Understanding Stories
Posted on February 14, 2021
Every story has at least three necessary ingredients:
1. A Setting: Where does the story take place?
2. A Conflict: What is the story about?
3. A Resolution: How does the story end?
Two Types of Resolution
(from Aristotle’s Poetics)
1. Tragedy
Tragic Story Arcs start fine, get better, fall apart and end down.
Classic Example: Romeo & Juliet
Tragic stories arouse our sense of justice and compassion.
2. Comedy
Comic Story Arcs start fine, fall apart, ascend through struggle and end well.
Classic Example: The Princess Bride
Comic stories encourage us to persevere toward victory in spite of difficult challenges.
To learn more about Story Arcs, check out this article:
Six Variations of these Two Story Arcs (as Identified by Artificial Intelligence)