Freytag.notebook
September 15, 2015
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Freytag.notebook
September 15, 2015
Imagine a story as a string...almost like a timeline.
Gustav Freytag was a Nineteenth Century German novelist 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 like the one shown here:
Now imagine the line changes as the story heats up. That's basically a Freytag diagram.
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Freytag.notebook
September 15, 2015
A Freytag diagram is a model used to analyze the plot of a story.
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Freytag.notebook
September 15, 2015
Freytag: A model for the plot of a story
(Plot is the series of events that make up a story; in other words, it climax
is the series of events relating to a character in crisis
conflict)
falling action
rising action
exposition
initiating event/inciting force
resolution
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Freytag.notebook
September 15, 2015
Exposition: Introduction; serves to introduce situations and characters and provide background/build up for the inciting force
Inciting Force/Initiating Event: The 'tipping point'­­ this is the event that begins the main conflict (the first domino!). It should end with the resolution, if there is one.
Rising Action: Events that build tension, add complication between the IF and the climax.
Climax: A turning point; often very exciting. The resolution is coming, and we can see it on the horizon.
Falling Action: Events after the climax which lead to the resolution
Resolution/Denouement: The final outcome. Sometimes the crisis/
conflict is resolved. Res olution or clarification takes place here.
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