Exposition (narrative)

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The exposition is the portion of a story that introduces important background information to the audience; for example, information about the setting, events occurring before the main plot, characters' back stories, etc.1 Exposition can be conveyed through dialogues, through a character's thoughts, through background details, through in-universe media such as newspaper clippings, trial reports and letters, or through a narrator telling a back-story or by establishing scenes where a character is followed. Exposition is considered one of four rhetorical modes of discourse, along with argumentation, description, and narration.2

Contents

Exposition in Fiction

Exposition as a Fiction-Writing Mode

In the context of fiction, exposition is the fiction-writing mode for conveying information. According to Robert Kernen, "Exposition can be one of the most effective ways of creating and increasing the drama in your story. It can also be the quickest way to kill a plot's momentum and get your story bogged down in detail. Too much exposition, or too much at one time, can seriously derail a story and be frustrating to the reader or viewer eager for a story to either get moving or move on."3

Exposition in fiction may be delivered through various means. As noted by Ansen Dibell, the simplest way is to just place the information between scenes as the all-seeing, all-knowing (but impersonal and invisible) narrator.4 Jessica Page Morrell has observed that various devices, such as trial transcriptions, newspaper clippings, letters, and diaries may be used to convey information.5

Another means of delivering information is through a character, either as dialogue or through the character′s thoughts.4

Information dump

When information in fiction is presented in a concise prosaic way, it is termed an "information dump".example needed6 A type of information dump goes under the term As you know, Bob or idiot lecture: This is when the characters tell each other things they obviously already know, for expository reasons.78 For example, a person in a movie may call his spouse by "wife" instead of by first name, so that the audience knows they are married.

Information dumps are sometimes placed at the beginning of stories as a means of establishing the premise of the plot. In serial television dramas, exposition in individual episodes often appears as a brief montage of scenes from earlier episodes, prefaced with the phrase "Previously on [name of series]." Villain speech is a specific form of exposition in which the villain describes his sinister plans to a helpless hero, often prefacing his exposition with the comment that it can't hurt to divulge the plan, since the hero will be dead soon anyway (or the plan will be impossible to stop in the short time available). The villain's motivation sometimes includes his desire to have his cleverness admired by the character most capable of appreciating it. Examples include comic book supervillains and villains in James Bond movies.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Kaplan SAT Subject Test: Literature 2009-2010 Edition. Kaplan Publishing. 2009. p. 60. ISBN 1419552619. 
  2. ^ Anderson (2012). Necessary Words for Writers: What Do Those Agents and Editors Mean?. Abbott Press. p. 99. ISBN 1458206424. 
  3. ^ Kernen, Robert (1999). Building Better Plots. Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest Books. p. 99. ISBN 0-89879-903-1. 
  4. ^ a b Dibell, Ansen (1988). Plot. Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest Books. ISBN 0-89879-303-3.  *Kernen, Robert (1999). Building Better Plots. Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest Books. p. 51. ISBN 0-89879-903-1. 
  5. ^ Morrell, Jessica Page (2006). Between the Lines: Master the Subtle Elements of Fiction Writing. Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest Books. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-58297-393-7. 
  6. ^ http://books.google.se/books?id=cL1MCUXmqdcC&pg=PT78&dq=%22information+dump%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=FspOUcrfMMr64QSl0oGYBQ&redir_esc=y
  7. ^ Kempton (2004). Write Great Fiction - Dialogue. F+W Media. p. 190. ISBN 1582972893. 
  8. ^ Rogow (1991). FutureSpeak: a fan's guide to the language of science fiction. Paragon House. p. 160. ISBN 1557783470.