag’s Pyramid, is the most prevalent depiction of plot as a literary device.
Here are the elements of Freytag’s Pyramid:

 Exposition: the beginning of the story, in which the writer establishes or introduces
pertinent information such as setting, characters, dramatic situation, etc.
 Rising Action: increased tension as a result of the central conflict.
 Climax (middle): pinnacle and/or turning point of the plot.
 Falling Action: also referred to as denouement, begins with consequences resulting from
the climax and moves towards the conclusion.
 Resolution: end of the story.

Differences Between Narrative and Plot

Plot and narrative are both literary devices that are often used interchangeably. However, there is
a distinction between them when it comes to storytelling. Plot involves causality and a connected
series of events which make up a story. Plot refers to what actions and/or events take place in a
story and the causal relationship between them.

Narrative encompasses aspects of a story that include choices by the writer as to how the story is
told, such as point of view, verb tense, tone, and voice. Therefore, plot is a more objective literary
device in terms of a story’s definitive events. Narrative is more subjective as a literary device in
that there are many choices a writer can make as to how the same plot is told and revealed to the
reader.

Examples of Plot in Literature

When readers remember a work of literature, whether it’s a novel, short story, play, or

narrative poem, their lasting impression often is due to the plot. The cause and effect of events in
a plot are the foundation of storytelling, as is the natural arc of a story’s beginning, middle, and
end. Literary plots resonate with readers as entertainment, education, and elemental to the act of
reading itself. Here are some examples of plot in literature:
Example 1: Romeo and Juliet (Prologue) (William Shakespeare)

Two households, both alike in dignity

(In fair Verona, where we lay our scene),
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife.
The fearful passage of their death-marked love
And the continuance of their parents’ rage,
Which, but their children’s end, naught could remove,
Is now the two hours’ traffic of our stage;
The which, if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

In the prologue of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, the arc of the plot is told–including the

outcome of the story. However, though the overall plot is revealed before the story begins, this
does not detract from the portrayal of the events in the story and the relationship between their
cause and effect. Each character’s action drives forward connected events that build to a climax
and then a tragic resolution, so that even if the reader/viewer knows what will happen, the play
remains an engaging and memorable literary work.

Example 2: Six-word-long story, often attributed to Ernest Hemingway

For sale, baby shoes, never worn.

This famous six-word short story is attributed to Ernest Hemingway, although there has
been no indisputable substantiation that it is his creation. Aside from its authorship, this story
demonstrates the power of plot as a literary device and in particular the effectiveness of Aristotle’s
formula. Through just six words, the plot of this story has a beginning, middle, and end that
readers can identify. In addition, the plot allows readers to interpret the causality of the story’s
events depending on the manner in which they view and interpret the narrative.
Example 3: Don Quixote (Miguel de Cervantes)

“Destiny guides our fortunes more favorably than we could have expected. Look there, Sancho
Panza, my friend, and see those thirty or so wild giants, with whom I intend to do battle and kill
each and all of them, so with their stolen booty we can begin to enrich ourselves. This is noble,
righteous warfare, for it is wonderfully useful to God to have such an evil race wiped from the face
of the earth.”
“What giants?” Asked Sancho Panza.
“The ones you can see over there,” answered his master, “with the huge arms, some of which are
very nearly two leagues long.”
“Now look, your grace,” said Sancho, “what you see over there aren’t giants, but windmills, and
what seems to be arms are just their sails, that go around in the wind and turn the millstone.”
“Obviously,” replied Don Quijote, “you don’t know much about adventures.”

Don Quixote is considered the first modern novel, and the complexity of its plot is one of
the reasons for this distinction. Each event that takes place in this overall hero’s journey is
connected to and causes other actions in the story, bringing about a resolution at the end. This
novel by de Cervantes features subplots as well, yet the story arc of the character reflects all
elements of both Aristotle’s plot formula and Freytag’s Pyramid.