PLOTS How Many Basic Plots ?

1 PLOT  The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle said:  "A whole is what has a beginning and middle and end"

1 PLOT  all plots stem from conflict  the basic elements of plot revolve around a problem dealt with in sequence: "Exposition - Rising Action - Climax - Falling Action - Denouement".

EXPOSITION  the part of a play or work of fiction in which the background to the main conflict is introduced.

DENOUEMENT  denouement | ˌ dānoō ˈ mä n |noun  the final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.  the climax of a chain of events, usually when something is decided or made clear : I waited by the eighteenth green to see the denouement.

Plot Structure Plot is the literary element that describes the structure of a story. It shows the causal arrangement of events and actions within a story.

Freytag’s Pyramid Freytag’s Pyramid uses a five-part system to describe a story’s plot. This graphic organizer matches the way stories are constructed: The climax is the high point, and it’s surrounded by rising and falling action.

Modified Freytag Pyramid Freytag’s Pyramid is often modified so that it extends slightly before and after the primary rising and falling action. You might think of this part of the chart as similar to the warm-up and cool-down for the story.

Exposition: The start of the story. The way things are before the action starts. Rising Action: the series of conflicts and crisis in the story that lead to the climax. Climax: The turning point. The most intense moment (either mentally or in action. Falling Action: all of the action which follows the Climax. Resolution: The conclusion, the tying together of all of the threads. Plot Structure Components

7 PLOTS  1.[wo]man vs. nature  2.[wo]man vs. [wo]man  3.[wo]man vs. the environment  4.[wo]man vs. machines/technology  5.[wo]man vs. the supernatural  6.[wo]man vs. self  7.[wo]man vs. god/religion

 1.Quest  2.Adventure  3.Pursuit  4.Rescue  5.Escape  6.Revenge  7.The Riddle  8.Rivalry  9.Underdog  10.Temptation 20 PLOTS  11.Metamorphosis  12.Transformation  13.Maturation  14.Love  15.Forbidden Love  16.Sacrifice  17.Discovery  18.Wretched Excess  19.Ascension  20.Descension.

MACGUFFIN  In fiction, a MacGuffin is a plot Device in the form of some goal, desired object, or other motivator that the protagonist (and sometimes the antagonist) is willing to do and sacrifice almost anything to pursue, often with little or no narrative explanation as to why it is considered so desirable. A MacGuffin, therefore, functions merely as "a plot element that catches the viewers' attention or drives the plot of a work of fiction". In fact, the specific nature of the MacGuffin may be ambiguous, undefined, generic, left open to interpretation or otherwise completely unimportant to the plot. Common examples are money, victory, glory, survival, a source of power, a potential threat, a mysterious but highly desired item or object, or simply something that is entirely unexplained.

MACGUFFIN  The quintessential MacGuffin is The Maltese Falcon. It gets the characters together, pits them against each other, but turns out to be worthless.

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THEME  a theme is the central topic, subject, or concept the author is trying to point out.

OBJECT  An object that is used to represent the theme.

LORD OF THE RINGS  What is the object?  What is the theme?”  Who has the object?  Who wants the object?  What are the obstacles?

The Pursuit of Happyness What is the object? What is the theme? Who has the object? What are the obstacles?

 A Case: James Bond Movies No Country for Old Men Pulp Fiction Ronin OBJECTS USED IN FILMS

 The Piano  The Soloist  The Legend of 1900  The Red Violin MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

 The Last Action Hero: a magic movie ticket  Harry Potter series  Wizard of OZ: The Ruby Slippers MAGIC OBJECT