We’ll look at a classic tragedy and a modern one. So, let’s look at a few examples of Falling Action and how it works in a tragedy. There is no “winding down the action” because the climax has relieved the story’s tension. In most modern tales, once the hero triumphs, we get a few scenes of resolution, maybe an epilogue, then roll credits. Contemporary stories usually tell of a character’s triumph over impossible odds. This is why most modern stories don’t have a proper falling action because they’re not tragedies. This fall is what Freytag was talking about when he described falling action. The fall usually brings our heroes to their lowest point, maybe even death. Then some twist of fate will cause them to fall from grace. A tragic character will usually experience a rise in fortune, reach a pinnacle. If you were to draw the shape of a tragedy, it would look like a symmetrical pyramid. Tragedy plots work differently than other stories, because in a tragedy writers will take a significant amount of time setting up a hero then an equal amount of time showing that hero’s fall. The problem is that Freytag was only describing one type of story with his model- the tragedy. Most of us were taught about falling action as part of the Story Pyramid, another name for Gustav Freytag’s story model. I’m going to explain why, but I encourage you to read his article as well. In it, Joe Bunting explains why we’ve all misunderstood falling action. You see, I was doing some research, and I found this article over at -įalling Action: Definition and Why Falling Action Doesn’t Exist In Most Stories Would it surprise you to hear that falling action often doesn’t appear in the plot of most modern stories? ![]() In truth, falling action is specific to tragedies where it demonstrates the hero’s fall from grace. These consequences will make it more difficult for a character to resolve their conflict. During the falling action, characters deal with the consequences of decisions made before and during the climactic midpoint. The falling action is a part of a story that can happen right after a climax, usually the story’s midpoint. However, today, I’m going to tell you why everything you thought you knew about falling action is wrong! But first, let’s define falling action: Falling Action Definition That’s because falling action is part of Freytag’s Model, the story pyramid, a standard structure that teachers use to introduce plot structure. Why do I ponder falling action so regularly? Well, I teach junior high English, and nowhere does falling action have more importance than in the middle school English class. What is falling action? This is a question I ask myself about once a year.
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