Giovanna Clairval
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- Sep 6, 2007
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Plot and story are often confused.
The story is “Astronaut meets monster, tries to kill it but discovers it is a sentient being and, together, they open a restaurant” (in so few words, this is called a “pitch”; the story is more detailed).
The plot is the way the writer deals with the encounter, the exchanges, the different events that bring the astronaut to realise that Monster understands Anglish, and the final decision to become partners.
There's a limited number of stories (with several variants), but the plot, the series of incidents that carry the story forward, is what makes the originality of a novel (apart form style and characters, that is).
Three definitions and a link to a very useful multi-lingual site full of information:
http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/plot
WordReference (online dictionary)
1 plot, secret plan, game
a secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal); "they concocted a plot to discredit the governor"; "I saw through his little game from the start" Category Tree:
2 plot
the story that is told in a novel or play or movie etc.; "the characters were well drawn but the plot was banal"
The Merriam-Webster online open dictionary
Plot
noun
Etymology:
Middle English, from Old English
Date:
before 12th century
1 a: a small area of planted ground <a vegetable plot> b: a small piece of land in a cemetery c: a measured piece of land : lot
2: ground plan, plat
3: the plan or main story (as of a movie or literary work)
4[perhaps back-formation from complot] : a secret plan for accomplishing a usually evil or unlawful end : intrigue5: a graphic representation (as a chart)
— plot·less\-ləs\ adjective
— plot·less·ness noun
Websters-online-dictionaries (which is not the Merriam-Webster)
Plot
Noun
1. A secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal); "they concocted a plot to discredit the governor".
2. A small area of ground covered by specific vegetation; "a bean plot"; "a cabbage patch"; "a briar patch".
3. The story that is told in a novel or play or movie etc.; "the characters were well drawn but the plot was banal".
4. A chart or map showing the movements or progress of an object.
Verb
1. Plan secretly, usually something illegal; "They plotted the overthrow fo the government".
2. Make a schematic or technical drawing of; make a diagram of.
3. Make a plat of; "Plat the town".
Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
Plot in literature, theater, movies
According to Aristotle's Poetics, a plot in literature is "the arrangement of incidents" that (ideally) each follow plausibly from the other. The plot is like the chalk outline that guides the painter's brush. An example of the type of plot which follows these sorts of lines is the linear plot of development to be discerned within the pages of a bildungsroman novel.
Aristotle notes that a string of unconnected speeches, no matter how well-executed, will not have as much emotional impact as a series of tightly connected speeches delivered by imperfect speakers.
The concept of plot and the associated concept of construction of plot, emplotment, has of course developed considerably since Aristotle made these insightful observations. The episodic narrative tradition which Aristotle indicates has systematically been subverted over the intervening years, to the extent that the concept of beginning, middle, end are merely regarded as a conventional device when no other is to hand.
This is particularly true in the cinematic tradition where the folding and reversal of episodic narrative is now a commonplace. Moreover, many writers and film directors, particularly those with a proclivity for the Modernist or other subsequent and derivative movements which emerged during or after the early 20th century seem more concerned that plot is an encumbrance to their artistic medium than an assistance.
The story is “Astronaut meets monster, tries to kill it but discovers it is a sentient being and, together, they open a restaurant” (in so few words, this is called a “pitch”; the story is more detailed).
The plot is the way the writer deals with the encounter, the exchanges, the different events that bring the astronaut to realise that Monster understands Anglish, and the final decision to become partners.
There's a limited number of stories (with several variants), but the plot, the series of incidents that carry the story forward, is what makes the originality of a novel (apart form style and characters, that is).
Three definitions and a link to a very useful multi-lingual site full of information:
http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/plot
WordReference (online dictionary)
1 plot, secret plan, game
a secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal); "they concocted a plot to discredit the governor"; "I saw through his little game from the start" Category Tree:
2 plot
the story that is told in a novel or play or movie etc.; "the characters were well drawn but the plot was banal"
The Merriam-Webster online open dictionary
Plot
noun
Etymology:
Middle English, from Old English
Date:
before 12th century
1 a: a small area of planted ground <a vegetable plot> b: a small piece of land in a cemetery c: a measured piece of land : lot
2: ground plan, plat
3: the plan or main story (as of a movie or literary work)
4[perhaps back-formation from complot] : a secret plan for accomplishing a usually evil or unlawful end : intrigue5: a graphic representation (as a chart)
— plot·less\-ləs\ adjective
— plot·less·ness noun
Websters-online-dictionaries (which is not the Merriam-Webster)
Plot
Noun
1. A secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal); "they concocted a plot to discredit the governor".
2. A small area of ground covered by specific vegetation; "a bean plot"; "a cabbage patch"; "a briar patch".
3. The story that is told in a novel or play or movie etc.; "the characters were well drawn but the plot was banal".
4. A chart or map showing the movements or progress of an object.
Verb
1. Plan secretly, usually something illegal; "They plotted the overthrow fo the government".
2. Make a schematic or technical drawing of; make a diagram of.
3. Make a plat of; "Plat the town".
Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
Plot in literature, theater, movies
According to Aristotle's Poetics, a plot in literature is "the arrangement of incidents" that (ideally) each follow plausibly from the other. The plot is like the chalk outline that guides the painter's brush. An example of the type of plot which follows these sorts of lines is the linear plot of development to be discerned within the pages of a bildungsroman novel.
Aristotle notes that a string of unconnected speeches, no matter how well-executed, will not have as much emotional impact as a series of tightly connected speeches delivered by imperfect speakers.
The concept of plot and the associated concept of construction of plot, emplotment, has of course developed considerably since Aristotle made these insightful observations. The episodic narrative tradition which Aristotle indicates has systematically been subverted over the intervening years, to the extent that the concept of beginning, middle, end are merely regarded as a conventional device when no other is to hand.
This is particularly true in the cinematic tradition where the folding and reversal of episodic narrative is now a commonplace. Moreover, many writers and film directors, particularly those with a proclivity for the Modernist or other subsequent and derivative movements which emerged during or after the early 20th century seem more concerned that plot is an encumbrance to their artistic medium than an assistance.