The

Structure of a

Literary Work(p.167)

What is Structure?• framework of a work of literature

• the organization or over-all design of a work.

• derive from the conventions of a certain form(Example: Five-act format of an Elizabethan tragedy or the Octave/Sestet division of an Italian Sonnet.)

•Evolve as an individual work takes shape, creating what the critic and poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge called “organic form.” (Example: meditative lyric “Frost at Midnight” is ordered partly by its Blank Verse form, the steady beat of the Unrhymed Iambic pentameter lines)

Two major purposes of a literary work:

• to make the parts interdependent and give the whole unity

Techniques in

Creating Structure:

In Medias Res

Narrative Pace

Parenthetical Observation

Shift in Style

1.In Medias Res (in MAY-dee-ass rayss,Latin for, “in the middle of things”)

- begin a narration not in chronological order, with the first event in the plot, but at some later point.

*In an in medias res narrative, the story opens with dramatic action rather than exposition setting up the characters and situation.

In Medias Res

The RavenOnce upon a midnight dreary,

while I pondered, weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door--

The Canonization“For God’s sake hold your tongue, and let me love.”

Usual narrative vs. In Medias Res

In Medias Res

Advantage:

Immediacy and surprise

Disadvantage:

obligation to go back in the story and fill in the essential background information—

the exposition.

Means of providing the exposition:

• flashback: the dramatization of scenes set in an earlier story

• use of a narrator or a character to summarize the necessary background information

• means of showing (gossip, spat, presence of messengers, reminiscences, etc.)

In Medias Res

2. Narrative Pace

- speeding up or slowing down of some parts and omitting others altogether.

- narrative passages that contain a great deal of detail feel slower than other parts of the story, while little dialogue and short transitions determine fast action and rapid sequencing.

Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre

Hitherto I have recorded in detail the events of my insignificant existence: to the first ten years of my life, I have given almost as many chapters. But this is not to be a regular autobiography: I am only bound to invoke memory where I know her responses will possess some degree of interest; therefore I now pass a space of eight years almost in silence: a few lines only are necessary to keep up the links of connection.

Narrative Pace

Leo Tolstoy’s “The Death of Ivan Ilych”begins in medias res with the funeral of the title character; continues at an efficient pace with flashback on how he spent his life, and suddenly slows down once the story arrives at the accident that will lead to his death. The passage of time slows down, so the reader experiences in great detail Ivan’s increasing physical pain and emotional anguish.

3. Parenthetical Observation

- a brief interruption during which the character or the narrator reflects on a minor point that seizes his attention.

- the author changes the initial structure to move in a new direction.

Parenthetical ObservationIn Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”

The self-important courtier Polonius uses the technique for several reasons:

*The effect of these parenthetical comments is to suggest that Polonius is relishing this chance to make the most of his moment in the spotlight.

- to critique his own oratorical style That he is mad, ‘tis true; ‘tis true ‘tis pity, and pity ‘tis ‘tis true—a foolish figure, But

farewell it, for I will use no art.- to denigrate Hamlet’s love letters to his daughter ‘To the celestial and my soul’s idol, the most beautified Ophelia’—that’s an ill phrase, a

vile phrase, ‘beautified’ is a vile phrase. But you shall hear—- to qualify a point to a nicety

“I have a daughter—have while she is mine–.”

4. Subplot - secondary or tertiary, plot to the main thrust of the novel.

- Your subplots must connect or relate with the main story.

- to lend support and substance to your main plot.

- To maintain the reader’s interest.

Note: Because of their brevity, short stories and to a large extent, novellas, usually contain no subplot.

Subplot

When do you use a subplot?

It all depends on your story. Most subplots appear quite early novels, as new characters and situations unfold.

Ideally – although not always –subplots should create conflict with your main character to add greater depth to the overall story.  

Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ 

Main Plot: Atticus Finch, a widow and the father of young Scout and Jem, agrees to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who is on trial for raping a white woman. The setting is 1930′s Alabama in a town simmering with prejudice and racial tension. It is set against a backdrop of prejudice and racism. 

Subplot#1: The children have a neighbor who has a mysterious past. They name him “Boo” Radley and are both intrigued and scared by him, though they’ve never seen him. It is their goal to conquer their fears and see Boo face to face. Throughout the novel we see that Boo is trying to become their friend. He ends up saving their lives.

Subplot#2: The Ewell family lives in deep poverty, and Bob Ewell despises Atticus for agreeing to defend Tom. The woman who claims she was raped by Tom is Bob Ewell’s daughter.  Tom is found guilty, even though evidence shows he is not, and Bob devotes his life to troubling Atticus and his family.

Subplots

Subplot #3: Scout feels she must defend her father after the town questions his defense of a black man. She fights with schoolmates when they call her father ugly names. Both she and her brother see Atticus as weak and uninteresting, but she is given many opportunities to witness his strong character, which eventually changes her mind about him.

Subplot#4: Despite the truth of Tom Robinson’s innocence and Atticus demonstrating that Mayella Ewell, the supposed victim, and her father Bob Ewell, the local drunk, were lying about the whole thing, the court convicts him. Robinson is driven to try to escape, but is shot and killed. Ewell plagues the Robinson family. There is tension between him and Atticus.

Subplots

SubplotHow do you add subplots to the story?

It really depends on how you write, your style, but the best way is to change the viewpoint your characters by alternating your scenes or chapters that can add suspense and tension.

Different character viewpoints will allow you to explore different connected storylines, until eventually they all connect in the final chapter-- a good way of introducing secondary characters.

SubplotSummary:

• Subplots must connect to the main story (plot). 

• Subplots must happen for a reason and make sense together with the main story. 

• Subplots should move the story forward. They should enrich, support and deepen the overall story.

• Subplots should reveal information about the main story, the situation or characters, which readers should become privy.

•Subplots should keep your reader interested.

•Subplots must always be resolved.

5. Shift in StyleProse narratives may shift from their established style and tone.

Rather than ignore or dismiss such inconsistencies in style and shifts in structure, readers should attend to them closely, as potential keys to revelations about meaning and tone.

Shift in Style

Richard Wright’s Black BoyThe narrative sometimes departs abruptly from the usual structure. Wright stops the narrative flow to introduce a randomly ordered list of sense impressions that make an impact on the young boy’s feelings, and then he shifts to list the superstitions that he believed in as a boy.

This is followed by the adult narrator’s comments on the fervor of his childish belief.

Dumaual, Kristine Abigail Lajara, Hannah BeatrizRañola, Patricia Bianca

References:

• http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/lit_term.html

• http://allwritefictionadvice.blogspot.com/2011/01/subplots.html

• http://www.darlawrites.com/writing-term-sub-plot/