#Exposition definition literature series#

Some people wouldВ describe the rising action as the most important part of the plot because the climax and outcome of the story would not take place if the events of the rising action did not occur. For instance, if the climax of a mystery story is the unmasking of the villain, then the rising action is likely concerned with the crimeВ committed and the discovery of different clues leading to the villain's identification. Since the climax dispels the tension that was built up during the rising action, the climax is directly concerned withВ theВ conflict or tension that droveВ the rising action. Therefore, one goodВ way to identify a story's rising action is to identify the climax.

Most of the tension and suspense that getВ built up over the course of the rising action are dispelled during the climax. The rising action ends with the climax.As long as the feeling of tension or suspense associated with the central conflict continues to increase, the action is still rising. In other words, the rising action can also be identified by paying attention to howВ the audience feels during the story. The rising action builds tension or suspense.But as in the example of Little Red Riding Hood, the rising action usually constitutes the bulk of a story. This is the simplest rule of thumb for identifying the rising action.В While this rule is pretty dependable, it's important to know that it's not fool-proof, because some stories have atypical plot structures. The rising action is typically the longest part of the story.The inciting incident of the first Home Alone movieВ is that Kevin gets left at home when his family goes on vacation.The complicationВ in 'Little Red Riding Hood' is that there is a Big Bad Wolf in the forest, making Little Red's trip all the more dangerous and suspenseful.

Here are two examples, one of a complication and one of an inciting incident: This information is sometimes referred to as the complicationВ rather than as the inciting incident. Note that the inciting doesn't have toВ be an actual event-it may just be a piece of informationВ that adds tension or suspense to the actions of the characters. The inciting incidentВ marks the end of the exposition and the beginning of the rising action.

#Exposition definition literature series#

The inciting incident is an event that creates a problem or conflict for the characters andВ setsВ in motion a series of increasingly significant events that constitute the main events of the story.

The rising action begins with an inciting incident or complication.

Here are a few of the key defining features of rising action to help you identify it: Generally speaking, any work of writing that has a plot can be said to have rising action. The rising action is really the 'meat' of any story, in which most of the important action occurs.

The opposite of rising action is falling action, the phase of a story following the climax in which the main conflict is de-escalated and tension is further dispelled.

Every story has a section that can be described as the 'rising action,' even if the story hasВ an unconventional narrative or plot structure.The rising action follows the part of the plot known as the expositionВ (in which the world of the story and its characters are established), and precedes the climax.Some additional key details about rising action: In other words, most of the story is rising action, which is often case. For example, in the story of 'Little Red Riding Hood,' the rising action includesВ everything that takes place after Little Red sets off for Grandma's house-up to the moment she comes face to face with the Big Bad Wolf. The rising action of a story is the section of the plotВ leadingВ up to the climax, in which the tension stemming from the story's centralВ conflict growsВ through successive plot developments. What is rising action? HereвЂ™s a quick and simple definition: