Plot device: Difference between revisions
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is any [[narrative technique|technique]] in a [[narrative]] used to move the [[Plot (narrative)|plot]] forward.<ref>{{cite book|author=Fred Pfeil|title=Another Tale to Tell: Politics and Narrative in Postmodern Culture|url=https://archive.org/details/anothertaletotel0000pfei|url-access=registration|access-date=27 July 2013|year=1990|publisher=Verso|isbn=978-0-86091-992-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/anothertaletotel0000pfei/page/267 267]}}</ref> | is any [[narrative technique|technique]] in a [[narrative]] used to move the [[Plot (narrative)|plot]] forward.<ref>{{cite book|author=Fred Pfeil|title=Another Tale to Tell: Politics and Narrative in Postmodern Culture|url=https://archive.org/details/anothertaletotel0000pfei|url-access=registration|access-date=27 July 2013|year=1990|publisher=Verso|isbn=978-0-86091-992-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/anothertaletotel0000pfei/page/267 267]}}</ref> | ||
A | A [[cliché]]d plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing a loss of the [[suspension of disbelief]]. However, a well-crafted plot device, or one that emerges naturally from the setting or characters of the story, may be entirely accepted, or may even be unnoticed by the audience.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}} | ||
== Stories using plot devices == | == Stories using plot devices == | ||
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The Latin phrase "[[deus]] ex machina" has its origins in the conventions of [[Theatre of ancient Greece|Greek tragedy]], and refers to situations in which a [[mechane]] (crane) was used to lower actors playing a [[Greek god|god]] or gods onto the stage at the end of a play. | The Latin phrase "[[deus]] ex machina" has its origins in the conventions of [[Theatre of ancient Greece|Greek tragedy]], and refers to situations in which a [[mechane]] (crane) was used to lower actors playing a [[Greek god|god]] or gods onto the stage at the end of a play. | ||
The Greek [[Tragedy|tragedian]] [[Euripides]] is notorious for using this plot device as a means to resolve a hopeless situation. For example, in Euripides' play ''[[Alcestis (play)|Alcestis]]'', the [[eponymous]] heroine agrees to give up her own life to Death in exchange for sparing the life of her husband, Admetus. In doing so, however, Admetus grows to regret his choice, realizing that the grief of her death would never leave him. Admetus is seized by guilt and sadness, wishing to keep her or die alongside her, but held by his obligations to raise their children. In the end, though, [[Heracles]] shows up and seizes Alcestis from Death, restoring her to life and freeing Admetus from the grief that consumed him.<ref>{{ Cite journal | author = Smith W | title = The Ironic Structure in "Alcestis" | journal = Phoenix | volume = 14 | issue = 3 | pages = 127–45 | date = 1960 | doi = 10.2307/1086298| jstor = 1086298 }}</ref> Another example of a ''deus ex machina'' is [[Gandalf]] in ''[[The Hobbit]].''<ref>{{Cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=D7eOal3UhFcC&q=%22Deus+ex+machina%22+gandalf+the+hobbit&pg=PT24 | title = Tolkien's Art: A Mythology for England | isbn = 0813138094 | last1 = Chance | first1 = Jane | date = 2001-10-26 | publisher = University Press of Kentucky }} {{pn|date=September 2021}}</ref> With the help of seemingly limitless magical capabilities, he rescues the other main characters from all sorts of troubles. Likewise, the eagles in both ''The Hobbit'' and ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' perform unexpected rescues, serving both as the eucatastrophic emissary and the agent of redemption.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hartley |first1=Gregory |title=A Wind from the West:The Role of the Holy Spirit in Tolkien's Middle-Earth |journal=Christianity and Literature |date=Autumn 2012 |volume=62 |pages=95–120 |doi=10.1177/014833311206200106 |url=https://www.academia.edu/download/52470200/A_Wind_from_the_West.pdf}}{{dead link|date=July 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The first person known to have criticized the device was [[Aristotle]] in his ''[[Poetics (Aristotle)|Poetics]]'', where he argued that the resolution of a plot must arise internally, following from previous action of the play.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leeds.ac.uk/classics/resources/poetics/poettran.htm |title=Aristotle's Poetics, adapted from the translation by S.H. Butcher |access-date=2007-10-13}}</ref> | The Greek [[Tragedy|tragedian]] [[Euripides]] is notorious for using this plot device as a means to resolve a hopeless situation. For example, in Euripides' play ''[[Alcestis (play)|Alcestis]]'', the [[eponymous]] heroine agrees to give up her own life to Death in exchange for sparing the life of her husband, Admetus. In doing so, however, Admetus grows to regret his choice, realizing that the grief of her death would never leave him. Admetus is seized by guilt and sadness, wishing to keep her or die alongside her, but held by his obligations to raise their children. In the end, though, [[Heracles]] shows up and seizes Alcestis from Death, restoring her to life and freeing Admetus from the grief that consumed him.<ref>{{ Cite journal | author = Smith W | title = The Ironic Structure in "Alcestis" | journal = Phoenix | volume = 14 | issue = 3 | pages = 127–45 | date = 1960 | doi = 10.2307/1086298| jstor = 1086298 }}</ref> Another example of a ''deus ex machina'' is [[Gandalf]] in ''[[The Hobbit]].''<ref>{{Cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=D7eOal3UhFcC&q=%22Deus+ex+machina%22+gandalf+the+hobbit&pg=PT24 | title = Tolkien's Art: A Mythology for England | isbn = 0813138094 | last1 = Chance | first1 = Jane | date = 2001-10-26 | publisher = University Press of Kentucky }} {{pn|date=September 2021}}</ref> With the help of seemingly limitless magical capabilities, he rescues the other main characters from all sorts of troubles. Likewise, the eagles in both ''The Hobbit'' and ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' perform unexpected rescues, serving both as the eucatastrophic emissary and the agent of redemption.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hartley |first1=Gregory |title=A Wind from the West:The Role of the Holy Spirit in Tolkien's Middle-Earth |journal=Christianity and Literature |date=Autumn 2012 |volume=62 |pages=95–120 |doi=10.1177/014833311206200106 |url=https://www.academia.edu/download/52470200/A_Wind_from_the_West.pdf}}{{dead link|date=July 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The first person known to have criticized the device was [[Aristotle]] in his ''[[Poetics (Aristotle)|Poetics]]'', where he argued that the resolution of a plot must arise internally, following from previous action of the play.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leeds.ac.uk/classics/resources/poetics/poettran.htm |title=Aristotle's Poetics, adapted from the translation by S.H. Butcher |access-date=2007-10-13 |archive-date=2008-05-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080526071740/http://www.leeds.ac.uk/classics/resources/poetics/poettran.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> | ||
===Love triangle=== | ===Love triangle=== | ||
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MacGuffins are sometimes referred to as ''plot coupons'', especially if multiple ones are required, as the protagonist only needs to "collect enough plot coupons and trade them in for a [[dénouement]]".<ref>{{cite book | last = Davies | first = Mark | edition = illustrated | year = 2007 | title = Designing character-based console games | page = [https://archive.org/details/designingcharact0000davi/page/69 69] | publisher = Charles River Media | isbn = 978-1584505211 | url = https://archive.org/details/designingcharact0000davi/page/69 }}</ref> The term was coined by [[Nick Lowe (classicist)|Nick Lowe]].<ref name=Lowe>{{cite web|author=Nick Lowe|author-link=Nick Lowe (classicist)|title=The Well-tempered Plot Device|url=http://news.ansible.co.uk/plotdev.html}}''In normal usage, when people talk of a plot device they mean something in the story that's just a little bit too obviously functional to be taken seriously.''</ref> | MacGuffins are sometimes referred to as ''plot coupons'', especially if multiple ones are required, as the protagonist only needs to "collect enough plot coupons and trade them in for a [[dénouement]]".<ref>{{cite book | last = Davies | first = Mark | edition = illustrated | year = 2007 | title = Designing character-based console games | page = [https://archive.org/details/designingcharact0000davi/page/69 69] | publisher = Charles River Media | isbn = 978-1584505211 | url = https://archive.org/details/designingcharact0000davi/page/69 }}</ref> The term was coined by [[Nick Lowe (classicist)|Nick Lowe]].<ref name=Lowe>{{cite web|author=Nick Lowe|author-link=Nick Lowe (classicist)|title=The Well-tempered Plot Device|url=http://news.ansible.co.uk/plotdev.html}}''In normal usage, when people talk of a plot device they mean something in the story that's just a little bit too obviously functional to be taken seriously.''</ref> | ||
{{anchor|Plot voucher}} | |||
{{See also|Chekhov's gun}} | {{See also|Chekhov's gun}} | ||
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=== Shoulder angel === | === Shoulder angel === | ||
{{main|Shoulder angel}} | {{main|Shoulder angel}} | ||
A shoulder angel is a plot device<ref>{{Cite | A shoulder angel is a plot device<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hatch |first1=Laurence C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iyYGbs_QLioC&q=%22Shoulder+angel%22+fiction&pg=PT47 |title=Hatch's Plotbank |date=2007-11-01 |publisher=Laurence Hatch Press}}</ref> used for either dramatic or humorous effect in animation and comic strips. The angel represents conscience and is often accompanied by a shoulder devil representing temptation. They are used to easily showing inner conflict of a character. Usually, the angel is depicted on or hovering near the right shoulder and the devil or demon on the left, as the [[Chirality|left side]] traditionally represents dishonesty or impurity. | ||
The idea of a shoulder angel and devil consulting the person in the center of the dispute is a tripartite view of the divided soul, that contributes to a rich tradition involving Plato's [[Chariot Allegory]] as well as [[id, ego and super-ego]] from Freudian [[psychoanalysis]]. The difference with other views is that the shoulder angel and devil emphasize the universal ideas of good and bad.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Black |first1=Robert E. G. |title=From Charioteer Myth to Shoulder Angel: A Rhetorical Look at Our Divided Soul |journal=Colloquy |date=Fall 2014 |volume=10 |pages=36–49 |url=http://training.calstatela.edu/sites/default/files/groups/Colloquy/black_essay3.final_.pdf}}</ref> | The idea of a shoulder angel and devil consulting the person in the center of the dispute is a tripartite view of the divided soul, that contributes to a rich tradition involving Plato's [[Chariot Allegory]] as well as [[id, ego and super-ego]] from Freudian [[psychoanalysis]]. The difference with other views is that the shoulder angel and devil emphasize the universal ideas of good and bad.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Black |first1=Robert E. G. |title=From Charioteer Myth to Shoulder Angel: A Rhetorical Look at Our Divided Soul |journal=Colloquy |date=Fall 2014 |volume=10 |pages=36–49 |url=http://training.calstatela.edu/sites/default/files/groups/Colloquy/black_essay3.final_.pdf}}</ref> | ||
Latest revision as of 16:55, 17 December 2025
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "about".
A plot device or plot mechanism[1] is any technique in a narrative used to move the plot forward.[2]
A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing a loss of the suspension of disbelief. However, a well-crafted plot device, or one that emerges naturally from the setting or characters of the story, may be entirely accepted, or may even be unnoticed by the audience.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Stories using plot devices
Many stories, especially in the fantasy genre, feature an object or objects with some great magical power, such as a crown, sword, or jewel. Often what drives the plot is the hero's need to find the object and use it for good, before the villain can use it for evil, or if the object has been broken by the villains, to retrieve each piece that must be gathered from each antagonist to restore it, or, if the object itself is evil, to destroy it. In some cases destroying the object will lead to the destruction of the villain.
In the Indiana Jones film series, each film portrays Jones on the hunt for a mystical artifact. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, he is trying to retrieve the Ark of the Covenant; in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Jones is on a search for the Holy Grail. This plot device is also used in the Arabian Nights tale of "The City of Brass," in which a group of travelers on an archaeological expedition journeys across the Sahara to find a brass vessel that Solomon once used to trap a jinn.[3][4]
Several books in the Harry Potter series orient around a search for a special object. In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry believes there is a magical stone in Hogwarts with special powers. Lord Voldemort needs this stone to bring back his body, and Harry looks for the stone first to prevent Voldemort's return.
The One Ring from J. R. R. Tolkien's novel, The Lord of the Rings has been labeled a plot device, since the quest to destroy it drives the entire plot of the novel. However, British Classical scholar Nick Lowe said: "Tolkien, on the whole, gets away with the trick by minimizing the arbitrariness of the ring's plot-power and putting more stress than his imitators on the way the ring's power moulds the character of its wielder and vice-versa."[5]
Examples
Deus ex machina
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". The term deus ex machina is used to refer to a narrative ending in which an improbable event is used to resolve all problematic situations and bring the story to a (generally happy) conclusion.[6]
The Latin phrase "deus ex machina" has its origins in the conventions of Greek tragedy, and refers to situations in which a mechane (crane) was used to lower actors playing a god or gods onto the stage at the end of a play.
The Greek tragedian Euripides is notorious for using this plot device as a means to resolve a hopeless situation. For example, in Euripides' play Alcestis, the eponymous heroine agrees to give up her own life to Death in exchange for sparing the life of her husband, Admetus. In doing so, however, Admetus grows to regret his choice, realizing that the grief of her death would never leave him. Admetus is seized by guilt and sadness, wishing to keep her or die alongside her, but held by his obligations to raise their children. In the end, though, Heracles shows up and seizes Alcestis from Death, restoring her to life and freeing Admetus from the grief that consumed him.[7] Another example of a deus ex machina is Gandalf in The Hobbit.[8] With the help of seemingly limitless magical capabilities, he rescues the other main characters from all sorts of troubles. Likewise, the eagles in both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings perform unexpected rescues, serving both as the eucatastrophic emissary and the agent of redemption.[9] The first person known to have criticized the device was Aristotle in his Poetics, where he argued that the resolution of a plot must arise internally, following from previous action of the play.[10]
Love triangle
A frequently used plot mechanism in romances and dramas is the love triangle, a conflict where two characters compete for the affection of a third character.[11]
MacGuffin
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". A MacGuffin is a term, popularized by film director Alfred Hitchcock, referring to a plot device wherein a character pursues an object, though the object's actual nature is not important to the story. Another object would work just as well if the characters treated it with the same importance.[12] Regarding the MacGuffin, Alfred Hitchcock stated, "In crook stories it is almost always the necklace and in spy stories it is almost always the papers."[13] This contrasts with, for example, the One Ring from The Lord of the Rings, whose very nature is essential to the entire story. Not all film directors or scholars agree with Hitchcock's understanding of a MacGuffin. According to George Lucas, "The audience should care about it [the MacGuffin] almost as much as the dueling heroes and villains on-screen".[14] Thus MacGuffins, according to Lucas, are important to the characters and plot.
MacGuffins are sometimes referred to as plot coupons, especially if multiple ones are required, as the protagonist only needs to "collect enough plot coupons and trade them in for a dénouement".[15] The term was coined by Nick Lowe.[5]
Script error: No such module "anchor". Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".
A plot voucher, as defined by Nick Lowe,[5] is an object given to a character (especially to the protagonist) before they encounter an obstacle that requires the use of the object. An example of a plot voucher is a gift received by a character, which later impedes a deadly bullet.
Quibble
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". A quibble is based on an argument that an agreement's intended meaning holds no legal value and that only the exact, literal words agreed on apply. For example, William Shakespeare used a quibble in The Merchant of Venice: Portia saves Antonio in a court of law by pointing out that the agreement called for a pound of flesh, but no blood, so Shylock can collect only if he sheds no blood.
Red herring
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". The function of a red herring is to divert the audience's attention away from something significant. Red herrings are very common plot devices in mystery, horror, and crime stories. The typical example is in whodunits, in which facts are presented so that the audience is tricked into thinking that an innocent character is the murderer.
Shoulder angel
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". A shoulder angel is a plot device[16] used for either dramatic or humorous effect in animation and comic strips. The angel represents conscience and is often accompanied by a shoulder devil representing temptation. They are used to easily showing inner conflict of a character. Usually, the angel is depicted on or hovering near the right shoulder and the devil or demon on the left, as the left side traditionally represents dishonesty or impurity.
The idea of a shoulder angel and devil consulting the person in the center of the dispute is a tripartite view of the divided soul, that contributes to a rich tradition involving Plato's Chariot Allegory as well as id, ego and super-ego from Freudian psychoanalysis. The difference with other views is that the shoulder angel and devil emphasize the universal ideas of good and bad.[17]
See also
References
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- ↑ For example:
- "For instance, a frequently used plot mechanism is a love triangle, where two men try to get the same woman." from Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- "Janine functions largely as a plot mechanism: as a foil for the two lovers, as a voyeur, and finally as an unwitting trigger of disaster when she leads in the Gestapo." from Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".In normal usage, when people talk of a plot device they mean something in the story that's just a little bit too obviously functional to be taken seriously.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".Script error: No such module "Unsubst".Template:Cbignore
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ from Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- "Janine functions largely as a plot mechanism: as a foil for the two lovers, as a voyeur, and finally as an unwitting trigger of disaster when she leads in the Gestapo." from Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ "Keys to the Kingdom". Vanity Fair. February 2008. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
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