How Plot Orders Events: Poetry - AP English Literature and Composition
- What is dramatic irony created by plot ordering?
- The audience knows crucial information before a character does. Plot reveals information to readers before characters.
- What is foreshadowing as it relates to ordering events?
- Early cues that anticipate later events, shaping reader expectations. Plants hints that gain significance retrospectively.
- Identify the plot order: the narrative repeatedly skips years with brief summaries between scenes.
- Time ellipses with summary to compress narrative time. Focuses on key moments while acknowledging passage of time.
- What is suspense created by plot ordering?
- Tension produced by delaying key information or outcomes. Withholds resolution to maintain reader engagement.
- What is a frame narrative (framed story) as a way to order events?
- An outer story encloses and organizes an inner story or stories. Creates layers through nested storytelling structure.
- What is parallel plot (dual plot lines) in event ordering?
- Two storylines are intercut to develop connections or contrasts. Alternating perspectives create thematic or causal links.
- What is nonlinear plot order?
- Events are presented out of time sequence through shifts in time. Disrupts linear time through flashbacks, flashforwards, or rearrangement.
- Identify the plot order: the story opens with the climax, then explains earlier causes.
- In medias res with backstory supplied through flashback/analepsis. Combines immediate engagement with gradual revelation.
- What is the difference between story (fabula) and plot (sjuzhet)?
- Story is event sequence; plot is how the text arranges it. Distinguishes actual events from their textual presentation.
- Identify the plot order: the narrator reveals the ending early, then shows how it happened.
- Prolepsis (flashforward) followed by retrospective narration. Creates dramatic irony as readers know the outcome.
- What is a montage or compressed sequence in plot ordering?
- Many events are rapidly summarized to condense time. Accelerates pacing by condensing extended time periods.
- What is a frame narrative as a plot-ordering device?
- An outer story encloses and contextualizes an inner story. Creates layers of meaning through nested narratives.
- What is in medias res as an ordering strategy?
- The narrative begins in the middle of the action, then fills in earlier events. Creates immediate engagement by starting mid-conflict.
- Identify the ordering device: The narrator skips from 1910 to 1930 in one line.
- Ellipsis. Time jump omits twenty years of story events.
- What is nonchronological plot order?
- Events are presented out of story-time sequence for effect. Disrupts linear time to create emphasis or reveal meaning.
- What is in medias res as an opening strategy for plot order?
- The narrative begins in the middle of the action, then fills in earlier events. Latin for "into the middle of things"; hooks readers immediately.
- What is a flashforward as a plot-order device?
- An interruption that jumps ahead to a later event or future scene. Less common than flashback; reveals outcomes before causes.
- What is foreshadowing in relation to plot order?
- A present detail that hints at a future event or outcome. Creates anticipation by planting clues about what's coming.
- What is a time ellipsis in plot order?
- A deliberate gap where time passes without narrated events. Omits unimportant events to maintain narrative momentum.
- What is a summary in narrative pacing and order?
- Condensed narration that covers multiple events quickly. Accelerates pace by compressing extended time periods.
- What is a reverse-chronological plot structure?
- Events are presented backward from later outcomes to earlier causes. Reveals causation by working from effect back to cause.
- Identify the ordering device: The novel opens with the murder, then shows causes.
- In medias res. Starting mid-action requires backfilling exposition.
- What is analepsis in narrative time order?
- A shift to earlier events; a formal term for flashback. Greek term emphasizing the backward temporal movement.
- What is prolepsis in narrative time order?
- A shift to future events; a formal term for flashforward. Greek term emphasizing the forward temporal leap.
- What is a plot twist in terms of event arrangement?
- A late revelation that reinterprets earlier events or assumptions. Subverts expectations by reframing prior understanding.
- Identify the ordering device: A chapter shows childhood after an adult argument.
- Flashback. Past events interrupt present narrative sequence.
- Identify the plot order: the final scene mirrors the opening image, closing the story where it began.
- Circular structure (return-to-beginning plot). Emphasizes cyclical themes or character transformation.
- What is a nonlinear plot in a narrative?
- A plot that uses shifts in time rather than a single forward sequence. Fragments chronology to mirror memory or theme.
- Identify the plot order: chapters alternate between two characters' timelines until they meet.
- Parallel plot lines (intercut dual narrative). Builds tension through converging storylines.
- What is a flashback as a plot-order device?
- An interruption that moves to an earlier event to supply context. Temporarily pauses present action to reveal past information.
- What is an ellipsis in narrative time?
- A deliberate omission that skips over a span of story time. Compresses time by leaving gaps in the narrative.
- What is a scene in narrative pacing and order?
- Event presentation at near real-time pace with detailed action. Slows pace to match story time with reading time.
- Identify the ordering device: The narrator hints early that the marriage will fail.
- Foreshadowing. Early clues prepare readers for later developments.
- Identify the effect: The plot withholds the culprit until the final page.
- Suspense. Delayed revelation creates anticipation and tension.