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The Hobbit, or There and Back Again is a children's fantasy novel by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald Tribune for best juvenile fiction. The book is recognized as a classic in children's literature and is one of the best-selling books of all time, with over 100 million copies sold.
In fiction, a MacGuffin is an object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself. The term was originated by Angus MacPhail for film, adopted by Alfred Hitchcock, and later extended to a similar device in other fiction.
In a literary work, film, or other narrative, the plot is the sequence of events in which each event affects the next one through the principle of cause-and-effect. The causal events of a plot can be thought of as a series of events linked by the connector "and so". Plots can vary from the simple—such as in a traditional ballad—to forming complex interwoven structures, with each part sometimes referred to as a subplot or imbroglio.
A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work.
A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. It serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of every nation and ethnic culture. In literature, the object of a quest requires great exertion on the part of the hero, who must overcome many obstacles, typically including much travel. The aspect of travel allows the storyteller to showcase exotic locations and cultures. The object of a quest may also have supernatural properties, often leading the protagonist into other worlds and dimensions. The moral of a quest tale often centers on the changed character of the hero.
Deus ex machina is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly or abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence. Its function is generally to resolve an otherwise irresolvable plot situation, to surprise the audience, to bring the tale to a happy ending or act as a comedic device.
The climax 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. The climax of a story is a literary element.
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, the Eagles or Great Eagles, are immense birds that are sapient and can speak. The Great Eagles resemble actual eagles, but are much larger. Thorondor is said to have been the greatest of all birds, with a wingspan of 30 fathoms. Elsewhere, the Eagles have varied in nature and size both within Tolkien's writings and in later adaptations.
A plot twist is a literary technique that introduces a radical change in the direction or expected outcome of the plot in a work of fiction. When it happens near the end of a story, it is known as a twist ending or surprise ending. It may change the audience's perception of the preceding events, or introduce a new conflict that places it in a different context. A plot twist may be foreshadowed, to prepare the audience to accept it, but it usually comes with some element of surprise. There are various methods used to execute a plot twist, such as withholding information from the audience, or misleading them with ambiguous or false information. Not every plot has a twist, but some have multiple lesser ones, and some are defined by a single major twist.
Chekhov's gun is a narrative principle that states that every element in a story must be necessary and irrelevant elements should be removed. For example, if a writer features a gun in a story, there must be a reason for it, such as it being fired some time later in the plot. All elements must eventually come into play at some point in the story. Some authors, such as Hemingway, do not agree with this principle.
Alcestis is an Athenian tragedy by the ancient Greek playwright Euripides. It was first produced at the City Dionysia festival in 438 BC. Euripides presented it as the final part of a tetralogy of unconnected plays in the competition of tragedies, for which he won second prize; this arrangement was exceptional, as the fourth part was normally a satyr play. Its ambiguous, tragicomic tone—which may be "cheerfully romantic" or "bitterly ironic"—has earned it the label of a "problem play." Alcestis is, possibly excepting the Rhesus, the oldest surviving work by Euripides, although at the time of its first performance he had been producing plays for 17 years.
A fantasy trope is a specific type of literary trope that occurs in fantasy fiction. Worldbuilding, plot, and characterization have many common conventions, many of them having ultimately originated in myth and folklore. J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium for example, was inspired from a variety of different sources including Germanic, Finnish, Greek, Celtic and Slavic myths. Literary fantasy works operate using these tropes, while others use them in a revisionist manner, making the tropes over for various reasons such as for comic effect, and to create something fresh.
A eucatastrophe is a sudden turn of events in a story which ensures that the protagonist does not meet some terrible, impending, and plausible and probable doom. The concept was created by the philologist and fantasy author J. R. R. Tolkien in his essay "On Fairy-Stories", based on a 1939 lecture. The term has since been taken up by other authors, and by scholars.
A magic item is any object that has magical powers inherent in it. These may act on their own or be the tools of the person or being whose hands they fall into. Magic items are commonly found in both folklore and modern fantasy. Their fictional appearance is as old as the Iliad in which Aphrodite's magical girdle is used by Hera as a love charm.
A magic ring is a mythical, folkloric or fictional piece of jewelry, usually a finger ring, that is purported to have supernatural properties or powers. It appears frequently in fantasy and fairy tales. Magic rings are found in the folklore of every country where rings are worn. Some magic rings can endow the wearer with a variety of abilities including invisibility and immortality. Others can grant wishes or spells such as neverending love and happiness. Sometimes, magic rings can be cursed, as in the mythical ring that was recovered by Sigurð from the hoard of the worm Fáfnir in Norse mythology or the fictional ring that features in The Lord of the Rings. More often, however, they are featured as forces for good, or as a neutral tool whose ethical status in the narrative derives from the character that uses it.
Invisibility in fiction is a common plot device in stories, plays, films, animated works, video games, and other media, found in both the fantasy and science fiction genres. In fantasy, invisibility is often invoked and dismissed at will by a person, with a magic spell or potion, or a cloak, ring or other object. Alternatively, invisibility may be conferred on an unsuspecting person by a sorcerer, witch, or curse. In science fiction, invisibility is often conferred on the recipient as part of a complex technological or scientific process that is difficult or impossible to reverse, so that switching back and forth at frequent intervals is less likely to be depicted in science fiction. Depending on whether the science fiction is hard science fiction or soft science fiction, the depictions of invisibility may be more rooted in actual or plausible technologies, or more on the fictional or speculative end of the spectrum.
Packet may refer to:
Alfred Hitchcock's films show an interesting tendency towards recurring themes and plot devices throughout his life as a director.
Magic in fiction is the endowment of characters or objects in works of fiction or fantasy with powers that do not naturally occur in the real world.
J. R. R. Tolkien's narrative interlacing in The Lord of the Rings, also called by the French term entrelacement, is an unusual and complex narrative structure, known from tapestry romances in medieval literature, that enables him to achieve a variety of literary effects. These include maintaining suspense, keeping the reader uncertain of what will happen and even of what is happening to other characters at the same time in the story; creating surprise and an ongoing feeling of bewilderment and disorientation. More subtly, the leapfrogging of the timeline in The Lord of the Rings by the different story threads allows Tolkien to make hidden connections that can only be grasped retrospectively, as the reader realises on reflection that certain events happened at the same time, and that these connections imply a contest of good and evil powers.
References
- ↑ For example:
- "For instance, a frequently used plot mechanism is a love triangle, where two men try to get the same woman." from Paul Virgil McCracken Flesher; Robert Torry (2007). Film and Religion: An Introduction . Abingdon Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-687-33489-6.
- "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 Thomas Waugh (4 April 2000). The Fruit Machine: Twenty Years of Writings on Queer Cinema. Duke University Press. p. 107. ISBN 0-8223-2468-7.
- ↑ Fred Pfeil (1990). Another Tale to Tell: Politics and Narrative in Postmodern Culture . Verso. p. 267. ISBN 978-0-86091-992-6 . Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ↑ Pinault, David (1992). Story-Telling Techniques in the Arabian Nights. Brill Publishers. pp. 148–9 & 217–9. ISBN 90-04-09530-6.
- ↑ Hamori, Andras (1971). "An Allegory from the Arabian Nights: The City of Brass". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies . 34 (1). Cambridge University Press: 9–19 [9]. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00141540. S2CID 161610007.
- 1 2 3 Nick Lowe. "The Well-tempered Plot Device".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.
- ↑ "deus ex machina". Merriam Webster Online. Retrieved 2013-09-22.
- ↑ Smith W (1960). "The Ironic Structure in "Alcestis"". Phoenix. 14 (3): 127–45. doi:10.2307/1086298. JSTOR 1086298.
- ↑ Chance, Jane (2001-10-26). Tolkien's Art: A Mythology for England. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0813138094.[ page needed ]
- ↑ Hartley, Gregory (Autumn 2012). "A Wind from the West:The Role of the Holy Spirit in Tolkien's Middle-Earth" (PDF). Christianity and Literature. 62: 95–120. doi:10.1177/014833311206200106.[ dead link ]
- ↑ "Aristotle's Poetics, adapted from the translation by S.H. Butcher" . Retrieved 2007-10-13.
- ↑ from Paul Virgil McCracken Flesher; Robert Torry (2007). Film and Religion: An Introduction . Abingdon Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-687-33489-6.
- "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 Thomas Waugh (4 April 2000). The Fruit Machine: Twenty Years of Writings on Queer Cinema. Duke University Press. p. 107. ISBN 0-8223-2468-7.
- ↑ McDevitt, Jim; Juan, Eric San (2009-04-01). A Year of Hitchcock: 52 Weeks with the Master of Suspense. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810863897.
- ↑ "The Alfred Hitchcock Wiki" . Retrieved 2018-06-10.
- ↑ "Keys to the Kingdom". Vanity Fair. February 2008. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
- ↑ Davies, Mark (2007). Designing character-based console games (illustrated ed.). Charles River Media. p. 69. ISBN 978-1584505211.
- ↑ Hatch, Laurence C. (2007-11-01). "Hatch's Plotbank".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ↑ Black, Robert E. G. (Fall 2014). "From Charioteer Myth to Shoulder Angel: A Rhetorical Look at Our Divided Soul" (PDF). Colloquy. 10: 36–49.