Linear plot development
Linear plot development is a storytelling structure characterized by a straightforward narrative trajectory that progresses in a chronological order from beginning to end. This structure is prevalent in various forms of literature, film, poetry, and drama. Typically, a linear plot begins with an introduction of conflict, leading to a sequence of rising action, reaches a climactic turning point, and concludes with falling action, then resolution. This method, rooted in ancient Greek narrative conventions described by Aristotle, emphasizes a clear beginning, middle, and end, promoting a sense of completeness through cause-and-effect relationships.
In modern storytelling, the narrative arc mirrors this classical model, where tension escalates until the climax, followed by a resolution that clarifies the story’s meaning. While primarily chronological, linear plots can incorporate flashbacks that interrupt the flow yet still contribute to the overall narrative. Although many contemporary writers explore nonlinear storytelling techniques, the linear plot remains a foundational approach in both fiction and nonfiction, offering a familiar framework for audiences. An example of this structure can be seen in John Updike’s story "A&P," which unfolds in a clear, step-by-step manner without interruptions.
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Linear plot development
Linear plot development is a type of narration in which a story has one logical narrative trajectory and progresses sequentially from beginning to end. This structure is employed in literature, films, poems, and plays. The narrative begins and builds in a rising action through a series of conflicts that eventually leads to a climax, or the peak of tension in the story, and then declines through falling action to a resolution and ending. Traditional linear plot development was first described by the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384 BCE–322 BCE) and remains one of the most common narrative structures of modern fiction and nonfiction stories.
Overview
In the fourth century BCE, Aristotle wrote about the conventions of narrative in his text Poetics, detailing what he considered at the time to be the most effective method of storytelling; this classical linear plot structure is typically known as “Aristotle’s incline.” The plots of ancient Greek tragedies, comedies, and epics mostly followed a linear passage of time. Proponents such as Aristotle believed that this type of plot achieved a sense of completeness through the clear presence of a beginning, middle, and end that revolved around simple cause-and-effect action. This structure is very similar to the modern concept of the narrative arc of a story.
The modern linear story arc consists of a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning of the plot generally coincides with the beginning of the story, where a conflict is introduced that propels the narrative forward and upward (rising action). In the middle of the story, the tension of the conflict reaches a crucial turning point and characters undergo changes as they are challenged by the major events of the plot. By that point, the main characters, usually the protagonist and the antagonist, must confront each other and their primary conflict. That scene, known as the “climax,” is the highest, tensest, and most critical point on the narrative arc of the story, containing the most significant action and the most intense emotion of any scene in the narrative. Following the climax, a decrease in narrative tension is known as “falling action,” which consists of conflict resolution and an ending that ties together the pieces of the story to leave the audience with a clear comprehension of the story’s meaning.
An example of modern linear plot development can be found in John Updike’s story “A&P” (1961). The plot of Updike’s comedy proceeds from the beginning, when the girls walk into the store, to the end, when the protagonist quits his cashier job, in chronological time without any flashbacks or interruption. However, linear plots may include flashbacks during which a character recalls events from the past that create a disruption in the natural order of the linear narrative. Flashbacks can ultimately serve to progress the plot forward in time and do not necessarily disqualify a story from having a linear narrative plot.
As more literary forms developed beyond the classical genres, new styles of narrative also veered from the traditional model of linear plot development. Writers began to use nonlinear plots (such as the circular plot) as well, which usually contain multiple narrative paths throughout, do not always start at the beginning, and do not clearly advance from one plot point to the next in a chronological manner.
Bibliography
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