Abstract:
The meaning and function of plot in narrative texts is thoroughly examined in contemporary literary
and critical theory, having been also discussed in classical Greek and Roman works of criticism. A
recurrent matter of interest in plot –reflected also in creative writing handbooks– is its relation to the story,
as plot is usually described as the chrono-logical and causal arrangement of the fictional characters’
actions and narrative events. This paper attempts to introduce students of creative writing to the
concept of plot, providing a concise presentation of some of the main theoretical approaches to it from
different, yet closely linked, aspects: as a fixed structure or design, as a dynamic process of evolving
structuration and, moreover, as manipulation of readers’ desire and expectation, which permeates, as
it is argued, the different ways of conceptualizing plot. |
