Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- PART I
- 1 Plot
- 2 Time
- 3 Narrative and speech
- 4 Focalisation
- 5 Effects on the reader
- 6 Gaps and omissions
- 7 Poetic licence
- 8 Authentication
- 9 Style
- 10 Allusions, hints, hidden meanings
- 11 Characters
- 12 Mythography
- PART II
- Epilogue
- Glossary of Greek terms
- Editions of scholia
- Other abbreviations
- Bibliography
- Thematic index
- Index locorum
1 - Plot
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 August 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- PART I
- 1 Plot
- 2 Time
- 3 Narrative and speech
- 4 Focalisation
- 5 Effects on the reader
- 6 Gaps and omissions
- 7 Poetic licence
- 8 Authentication
- 9 Style
- 10 Allusions, hints, hidden meanings
- 11 Characters
- 12 Mythography
- PART II
- Epilogue
- Glossary of Greek terms
- Editions of scholia
- Other abbreviations
- Bibliography
- Thematic index
- Index locorum
Summary
Starting from a definition of plot (and its counterpart fabula) that is essentially rooted in ancient rhetorical theory, the present chapter then goes on to explore the various applications of the concept and its ramifications in ancient literary criticism. These include questions such as overall plot structure, motivation and narrative coherence, forward and backward references within the plot (prolepsis, analepsis) and their functions, the introduction of characters and how this contributes to a coherent plot, changes of scene, and the handling of multiple storylines and digressions.
The general distinction between fabula and plot is very common in modern literary criticism. Fabula stands for a reconstruction, in chronological order, of the events that are narrated, irrespective of their relative position in the text. Plot refers to the narrated events in the order and disposition that the particular text under consideration exhibits. The plot of the Iliad, for example, begins with Chryses' arrival at the Greek ships (Il. 1.12), the fabula, say, with Paris' judgment (cf. Il. 24.29–30). Although the distinction as such is not explicitly made by ancient literary critics, a comparable distinction nevertheless underlies their reasoning.
Ancient rhetorical theory differentiates between how to find an appropriate topic for one's speech and how to make use of this topic in order to construct the speech. Of especial importance in the present context is the model of Dionysius of Halicarnassus. He makes a distinction between ‘subject-matter’ (πραγματικόν) and ‘style’ (λεκτικόν).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Ancient Critic at WorkTerms and Concepts of Literary Criticism in Greek Scholia, pp. 23 - 68Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009