When you need to analyze a particular book, film or performance, they talk about the plot and plot. If the first is more clear to readers, then the story is more complicated. These two concepts are very similar, but each contains its own characteristics. Let's try to figure out how the plot differs from the plot? Both are aspects of the content of a work of art. Many people mix these two terms, take them for synonyms.
The concept of plot
Book lovers do not need to know all the professional literary subtleties, to memorize complex terminology. You can admire the masterpieces of many writers without this knowledge. But it will not hurt each reader to have an idea of ​​simple literary concepts. This will allow you to consider yourself a cultured person. Many of you have heard the word "plot", but not everyone knows its meaning. This word is very melodic and sounds almost the same in several European languages.
Any legend, story, fable, novel, poem, story has a combination of events, actions and circumstances. This means that they have a plot. Imagine that you have a design for a work. Simply put, you know what you will talk about. This means that you own a plot.
A plot is a turn of events that take place in a literary work, arranged in a natural order according to chronology, as if it could happen in reality. Simply put, a storyline is your story, presented in a simple way, in one or more phrases. It reproduces events only in chronological order and is the core of the work of any genre. The plot is a creative basis for compositions, their material.
Types of Stories
So, before creating a creation, the artist conceived a plot. With the help of various artistic methods, he reveals its depth and truthfulness. Depending on the nature of the reality depicted, the plot may be of the following types:
- romantic
- fabulous;
- utopian;
- mythological;
- realistic.
The plot can consist of several elements. One of them is a collision . Her writer uses to clash the opposites of the characters. An author can make events complex and confusing through intrigue. For unexpected changes in the fate of the characters used ups and downs. Before any events unfold, there must be an exposition or prologue. This is followed by the plot, climax, denouement. The final part of the plot and any work is the epilogue.
Examples of Stories
A talented author does not need a lot of energy to make a true masterpiece of art out of a successful storyline. Many people know the history of the writing of the novel "Dubrovsky" by A. S. Pushkin. The plot for its writing was the story that Pushkin told his friend P. Nashchokin. He told him the authentic story of a nobleman named Ostrovsky.
Some writers take the plot from other works. So, Gogol told the story of a petty official who was accepted in society as an important person in the comedy "The Examiner". Similar stories had already been seen before.
For an example of a simplified plot, you can use the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet. It begins with the murder of the king, which is committed by his brother. He sits on the throne and marries the wife of the murdered king. The late king had a son, Hamlet, to whom a ghost appeared and told the truth about the death of his father. In an attempt to avenge the killer, Hamlet dies in a duel. Here is a sequence of events in the plot. And in the work itself, events unfold according to a different plan. If you retell the author’s sequence, it means to use the plot.
What is a plot?
A plot is a set of events that the author depicts in such artistic forms and techniques that are most suitable for his creative idea. If the plot reproduces events in chronological sequence, then the plot may be out of order. Any chain of events built by a writer is called a plot. Sometimes a plot can exactly resemble a plot, but more often it “straightens” it. The plot means the linking of events with the help of which the characters and relationships of the characters are revealed.
Types of plot by the nature of events and structure
Plots are classified by the nature of the events depicted in the book. This makes it possible to distinguish among them:
- fantastic or fabulous;
- historical;
- biblical
- detective stories;
- adventurous;
- military;
- adventure
- love.
In the lyrics there is a lyrical plot. It takes place in a mental square. It refers to the memories of the lyrical hero, the inner world. The reader sees these events in his experiences, emotions, feelings. Among the many plots highlight those that are suitable for different countries, eras and peoples. They got the name "stray".
As components of works of art, plots differ in structure. The first type is chronical , in which the reader sees events in chronological sequence. In it, the author shows the spiritual growth of the personality of the main character. This can be observed in autobiographies, memoirs. To show the contradictions in the soul of the protagonist, the writer turns to a concentric plot . It shows a chain of events, each of which acts as a consequence of the previous and the cause of subsequent ones. A similar plot can be observed in Lermontov’s novel “A Hero of Our Time”.
Conflict is the plot engine
In order for the plot and plot of a work to develop, a conflict is needed . It is he who moves events in books. The plot, plot, conflict - the concepts are very interrelated. By conflict is meant a confrontation that arises on the principles of contradictions. You can observe the confrontation of various characters, the hero and society, characters and circumstances. Such a conflict is called external . And if it unfolds in the soul of the hero, it is called internal .
Differences in plot and plot
Modern literary critics call the main artistic content and conflict in the composition a plot. A plot means a specific sequence of events in a book. The plot and plot determine the theme and content of the work. Here are their main differences:
- In the plot, the reader sees the events that have occurred, in the plot - their exact description in content.
- The plot depicts the conflicting side of events. The plot gives the outline of the plot, giving the presentation the form and sequence of what is happening.
- The plot has a strict time sequence. The plot has a free chronological presentation.
- The plot may be shorter than the plot.
The plot and plot of the "Hero of our time" M. Yu. Lermontov
The novel "Hero of Our Time" consists of several novels. With this, Lermontov unfolds the story of the soul of Pechorin. The author arranged all the chapters so that everything went out of the main idea and returned to it. For this, Lermontov violated the chronological series of events. “Bela”, “Maxim Maksimych” and all subsequent stories give a clear idea of ​​Pechorin’s inner world, his thoughts, feelings and aspirations. The author has consistently revealed the complex character of the hero, all of his contradictions and unpredictability. The plot of the novel, the sequence of events of which differs from the order of arrangement of the parts, is subordinated to just such an idea. The plot requires from the work a completely different arrangement of tales: "Taman", "Princess Mary", "Fatalist", "Bela", "Maxim Maksimych", the preface to the "Journal of Pechorin". The plot and plot of Lermontov’s novel do not match.