Storytelling is one of the oldest traditions known to humanity. As we evolved, we started adding distinct patterns to our stories, which we later called dramatic structures.

Whatever genre you like to read, and whichever author you love (excepting experimental fiction), they most likely use some type of dramatic structure in order to keep their stories entertaining and understandable.

Freytag’s pyramid is one of the more widely-used (and oldest) dramatic structures. It consists of two halves, the play, and counterplay, which form a triangle that contains five elements. These five elements are the introduction, rising movement, climax, falling action, and catastrophe. Let’s take a closer look at this dramatic structure.

What Are the 5 Parts of Freytag’s Pyramid?

Gustav Freytag was a German playwright and novelist of the 19th century who largely dealt with serious dramas. During his career, he wrote a book called Die Technik des Dramas (Technique of the Drama) in which he theorized that a drama has a play and counterplay.

During the play part of the story, the protagonist is actively working towards making a desire into reality, while in the counterplay, they are primarily passive, with external forces affecting and directing his actions. Either of the two can come first in a story, with their meeting point being the climax. This theory suggests that a drama will always contain some sort of conflict that involves the hero.

And though he originally based this on drama, Freytag’s theories are ultimately about storytelling, so they can also be used in novels, memoirs, films, and short stories.

Along with the climax, Freytag divides dramas into five essential components. To better understand these components, we’ll be mapping out Carrie by Stephen King as we go through each part. Spoiler alert! We’ll be discussing the book’s ending, too.

1. Introduction

Also called the Exposition, this is where you establish the background of your story. Characters are introduced, the setting is established, and the tone of the story is introduced. In this part, your sole purpose is to build your story’s world make it familiar to the readers.

This part ends with the “exciting force” or inciting incident; anything that forces your character into motion. It’s the event that starts the main conflict of your story.

Your introduction’s length heavily depends on the complexity of the world you’re introducing to your readers. It might take only a few pages or extend to a few chapters. This is where you draw in your readers, so make sure that you have solidly built characters and settings. Your readers need to know that your story is worth investing their time and effort on.

In Stephen King’s Carrie, the titular character is a social outcast who is often bullied. She lives with her abusive mother Margaret, who is also a religious fanatic. She gets her first period and is bullied as a result.

2. Rising Movement

Often called the Rising Action, this is the part where the conflict is explored and things get worse or complicated. Characters make the wrong decisions or are put into unsavory situations, new characters appear, and the protagonist and antagonist have their first fight.

This is often the longest part of the book as you need to build the conflict sufficiently and lead it into an explosive climax. Introduce new tensions or exacerbate old ones, throw in more obstacles, and reveal new information that will excite your reader.

Be careful though, as insufficiently building the tension will make the climax fall short and disappoint readers. When that happens, they might give up on your story. Readers should be able to learn more about the characters and the world they move in, the themes of your story, and you may want to add a bit of foreshadowing as well to make it more exciting.

Abused at home and in school, Carrie suddenly discovers that she has telekinetic powers.

3. Climax

This is where your story’s conflict peaks. Depending on how you structured your story, this the point where play becomes counter-play, or vice versa. The tension that accumulated during your rising movement explodes and creates a change in your character, for good or bad.

This is the moment that carries your story as a whole. Something happens in your story that can’t be reversed and your characters are stuck dealing with the consequences. In comedy, your protagonist faces their problems positively, but in tragedy, the conflict worsens and becomes disastrous for your character.

This usually happens at the midpoint of your story, but this isn’t a requirement. A lot of writers consider this the most important part of the story, since it’s the pivotal moment that decides what happens in the next half.

Carrie goes to prom with Tommy Ross and is voted prom queen, but Carrie doesn’t know this is just part of a prank. She’s doused in pig’s blood during the coronation, humiliating her in front of everybody.

4. Falling Action

The falling action continues the momentum of the climax, with the story turning for the better or the worse. This is where you explore the aftermath of the climax and tie up loose ends. Mysteries are answered, remaining info about your world and characters are revealed, and you push the story towards a resolution while still engaging the reader’s attention.

Freytag believed that the Catastrophe shouldn’t be a secret to the audience, but there should be a moment of suspense where a slim possibility of reversal is presented. This is the “force of final suspense”—a moment that seals the conclusion to your story and prepares the readers for what is about to occur.

Carrie uses her telekinesis to avenge herself. She kills her tormentors, goes home and kills her mother, and destroys the town for good measure.

5. Catastrophe

Freytag sees an ending to a story as the moment of catastrophe. A character finally destroys themselves due to their own choices and actions (or inaction). Later writers use the term “denouement” for endings that tie up remaining loose ends and generally have happier results.

After this is a moment of catharsis. The overall tension of the story is released, and the readers are finally able to let go of the anxiety they feel for the story. This is your chance to leave a lasting impression on your readers and give them something to think about even after the story’s end.

Mortally wounded from a knife wound her mother inflicted, Carrie is found too late by someone who could have been her first friend. She dies while crying out for her mother.

Why a Pyramid?

Freytag believed that the tension of a story has to undergo movement. It naturally rises up from the start to the middle of the story until it reaches its peak, and goes down until the end. When visualized, this movement follows the general shape of a triangle, hence a pyramid.

Its Place in Modern Storytelling

Having been invented almost two hundred years ago, Freytag’s Pyramid can look outdated. Plot structures have definitely advanced far beyond what Freytag has laid down. The onset of radio, television, and film has transformed how we practice storytelling.

But Freytag’s Pyramid still remains a popular and relevant tool that writers routinely use to create their art. In fact, it has become such a ubiquitous element to writing that most writers don’t often realize they’re using it.

Make no mistake, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution to writing. This type of dramatic structure is more fitted to tragedies, especially ones that exhibit classical or Shakespearean elements. This is really not that surprising, as Freytag is mostly a writer of tragedy.

It’s not without its problems either. The structure itself is essentially two big parts supported by three small ones. It’s easy to collapse, so some authors prefer following other plot structures instead. But it’s also easily adaptable. Nowhere is it written that each part has to be a certain length. Your pyramid could end up looking like a lopsided triangle depending on what parts you emphasize and expand on.

Just like the hero’s journey, Aristotle’s three-part structure, and more modern structures like Dan Harmon’s story circle, this is just one way for you to deliver an excellent piece of writing to your readers.

Advantages of Using Freytag’s Pyramid

Since it’s one of the most widely used plot structures being used, readers will find it easy to relate to your story. This is a plot structure that actively guides your readers into understanding your characters and the world they live in.

Readers need to understand a character’s thoughts and motivations to empathize with them. Freytag’s pyramid gives them sufficient time to get attached to your characters, making the climax even more satisfying (or traumatic, if it’s a tragedy) for them. Done correctly, readers get more and more invested as they read through each part.

On the writer’s side, this kind of clear plot structure allows you to better organize your thoughts and ideas, isolate your story’s main problem and key scenes, and emphasize your key elements. It’s a useful tool for outlining everything you need for your story, from what to add and where to place them. The more you can identify these things, the tighter your plot gets.

When you break down your narrative into easier-to-manage components, it also gives you time to figure out details such as pacing and continuity. The more you can pay attention to details, the fewer loose ends you end up with and the better your story becomes.

Dramatic Structure: Origin and Importance

Dramatic structure, originating from Aristotle’s Poetics, is the idea that any story can be broken down into parts. Aristotle considered these parts as the beginning, the middle, and the end. For a story to be effective, these elements need to be in place.

Overtime this dramatic structure was expanded upon by other philosophers. Horace advocated that a play needs to have a minimum of five acts when he released his Ars Poetica. German playwright and novelist Gustav Freytag further developed this five-act concept and laid down what is to be known as Freytag’s Pyramid.

Dramatic structures are patterns most writers use to create an organized and understandable story. These things ensure that the story can progress and that the reader can fully and easily understand what’s happening.

Other Dramatic Structures

There’s a lot of dramatic structures out there that work well with different kinds of stories. One thing to note is that all of them are linked by a concept of time and progression.

Freytag’s Pyramid primarily follows a linear progression, with events following a chronological order in time. This is also largely the same for the three-act structure (inciting incident, midpoint, climax) and Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey, which is itself broken down into three acts with 17 distinct stages of progress.

Other dramatic structures follow a non-linear progression. Director Quentin Tarantino is famous for his out-of-order storytelling. He frequently splices together seemingly unrelated scenes that often happen at different points in time until they culminate into an ending that finally gives sense to the movie. Flashbacks and juxtaposition of scenes further emphasize the non-linear qualities of such stories.

Other structures progress in a cyclical manner rather than a straight movement. Stories written this way usually end up in situations that are somehow the same as their beginnings. Dan Harmon’s Story Circle starts with a character in their comfort zone wanting something more. They then go on a journey that changes them and puts them into a different comfort zone, thereby restarting the cycle.

Episodic dramatic structures, meanwhile, follow plots that are loosely linked by characters and events. Since these plots are largely independent of each other, they often follow repeating patterns of rising action to climax to another rising action and so on.

Closing Thoughts

There’s a lot of dramatic structures out there with their own army of variations. It’s up to you what to choose when fleshing out your story. Use these structures to speed up your writing process and upgrade your narrative.

Always keep in mind, though, that these dramatic structures are not templates for success. Don’t be afraid to subvert and modify them according to your preferences. Once you’ve fine-tuned these structures to your own blend of writing, then finishing that story’s going to be a piece of cake!

Which dramatic structure do you prefer to use? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

 

If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:

• Exploring the Monomyth: 6 Lessons from Joseph Campbell’s Theory of “The Hero’s Journey”
• What Is an Inciting Incident? How to Get Your Story Rolling
• Story Structure: Building Your Narrative
• 15 Tips for Writing Your First Play