Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 3.6.
Constructing a “modern” Freytag-style graph. Dashed lines represent previous
incidents; the solid line represents the sample incident analyzed in Figure 3.5.
Figure 3.3 indicates fi ve types of action, with Freytag's terms for them.
These “anatomical parts” of a play have been redefi ned and renamed by
nearly every critic since Aristotle. Today, most theatre students learn a set
of conventional categories and a less symmetrical (but still schematic) char-
acteristic curve for dramatic action, shown in Figure 3.7.
The
exposition
(segment A) is the part of a play that functions to reveal
the context for the unfolding action. It formulates potential into possibili-
ties, introducing characters, environments, and situations. Exposition as the
revelation of information continues throughout the play, but it diminishes
as the action progresses; it becomes less and less necessary or appropriate
to introduce new potential.
The
inciting incident
(segment B) is actually a small segment rather than
a point (since it has some duration); it is the action or event that begins what
will become the central action of the play. On the graph, it is the point at
which the curve takes its fi rst signifi cant upward turn. In terms of the “fl ying
wedge,” the inciting incident initiates the fi rst lines (vectors) of probability.
The
rising action
(segment C) follows the inciting incident. In this por-
tion of the play, the characters pursue their central goals, formulating,
