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Climax (narrative)

The climax (from Ancient Greek κλῖμαξ (klîmax) 'staircase, ladder') or turning point of a narrative work is its point of highest tension and drama, or it is the time when the action starts during which the solution is given.[1][2] The climax of a story is a literary element.[3]

Death of Caesar, the climax of Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar

Examples edit

The punch line of a joke is an analogy for the climax of a fictional narrative, though the absence of any falling action is an essential difference, which may reflect the nature of humor as opposed to the nature of drama.

In non-fictional narrative genres, even though the author does not have the same freedom to control the action and "plot" as in works of fiction, the selection of subject matter, degree of detail, and emphasis permit an author to create similar structures, i.e., to construct a dramatization.

In the play Hippolytus, by Greek playwright Euripides, the climax arrives when Phaedra hears Hippolytus react badly because of her love for him. That is the moment that Aphrodite's curse is finally fulfilled, and it is the turning point of the play.

Anticlimax edit

An anticlimax is a situation in a plot in which something which would appear to be difficult to solve is solved through something trivial. For example, destroying a heavily guarded facility would require advanced technology, teamwork, and weaponry for a climax, but for an anticlimax, it may just require pushing a red button which reads "Destroy Facility" or filling out an eviction notice and simply demolishing the building. An example is the ending of The War of the Worlds, where amidst the chaos of the extraterrestrial takeover of planet Earth, the aliens are defeated by the most unexpected organism: a pathogen. Another example could involve the protagonist faced with insurmountable odds and ultimately being killed without accomplishing his goal, despite what appears to be a turning point for the character.

The deus ex machina is a form of anticlimax, where an unseen and completely unrelated outside influence enters the story and solves the central problem.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Herrick, Robert; Damon, Lindsay Todd (1902). Composition and Rhetoric for Schools. Original from Harvard University: Scott, Foresman and Co. p. 382.
  2. ^ Fletcher, Jefferson Butler; Carpenter, George Rice (1893). Introduction to Theme-writing. Original from Harvard University: Allyn & Bacon. p. 84.
  3. ^ "Climax". Literary Terms. 26 March 2015.

climax, narrative, turning, point, redirects, here, other, uses, turning, point, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, fi. Turning point redirects here For other uses see Turning Point This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Climax narrative news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2007 Learn how and when to remove this message The climax from Ancient Greek klῖma3 klimax staircase ladder or turning point of a narrative work is its point of highest tension and drama or it is the time when the action starts during which the solution is given 1 2 The climax of a story is a literary element 3 Death of Caesar the climax of Shakespeare s play Julius Caesar Contents 1 Examples 2 Anticlimax 3 See also 4 ReferencesExamples editThe punch line of a joke is an analogy for the climax of a fictional narrative though the absence of any falling action is an essential difference which may reflect the nature of humor as opposed to the nature of drama In non fictional narrative genres even though the author does not have the same freedom to control the action and plot as in works of fiction the selection of subject matter degree of detail and emphasis permit an author to create similar structures i e to construct a dramatization In the play Hippolytus by Greek playwright Euripides the climax arrives when Phaedra hears Hippolytus react badly because of her love for him That is the moment that Aphrodite s curse is finally fulfilled and it is the turning point of the play Anticlimax editAn anticlimax is a situation in a plot in which something which would appear to be difficult to solve is solved through something trivial For example destroying a heavily guarded facility would require advanced technology teamwork and weaponry for a climax but for an anticlimax it may just require pushing a red button which reads Destroy Facility or filling out an eviction notice and simply demolishing the building An example is the ending of The War of the Worlds where amidst the chaos of the extraterrestrial takeover of planet Earth the aliens are defeated by the most unexpected organism a pathogen Another example could involve the protagonist faced with insurmountable odds and ultimately being killed without accomplishing his goal despite what appears to be a turning point for the character The deus ex machina is a form of anticlimax where an unseen and completely unrelated outside influence enters the story and solves the central problem See also editDramatic structure Literary element Climax as a rhetorical deviceReferences edit Herrick Robert Damon Lindsay Todd 1902 Composition and Rhetoric for Schools Original from Harvard University Scott Foresman and Co p 382 Fletcher Jefferson Butler Carpenter George Rice 1893 Introduction to Theme writing Original from Harvard University Allyn amp Bacon p 84 Climax Literary Terms 26 March 2015 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Climax narrative amp oldid 1215009917 Anti climax, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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