Plot and story are commonly believed to be interchangeable with one another, but this is actually not the case. Story is an entire sequence of events, whereas plot describes a set of events as they relate to each other. E.M. Forster writes something similar to this definition in his book 'Aspects of the Novel' (1927), defining plot as 'the casual and logical structure which connects events' and story as 'the chronological sequence of events'.
No matter how these definitions are worded, it is understood that plot and story are, indeed, two separate aspects of fiction. This simple difference between plot and story can be highlighted in the following example texts: The story of Bob’s Monday and the plot of Bob’s Monday.
The story of Bob’s Monday is as follows:
‘Bob’s Monday begins when he wakes up in the morning. He brushes his teeth, gets dressed, gets in his car, drives to work, parks, sits at his desk, goes to lunch, flirts with his co-workers, goes back to his desk, does more work, drives home, eats dinner and then goes to sleep at night.’
Now compare to this to the plot of Bob’s Monday:
‘Bob’s Monday begins when he wakes up in the morning. The most interesting part of the day is at lunch, when he flirts with his coworkers. His Monday ends when he goes to sleep at night.’
Notice the difference?
It is important to note that whatever media a work of fiction resides in can considerably affect how plot and story are defined. For instance, in the Greek philosopher Aristotle’s seminal book ‘The Poetics’, plot should consist of a beginning, middle and end. It should have a climax that ties up all loose ends, have no ongoing subplots, and have no cliffhangers. He also said how plot is the most important feature of a tragedy, with character coming second. But one must keep in mind that Aristotle’s Poetics is meant to be a commentary on theatre tragedy; what Aristotle discusses cannot fully be applied to all forms of fiction, unfortunately.
How novelists define and value plot and story will be very likely different to how filmmakers or video game developers define and value plot and story. Novels are, for the most part, dependent on plot and story. Without them, a novel could not stand on its own, or at least would find it difficult to achieve. Whereas films such as Marketa Lasarova (1967), a Czech Avant garde epic, do not primarily focus on plot and story as much in favour of lavish cinematography and accurately portraying a 13th century medieval society. Yet despite this choice, the film has still been praised among many. The same dilemma goes for video games; action fighting games like Street Fighter (1987) are very weak on plot and story yet are hailed as classics for their gameplay and action-packed fun. With all this in mind, plot and story of a work of fiction can be significantly affected by the form of media that they inhabit.
On top of plot and story, there is Todorov’s 'Narrative Theory'. In this theory, Todorov states that most story and plot lines follow the same pattern or path, or what he calls the ‘Five Stages of Narrative’. The five stages are:
1. Equilibrium: The story will begin happily, where the majority or all characters are content and everything is perfectly fine.
2. Disruption: Later on in the story, a problem will arise that will disrupt the character’s lives. This is also known as the ‘Inciting Incident’.
3. Realisation: This is where the characters start to feel the consequences of this disruption.
4. Restored Order: After enduring all the bad things that have happened to them in light of this disruption, the characters now attempt to rectify the damage done and restore the problem.
5. Equilibrium Again: Finally, the problem is resolved once and for all and all characters involved can resume the normal lives they once had.
Of course, Todorov’s theory does not apply to all stories. Some stories opt for an unhappy ending (tragedies), which goes against the fifth stage of narrative, and other stories begin with unhappy characters who later pull themselves out of their misfortune such as the story of 'Cinderella'. But this is merely a theory, not a rulebook for all stories to follow.
To conclude, how plot and story are defined will vary between all forms of media (books, films, video games, etc.) but it is quite apparent that a fictional work cannot survive without them.
No matter how these definitions are worded, it is understood that plot and story are, indeed, two separate aspects of fiction. This simple difference between plot and story can be highlighted in the following example texts: The story of Bob’s Monday and the plot of Bob’s Monday.
The story of Bob’s Monday is as follows:
‘Bob’s Monday begins when he wakes up in the morning. He brushes his teeth, gets dressed, gets in his car, drives to work, parks, sits at his desk, goes to lunch, flirts with his co-workers, goes back to his desk, does more work, drives home, eats dinner and then goes to sleep at night.’
Now compare to this to the plot of Bob’s Monday:
‘Bob’s Monday begins when he wakes up in the morning. The most interesting part of the day is at lunch, when he flirts with his coworkers. His Monday ends when he goes to sleep at night.’
Notice the difference?
An analysis of Aristotle's Poetics, by Sara Connelly (2014)
It is important to note that whatever media a work of fiction resides in can considerably affect how plot and story are defined. For instance, in the Greek philosopher Aristotle’s seminal book ‘The Poetics’, plot should consist of a beginning, middle and end. It should have a climax that ties up all loose ends, have no ongoing subplots, and have no cliffhangers. He also said how plot is the most important feature of a tragedy, with character coming second. But one must keep in mind that Aristotle’s Poetics is meant to be a commentary on theatre tragedy; what Aristotle discusses cannot fully be applied to all forms of fiction, unfortunately.
How novelists define and value plot and story will be very likely different to how filmmakers or video game developers define and value plot and story. Novels are, for the most part, dependent on plot and story. Without them, a novel could not stand on its own, or at least would find it difficult to achieve. Whereas films such as Marketa Lasarova (1967), a Czech Avant garde epic, do not primarily focus on plot and story as much in favour of lavish cinematography and accurately portraying a 13th century medieval society. Yet despite this choice, the film has still been praised among many. The same dilemma goes for video games; action fighting games like Street Fighter (1987) are very weak on plot and story yet are hailed as classics for their gameplay and action-packed fun. With all this in mind, plot and story of a work of fiction can be significantly affected by the form of media that they inhabit.
On top of plot and story, there is Todorov’s 'Narrative Theory'. In this theory, Todorov states that most story and plot lines follow the same pattern or path, or what he calls the ‘Five Stages of Narrative’. The five stages are:
1. Equilibrium: The story will begin happily, where the majority or all characters are content and everything is perfectly fine.
2. Disruption: Later on in the story, a problem will arise that will disrupt the character’s lives. This is also known as the ‘Inciting Incident’.
3. Realisation: This is where the characters start to feel the consequences of this disruption.
4. Restored Order: After enduring all the bad things that have happened to them in light of this disruption, the characters now attempt to rectify the damage done and restore the problem.
5. Equilibrium Again: Finally, the problem is resolved once and for all and all characters involved can resume the normal lives they once had.
Of course, Todorov’s theory does not apply to all stories. Some stories opt for an unhappy ending (tragedies), which goes against the fifth stage of narrative, and other stories begin with unhappy characters who later pull themselves out of their misfortune such as the story of 'Cinderella'. But this is merely a theory, not a rulebook for all stories to follow.
To conclude, how plot and story are defined will vary between all forms of media (books, films, video games, etc.) but it is quite apparent that a fictional work cannot survive without them.
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